In April 1975, just days before South Vietnam fell to the North, Ralph White, just 27-years old, was the newly-appointed manager of Chase Manhattan’s Saigon branch. His assignment was to keep the Saigon branch open as long as possible and evacuate key staff, if necessary.
White, the author of “Getting Out of Saigon,” will describe for New Canaan Men’s Club members, how he accomplished the mission in the chaotic last days, helping 113 employees and their families escape, before the city fell to the North Vietnamese Army.
The Men’s Club will hear from White at its Friday’s meeting in Morrill Hall of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. The meeting begins at 10 a.m., with White’s remarks scheduled for around 10:40 a.m.
In his first days in Saigon, White took over the bank’s Saigon branch, met its Vietnamese staff and introduced himself to various government officials, including senior U.S. Embassy diplomats, CIA officials, and the military.
But to evacuate the Chase employees, he had to devise a plan so they could leave despite the fact that they didn’t have exit visas. As described in his book, White was able to get the employees out of Saigon thanks to an ingenious plan and support from Chase, which later helped the employees find jobs and housing in the U.S.
Since leaving Chase, White earned an MBA from Columbia University and has written three novels, in addition to his nonfiction account of the Saigon evacuation, subtitled, “How a 27-Year-Old American Banker Saved 113 Vietnamese Civilians.”
To get information about joining the New Canaan Men’s Club, men 55-years-old and above may email ncmens@ncmens.club.