April 8, 2025 | By David Vergun
Washington, D.C. — This week marks 50 years since Operation Eagle Pull, a landmark U.S. military evacuation mission that safely airlifted American citizens and allied nationals from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as the capital fell to the Khmer Rouge on April 12, 1975.
The operation was launched amid escalating conflict, as communist Khmer Rouge forces closed in on the U.S.-backed Khmer Republic government. Evacuation plans had been in motion since January 1975, when the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit was ordered to prepare near the Gulf of Thailand.
By early April, fixed-wing aircraft had already evacuated over 750 Cambodians under the supervision of a command element based at Pochentong International Airport. But as rocket and artillery attacks intensified, helicopter extraction became the only viable option.
The evacuation zone was moved to a soccer field near the U.S. Embassy. On April 12, 1975, at 6 a.m., helicopters launched from the USS Okinawa and USS Vancouver, carrying 360 Marines as the security force. By 8:45 a.m., Marines had secured the landing site, and evacuation of 84 Americans, 205 Cambodians, and several other foreign nationals began.
The U.S. Embassy closed by 9:45 a.m., and by 12:15 p.m., all evacuees, including the combat control team and command personnel, had been successfully extracted. They were flown to U-Tapao Air Base in Thailand the next day, while the naval fleet moved to assist with the later evacuation of Saigon.
Although Operation Eagle Pull was a tactical success with zero casualties during extraction, it was not seen as a strategic political victory. Just days later, on April 18, 1975, the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh, launching a brutal genocide that claimed nearly 2 million lives—roughly a quarter of Cambodia’s population.
The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia remained closed until diplomatic relations resumed in May 1994.
The operation was conducted under the constraints of the 1971 Cooper-Church Amendment, which prohibited U.S. military funding in Laos and Cambodia. Despite this, Eagle Pull set a precedent for future noncombatant evacuation operations (NEOs) and showcased the value of amphibious ready groups in both military and humanitarian missions.
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