CORBIN — “Brent Scowcroft this afternoon brought me the report that two Marines had been lost, so I felt we should convene the National Security Council to discuss the situation in Saigon. Who can bring us up-to-date?” Pres. Gerald R. Ford, April 28, 1975.

It was ending, a war that had started with the United States’ offer of military people to South Vietnam to help the nation resist being taken over by North Vietnam.

Some say the war started in 1950, as France showed up to resist the takeover of the south. Reportedly, the U.S. arrived to replace the French on Nov. 1, 1955.

And from about that date until April 30, 1975, deaths totalling 58,193 were logged.

Now, back to the day two days before the U.S. evacuated Saigon.

William Colby told Ford and the other security council members, “It is a very dangerous situation. The North Vietnamese are bringing artillery within range of Tan Son Nhut airport.” Two Marines had been killed by a salvo of rockets sent to the airport.

Three Vietnamese aircraft had been shot down.

Ford asked, “Has this rocket and other fire now stopped?”

“No. It’s continuing,” Colby replied.

Plans had already been made to evacuate the Defense Attache Office (DAO), said James Schlesinger.

A flight of C-130 aircraft was on the way, “They hope to be able to land, but they can be waved off by a controller on the ground if it is unwise. North Vietnamese ground forces are one kilometer from Tan Son Nhut and advancing.”

About 400 DAO people including contractors were at the airport. Plans were for the aircraft to make 70 sorties by 35 aircraft.

“If these attacks continue, would (the air traffic controller) bring the aircraft in?” Ford asked.

Gen. George Brown replied, “If it is artillery fire, he would wave them off. If it is rocket fire, he would bring them in.”

Not only would the DAO people have to be taken out of Saigon, but also Embassy personnel.

Henry Kissinger suggested, “I think the DAO should come out anyway. I also think the Embassy should be thinned down. If we have to go to suppressive fire, then we must remove the Americans. Otherwise, it is too risky.”

Ford said, “I agree. All should leave. Now we have made two decisions: First, today is the last day of Vietnamese evacuation. Second, if we fire, our people will go. Are we ready to go to a helicopter lift?”

Finally, Brown said, “I would ignore the artillery for the chopper flight if the artillery is on the air field. But if it is on the DAO or the Embassy, we cannot go in. In the first case, we would hope that they cannot shift too rapidly. In the second case, we may need to suppress.”

Kissinger asked, “But you would have air cover any way to protect the lift?”

“Where is the air cover now?” Ford asked.

“I recommend that it come in when we go to a helicopter lift,” Brown replied.

“We can await that until we see whether the C-130s can get in,” Ford said.

He concluded, “The decision will be forced by whether the C-130s can or cannot operate. Is that agreed?”

And thus, the decision was made.

It was a war that could never have been won by the South Vietnamese, who probably lost twice or three times the number of men, women and children than the 58,000-plus U.S. soldiers listed on the black wall in Washington, DC.

I have walked along that wall twice. I don’t think I could do it again.

That war reached into the hearts of America’s youth. We had heard the stories of our parents about World War I, World War II and Korea (a war in which we’re still involved).

We knew from them that war is not pleasant and that it creates unnecessary death.

And the thing we learned best was that the Vietnam war could be stopped. It could have been stopped by Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and finally it was stopped by Gerald Ford.

Now, as the Iraq war has ended, we look ahead at the quick ending of the Afghanistan war.

To my memory, and I have confirmed it, the longest period in the 20th Century in which we haven’t fought a war was from the end of WWI to the beginning of WWII, about 21 years.

Eight years between Vietnam and Granada, 1975 to 1983. From 1989 and the invasion of Panama, 1990 to ‘91 the Persian Gulf War.

Peace came in 1992-94.

Then there was the 1995-96 intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Five more years of peace, then the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

After the Afghanistan thing is completed, maybe, just maybe we can have at least a few years of peace.

Some information for this column has been provided by the U.S. Archives.

Carl Keith Greene is a staff writer for the Times-Tribune and can be

contacted at cgreene@thetimestribune.com