The Vietnam War came to an end on April 30, 1975, when North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The fall of the city marked the end of the South Vietnamese government and ...

To the leathernecks who served under him, it was only fitting that Master Sergeant Valdez was the last of their unit to depart Saigon.

During the fall of the South Vietnamese capital in 1975, he helped evacuate thousands, and was nearly left behind.