The families of the Vietnam Army personnel and civil administrators blocked the highways. airports. and harbors. making withdrawal of equipment and Army personnel extremely difficult. and this proved contagious. Moreover. shortages of spare parts made it impossible to fly out over 200 aircraft based in Danang and Pleiku. The panic of refugees was understandable for they witnessed the probable fate they would suffer under North Vietnam during the earlier evacuation of Pleiku and Kontun in early March. Over 200.000 refugees sought to escape from Pleiku and Kontun by convoying down Route 7B to the coastal city of Tuy Hoa. Of the 200.000 that started on the convoy. only 100.000 reached the coast. simply because these refugees were families of Army personnel. the refugee column was shelled by North Vietnamese artillery. and the panicstricken refugees were cut down by machinegun and automatic rifle fire. The South Vietnamese have shown extraordinary will over the years in stopping Communist advances. The government is beginning to regroup its forces.
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refugee refugees