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          Because his name is listed as a contributor in a number of places on many of you who were with AFVN may sometimes wonder "Who is Mike McNally?" Briefly put, he first went to Vietnam in May 1967 as an Intelligence Analysist and, after getting out of the Army stayed in VIetnam as a DOD civilian and a civilian contractor until March 1975.  That probably makes him AFVN's one of AFVN's "longest term" listeners.   Since February 2013, he has been one of the more active contributors of items for this website.  Here is a little bit of his story:

Individual Photo Albums & Stories

Mike McNally  

US Army, DOD Civilian and Contractor (67-75)

         On May 4, 2013, Mike wrote: "Thanks to Ann Kelsey for tracking me down thru the Saigon Kids site, and Bob Morecook for admitting me to the AFVN Group.  My name is Mike McNally.  I was not an AFVN employee, but I probably heard more AFVN and American Radio Service broadcasts in Vietnam than almost anyone. I thank all the AFVN personnel for the great service they provided. 

          I arrived in Vietnam in May 1967 as an enlisted intel analyst (96B20).  I left Vietnam on 30 Apr 1975 as a civilian attending the University of Maryland, Far East Division, Saigon.  I was also inside the former AFVN facility on Hong Thap Tu Street at least one time in 1974, as a contract security officer for DAO security.  The local national guard at the facility came under DAO jurisdiction.                 On 29 April 1975, I was living in an apartment building on Truong Tan Buu Street, located between Tan Son Nhut and Saigon.  About 0400 hours I was awakened by the rocket attack on the Defense Attache Office, the former MACV Headquarters, which killed two Marines, Judge and McMahon.  Sometime during the morning, I was listening to the radio with another American and a Vietnamese woman.  I heard White Christmas playing, but I recall thinking that it did not sound like the Bing Crosby version.  Chuck Neil, of Federal Electric Corporation, FEC, has written that he could not find the Bing Crosby version, so he substituted a version by Tennessee Ernie Ford.  I then heard Chuck saying that "The Temperature in Saigon is 105 Degrees and Rising."  I was eventually evacuated off the roof of the embassy after midnight, 30 April 1975 Saigon time.  I was not on the last helicopter.

         I have a Masters in History from California State University, Los Angeles.  I retired in 2011 from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, as an electric station operator.  I have a Vietnamese wife.  I have not been back to Vietnam, but I have paid for many family members to go back for visits.  I am a member of three other Yahoo Groups, CICV, (Combined Intelligence Center Vietnam), MACV-DAO, and the 519th MI Battalion.  Thanks again to Ann and Bob.  I'll try to peruse the past messages to see if there's anything about which I might have some knowledge.  If anyone has any questions they think I might help with, please ask. Thanks." 

         Later, on the 4th, Mike wrote "Jim W, thanks for asking about the University of Maryland in Saigon after the 1973 Peace Accord.  There were not a lot of military personnel permitted under the Accords, but there were a lot of civilians, some with dependents, who arrived to staff the Defense Attache Office.  The University of Maryland, Far East Division, Saigon, had an office which I think was at the southeast corner of Gia Long and Hai Ba Trung.  Their classes were held in various locations.  Some were held in the NCO lounge upstairs in the Marine or Marshall House building on Hong Thap Tu, across from the Cercle Sportif.  I attended an anthropology class there, taught by Professor Terry Rambo from the University of Hawaii.  The last class I attended was held in the USAID building on Le Van Duyet Street. This was on the afternoon of 8 April 1975. Earlier in the day, a turncoat pilot had bombed the nearby Independence Palace. The instructor for the class had just arrived from Bangkok.  He was walking in front of the Palace when the bombs were dropped.  He showed up for the class, but was clearly shaken.  One of the students was an ARVN major.  He was looking for information on how he might escape the country.  I think Terry Rambo wrote about his University of Maryland experiences in his book, Searching for Vietnam.  Professor Rambo was able to evacuate his family to the Philippines.  He found the U. of M. Saigon Director there waiting to help him."