File:BR, Vietnam, 1975, Operation Eagle Pull & Operation Frequent Wind (evacuation of Saigon), file 15.jpg

Blue Ridge waiting: "Included in the meeting on board the Blue Ridge was a 35mm slide presentation of the DAO landing zones, obstacles to flight, aerial checkpoints. and the ingress/egress route from the task force to Saigon. [85] After floating off the coast of South Vietnam for over a week, the 9th MAB was more than ready for action. Every day since its arrival the task force had expected orders to begin the evacuation, but the only directives it received changed the response time. [86] By the morning of Tuesday, 29 April, everyone in the task force knew the status of the North Vietnamese offensive and the peril that Saigon faced, and wondered why the evacuation had not begun. ... This day, however, was different. Finally, the waiting was over. Admiral Gavler directed USSAG/Seventh Air Force and Seventh Fleet to begin Frequent Wind Option IV at 1051 (Saigon time). With that announcement the evacuation of Saigon officially began. At 1215. the 9th MAB received General Burns' message directing them to "execute." For some unexplainable reason, dissemination of this message to the participating units had been delayed from 1052 until 1215. " [87]