Witness History - US withdrawal: The fall of Saigon, BBC World Service
The Unbelievable Truth, Radio 4
A desperate scramble to evacuate personnel and a handful of local allies at the end of a two decade-long war in a foreign land.
Panic on the streets as brutal opposition forces storm victoriously into the capital.
Overburdened military aircraft swaying drunkenly in the sky as they take off for final time.
Not Afghanistan August 2021, but Saigon April 1975.
BBC World Service’s Witness History strand consistently provides fascinating snapshots of key moments in rapidly fading living memory, often demonstrating that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This week’s offering was no different.
In the nine-minute archive programme, two former US servicemen recalled their country’s undignified Vietnam War exit.
Every moment was redolent with added meaning, (deliberately) broadcast as it was against the tragic backdrop of wall-to-wall coverage of history repeating itself in Afghanistan.
The military disgust at the plans of their diplomatic and political masters was palpable as they manoeuvred to try to rescue the people who had saved their lives during their deployment.
In the end, of course, it was futile.
“I was sick, I felt absolutely terrible that I had given my word to these folks that I would only leave when they left. Having given that promise in good faith, over and over and over all night, we then fled the coop and left them holding the bag.”
If ever a palate cleanser was needed it was this week when our friendly wireless companion seemed intent on bombarding us with human suffering and misery.
The absolute joy of radio is the sheer choice of listening available to match any mood or soothe any ill.
Luckily the ever-reliable `break glass in case of emergency’ offering of silliness that is The Unbelievable Truth is currently on the Radio 4 summer schedule.
Sweetly pompous straight man host David Mitchell provides a haven of chuckles amid the trauma of global catastrophe as his guests each deliver a short lecture on a subject that is entirely false save for five carefully disguised (and usually outrageous) truths.
It can be surprisingly difficult even for the seasoned listener to sort fact from fiction.
Do insects like dubstep? Is there no French word for shrug? Were 4,000 words added to the Oxford English dictionary last year?
You’ll have to listen back to find out.
