After the shelling of Tan Son Nhut Airport by North Vietnamese troops, the U.S. Ambassador was left with only one evacuation option -- a heavy-lift helicopter evacuation. "Last Days in Vietnam" premieres April 28 on PBS American Experience.

In 1975, Consul General Terry McNamara and Marine Consulate Guard Steve Hasty were in Can Tho, 78 miles southwest of Saigon. When they were told to evacuate only Americans, they went against orders and took hundreds of South Vietnamese refugees with them. This clip is subtitled in Vietnamese. "Last Days in Vietnam" airs April 28 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

Richard Armitage and the U.S. Navy escorted the seaworthy vessels of the Vietnamese Navy -- all crammed with thousands of refugees -- from Con Son Island to the Philippines. "Last Days in Vietnam" premieres April 28, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

As North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon, eleven U.S. Marines found themselves on the roof of the American Embassy with no U.S. helicopters in sight. "Last Days in Vietnam" premieres April 28 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

Nominated for an Academy Award® for Documentary Feature. From filmmaker Rory Kennedy, "Last Days in Vietnam" recounts the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War in April of 1975 as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on Saigon.

When a South Vietnamese helicopter was too large to land on the US Navy ship, the USS Kirk, the family on board had no chance, but to make a leap of faith. Last Days in Vietnam premieres April 28 on PBS American Experience.

In 1973, U.S. troops had begun to withdraw from Vietnam after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. Thousands of Americans remained in the country, and several had Vietnamese girlfriends, wives and families. In April of 1975, the North Vietnamese Army began to close in on Saigon, and South Vietnamese resistance was crumbling. Premieres April 28 on PBS American Experience.

American Experience Executive Producer, Mark Samels, discusses why the events depicted in "Last Days in Vietnam" are an important chapter in American history. Premiering April 28, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

In April 1975, the Pentagon assigned Richard Armitage to remove or destroy South Vietnamese naval equipment to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy. After rendezvousing at Con Son Island, he saw the remnants of the South Vietnamese fleet crammed with thousands of refugees trying to escape Vietnam. "Last Days in Vietnam" premieres April 28 at 9/8c on PBS American Experience.

South Vietnamese veteran Dam Pham and U.S. Army veteran Stuart Herrington describe the chaos at the U.S. Embassy during the final days of Saigon in April, 1975. "Last Days in Vietnam" airs April 28, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

After the Fall of Saigon, Dam Pham and other South Vietnamese soldiers wondered what fate awaited them. "Last Days in Vietnam" airs April 28, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

News footage shows the panic permeating South Vietnam leading up to the Fall of Saigon in April, 1975. "Last Days in Vietnam" premieres April 28, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

Journalist Jim Laurie recalls the looting that took place after the last U.S. helicopters left the American Embassy in Saigon in April, 1975. "Last Days in Vietnam" premieres April 28, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

In December 1966, 140 members of Charlie Company began training in Hawaii under Captain Ernest Medina. The next year, these ordinary young men from across the country would leave for Vietnam and commit one of the worst atrocities in American military history -- the My Lai Massacre.

Nominated for an Academy Award® for Documentary Feature. In April of 1975, the North Vietnamese Army was closing in on Saigon as South Vietnamese resistance was crumbling. With the clock ticking and the city under fire, 135,000 South Vietnamese managed to escape with help from a number of Americans who took matters into their own hands in a desperate effort to save as many people as possible.

In the fall of 1922, a film crew came to West Orange, New Jersey to document Thomas Edison going about his day. In this silent film, they capture the prolific inventor discussing new ideas with employees, conferring with his secretary, and checking in on the newest production techniques for producing one of his most famous inventions: his incandescent light bulb.

Starting in the 1840s, health-seekers fanned out across the United States in search for “the cure.” The pure Western air, they were told, would make them strong and well again. Together with pioneers and explorers, consumptives played an integral role in settling the West. Premieres February 10 on PBS American Experience.

In 1894, the famous gunslinger, Annie Oakley came to Edison’s Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey. Edison wanted to see if his kinetograph – a primitive version of a movie camera – was sensitive enough to capture the smoke from Oakley’s gun. The experiment was a success, as you can see in this short, silent film of “Little Sureshot” demonstrating her marksmanship.

Railroad companies advertised their station stops as havens for consumptives. Towns like Los Angeles, Denver and Pasadena grew as more health-seekers traveled west along the railroads. But promoters gave little thought to what would happen if climate was not a cure-all. Premieres February 10 on PBS American Experience.

As the scientific knowledge of tuberculosis progressed, so too did the prejudice towards people with the disease. Once it was learned that TB was not in fact hereditary, but was transmitted through person-to-person contact, those who suffered from the disease were ostracized from society. Premieres February 10 on PBS American Experience.