From the S&S archives:
Weary refugees pour into central Saigon

SAIGON — Thousands of refugees, mostly women and children, poured into the center of Saigon Thursday, fleeing the fighting and the fires raging on the southern edge of the city.

The women, mostly wearing traditional Vietnamese costume and conical straw hats, carried babies and what they could of their, belongings.

They appeared strained and weary, but there was no sign of panic. At times, when they came near the sound of machine-gun fire, they threw themselves to the ground by the roadside. When the shooting subsided, they went on their way.

American artillerymen and helicopter gunships engaged in the fighting were under orders to avoid accidental casualties among the refugees. Some refugees sheltered in a pagoda reportedly were killed Wednesday by a helicopter gunship rooting out snipers.

By noon Thursday, South Vietnamese authorities estimated 46,000 refugees had come into central Saigon since the start of the latest Viet Cong offensive Sunday.

The flow continued unabated all afternoon, across the "Y" bridge over the Kinh Doi Canal and bridges leading out of embattled south Cholon.

The total was expected. to exceed 60,000 by nightfall.

They streamed into the city center and dispersed. Many settled in schoolhouses, churches and pagodas which had served as refugee collection points during the Communist Lunar New Year offensive.

The mayor's office and the National Refugee Ministry took emergency action to feed the homeless throng.