In 1975, when Jakob flew from Vientiane to Saigon, he travelled from one civil war – in Laos – to another one – in Viet Nam – while passing near a third one – in Cambodia. Those three countries, which together made up Indochina, were a particular focus for the ICRC until the mid-1970s. That region had been plagued by civil strife since the 1950s: the Viet Nam War began in 1955; the Laotian Civil War in 1959; and the Cambodian Civil War in 1967. As it happened, all three of these conflicts were fuelled by communist uprisings, and all three came to an end in the months following Jakob’s death in 1975. Given the complexity of the situation in Indochina, with various foreign governments backing one side or another, Red Cross support was provided through a number of entities: the ICRC; the League of Red Cross Societies (today’s IFRC ); the Indo-China Operational Group (IOG), whose task was to coordinate Red Cross assistance operations; International Red Cross Assistance in Indo-China (IRCA); and numerous countries’ National Societies. In Viet Nam, the ICRC’s scope of action in 1974 and early 1975 was limited. In the north, we were able to maintain contact with the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, as our delegate-general had visited Hanoi on two occasions, while the IOG made progress on a prefabricated housing project for families affected by bombings. In South Viet Nam, the ICRC visited prisoners of war twice in 1974 and once in early 1975. We did not meet with any civilian detainees during that period because we had suspended such visits in 1972 after limits on our access to detainees were put in place. We also provided medico-social care to around 2,000 orphaned, handicapped and disabled children in 1974 and early 1975. The IOG continued to deliver the equipment needed for a 250-bed hospital, while the IRCA maintained its provision of aid to victims of the hostilities, especially displaced people. We also kept up contact with the Provisional Revolutionary Government in South Viet Nam, in a reflection of our goal of assisting all victims of the conflict on an equal basis. The humanitarian situation in Viet Nam worsened significantly in early 1975, yet the civil war finally came to an end following the takeover of Saigon by revolutionary forces on 30 April. The ICRC’s room for manoeuvre in Cambodia during this period was not much greater. Toward the end of 1974 our delegates carried out a first visit to prisoners of war held by the government, and talks were under way to expand these visits. In early 1975, together with the League, we were able to provide material assistance to some 300,000 displaced people; build around 20 camps for displaced people; and provide medical and nutritional support at various points around the country. The IRCA distributed relief supplies in cooperation with the Khmer Red Cross for displaced and wounded people, and IRCA-related medical and surgical teams worked in hospitals in Phnom Penh and other places around the country. Our contacts with the Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia were sporadic, and we were only able to provide a small quantity of medical supplies to that government's officials in the field. The civil war in Cambodia effectively ended in April 1975, when revolutionary forces took control of Phnom Penh. Lastly, Red Cross activities in Laos were also a mixed bag. Various National Societies provided regular medico-surgical services in several provincial towns during this time, while the ICRC engaged in assistance work. Part of this consisted of distributing relief supplies, together with the Lao Red Cross, to displaced people on behalf of the IRCA. In 1974 ICRC delegates visited around 170 prisoners of war (POWs) in Vientiane and provided them with relief items. Because all POWs were exchanged in September and October 1974, our teams were able to focus their efforts on relief activities in 1975. Towards the end of that year, the Lao monarchy was abolished and the communists took power.