meeting at Cam Ranh Bay. During this meeting Thieu made the decision to attempt an orderly withdrawal from the Central Highlands around Kontum and Pleiku in order to conserve forces and regroup for a counter-attack. Unfortunately for the South Vietnamese, the commander of the region, General Phạm Văn Phú, misinterpreted this order and directed an immediately evacuation of both cities. The commander of the 6th Air Division at Pleiku, BG Pham Ngoc Sang was given forty-eight hours to evacuate the airfield and immediately requested UH-1s, CH-47s, and C-130s to fly RVNAF personnel and their dependants out of Pleiku. On 16 March artillery fire began hitting the city and ARVN troops began a retreat to the coast along Highway 7B. At Pleiku airfield sixty-four aircraft were abandoned with little effort to destroy them before evacuating and large quantities of fuel and ordnance were left behind undamaged and ready for the PAVN to use. Current use After the seizure of the base by the PAVN in 1975, the captured RVNAF aircraft were either destroyed or flown out to other airfields and Pleiku Air Base was abandoned, apparently remaining so for many years. Today, a small airport terminal building has been erected on the pad of one of the former USAF hangars. The former base facility has been torn down and a few streets remain, the land now being used for agriculture; none of the former base buildings remain. The large aircraft parking ramp remains but is largely abandoned, along with the jet taxiway which is unused. The former USAF control tower and large fire department building on the flightline remains standing; their current use is undetermined. See also Republic of Vietnam Air Force United States Air Force in South Vietnam United States Pacific Air Forces Seventh Air Force References Bibliography Endicott, Judy G. (1999) Active Air Force wings as of 1 October 1995; USAF active flying, space, and missile squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. CD-ROM. Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Schiffer Military Aviation History. . Mesco, Jim (1987) VNAF Republic of Vietnam Air Force 1945–1975 Squadron/Signal Publications. Mikesh, Robert C. (2005) Flying Dragons: The Republic of Vietnam Air Force. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. USAF Historical Research Division/Organizational History Branch – 35th Fighter Wing, 366th Wing VNAF – The Republic of Vietnam Air Force 1951–1975