leadership. Within a few days I Corps was beyond control. The South Vietnamese tried to evacuate from the other urban enclaves into Đà Nẵng, but the 1st Division collapsed after its commander, Brigadier General Nguyễn Văn Điềm, angered by Thiệu's abandonment, told his men, "We've been betrayed ... It is now sauve qui peut (every man for himself) ... [S]ee you in Đà Nẵng." The overland march, pummeled by PAVN artillery the entire way, degenerated into chaos as the 1st Division descended into anarchy as it moved toward Đà Nẵng. The remainder of the force deserted or began looting. Only a minority survived and some disillusioned officers committed suicide. As anarchy and looting enveloped Đà Nẵng, and a defense of the city becoming impossible, Trưởng requested permission to evacuate by sea, but Thiệu, baffled, refused to make a decision. When his communications with Saigon were sundered by PAVN shelling, Trưởng ordered a naval withdrawal, as Thiệu was not making a decision either way. With no support or leadership from Thiệu, the evacuation turned into a costly debacle, as the PAVN pounded the city with artillery, killing thousands of people. Many drowned while jostling for room on the boats; with no logistical support from Saigon, those vessels sent were far too few for the millions of would-be evacuees. Only around 16,000 soldiers were pulled out, and of the almost two million civilians that packed Đà Nẵng, a little more than 50,000 were evacuated. As a result, 70,000 troops were taken prisoner, along with around 100 aircraft. Trưởng and his officers swam to a boat in the sea and evacuated to Saigon. In quick succession the remaining cities along the coastline collapsed and half the country had fallen in two weeks. Upon arriving in Saigon, Trưởng was reportedly hospitalized for a nervous breakdown as a result of the collapse in I Corps. An American officer who had worked closely with him heard of Trưởng's plight, and arranged for his family to leave on an American ship amid the chaos of the fall of Saigon and the PAVN takeover of South Vietnam. Truong fled Vietnam with former Vice President Nguyễn Cao Kỳ by helicopter on the morning of 30 April 1975, the day of the fall of Saigon. Life in the United States Trưởng's family was initially broken up amid the confusion. His wife and eldest son ended up in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas,