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Dakota Midday: Sioux Falls Native Recalls Fall of Saigon

In April of 1975, the North Vietnamese Army was closing in on Saigon as South Vietnamese resistance was crumbling. The United States had just a skeleton crew of diplomats and military operatives left in the country in the wake of the Paris Peace Accords. With a North Vietnamese victory inevitable and the U.S. prepared to withdraw, many Americans on the ground worried about the safety of South Vietnamese allies, family and friends and scrambled to get them out of the country. After the Tan Son Nhut airport was hit by rockets, Vietnamese were evacuated via helicopters from the U.S. Embassy compound.

Sioux Falls native Doug Potratz was a Marine security guard at the American Embassy during the Fall of Saigon and one of the last evacuated. He rushed to get his own Vietnamese wife and three-year-old stepdaughter out of the city on April 21, 1975. He was assisted by Lance corporal Darwin Judge who carried the little girl on his back and took her to the plane. Eight days later, Judge and Corporal Charles McMahon were killed in the rocket attack on Tan Son Nhut airport. They were the last two American servicemen to lose their lives in Vietnam.

Potratz and 19 other marines are traveling to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and will dedicate a memorial plaque to Judge and McMahon at the site of the American Embassy on the 4oth anniversary of the Fall of Saigon.

Doug Potratz is a family lawyer in Fullerton, California. He joined Dakota Midday and shared his memories of the final days in Vietnam.

Karl was born to northeastern South Dakota crouton farmers, but was orphaned as a toddler during the Great Salad War (1966-67). Rescued by a flock of chickadees, he grew up in the woodlands of Sica Hollow. Legends of a bird boy living in the trees attracted the interest of renowned ornithologist and amateur bandoneon repairman Dr. Vogel Gehrke. With a handful of suet, Dr. Gehrke coaxed the timid boy down from the trees. He adopted him, named him Karl and taught him not to molt on the carpet. Dr. Gehrke’s book, The Bird Boy of Sica Hollow, was a best seller and Karl became a minor celebrity and teen idol. He appeared as a guest star on numerous television programs, most notably an awkward role on The Love Boat as the boyfriend of Captain Stubing’s daughter, Vicki. After critics panned his 1980 album, Bird Boy Does Disco, Karl retreated from public life and returned to Sica Hollow. Living in an isolated tree house, Karl achieved a reputation as a mystic. Pilgrims and seekers from around the world came to ask him about the meaning of life and for vinaigrette recipes. Growing tired of answering questions, he climbed down from his tree, shaved his massive white beard and took a job as the host of SDPB Radio’s Dakota Midday where he could ask the questions instead. After three years in that position, he ran out of questions and became host of Jazz Nightly instead. Karl makes his home in Vermillion with his charming wife Kari and three delightful children, Kodey, Kasey and Spatula. His hobbies include reciting the alphabet, combing his hair and doing volunteer work with delinquent songbirds.