Comments on: Operation Babylift: Evacuating Children Orphaned by the Vietnam War

By: Jason Robertson

Jason Robertson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:36:06 +0000

I had the awesome opportunity of returning to Vietnam with two of the oprhans that survivied the C5 crash. We visited the site where the plane landed and had a memorial service exactly 30 years to the day in 2005. An emtional and breath taking experience. I was orphan myself rescued from an oprhange called An Lac by Betty Tisdale who brought many over. I am putting together a reunion for all those from AnLac this Spring in GA at Fort Benning and Columbus and need help locating as many of the An Lac children so if any one knows of any that were from that orphanange please send them my contact info thank you. ricetogrits@aol.com http://www.ricetogrits.com Jason

By: John Barrett

John Barrett — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:36:39 +0000

I was on temporary duty[TDY] with the Defense Attache’s Office[DAO] in Saigon at the beginning of operation Baby Lift. An AF Colonel and I were booked on the ill fated C5 on 5/5/75 going to Clark AB,PI. At the last minute we were asked to give up our seats and take the C141 leaving for Clark AB about an hour later. We said good-bye to some of our DAO friends on the C5 and we later left on the C141. We were not aware of the C5 crash until we arrived at Clark AB where we were met with a flurry of fire trucks and ambulances. We thought something was wrong with our aircraft until a Clark representative boarded our aircraft and advised us of the C5 crash. They thought we were some of the crash survivors. I lost several of my DAO friends in the crash. One that did survive was treated at Clark hospital and I was able to visit her several times before she was evacuated to US for treatment. I remained at Clark to continue logistics support to the Vietnamese AF until the fall of Saigon 4/29/75 and then actively participated in the ” Vietnamese Repatriation”program. I returned to my permanent duty station 5/10/75 [Mothers Day].

By: Mary Fly

Mary Fly — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:39:48 +0000

Babylift began when I was a DoDDS teacher at Wagner High School, Clark Air Base. I had volunteered to care for a child (any child) who would come in on the first flight from Saigon. I was sitting in the Clark AB Officers’ Club dining room with friends the evening that the plane, a C5, was scheduled to land. When the word got out that the plane had crashed, I was stunned. I only remember whispering: “It crashed?” I was devastated, thinking of all the children on board. Somehow Clark recovered and prepared to receive subsequent Babylift flights. I remember the first one after the tragic accident — it came in after dark, but the flight line was lit up for TV cameras. We (the volunteers) entered the rear of the aircraft, walked through it quickly, and picked up a child — any child. Mine turned out to be a girl of an age I could not determine. She was wordless, scared, and obviously confused. We were bussed to the base gym; I found clothes for her, bathed her, dressed her, and accompanied her on a bus to a mess hall where there was food for her. We spent the night on a mattress on the gym floor. The things that struck me about her and all the other children I observed was their silence and their distended abdomens, which I was told by the medics was due to malnutrition. According to procedure, I gave my child over to base authorities the next morning to be put on another airplane … going where? I don’t know. I think about her a lot, wondering whatever happened to her.

By: adrienne kay

adrienne kay — Sun, 31 May 2009 03:41:03 +0000

On April 5th, 1975 Naomi Bronstein had brought me to Canada from Saigon. I was born in Cambodia on February 12th, 1975. I do not have any information on my birth family as I do not have a birth certificate. My birth name on my passport was Malita Sar. My address on my passport was Friends For All Children Inc. Saigon. I was adopted into a wonderful Canadian family, and have lived in Ottawa most of my life. I have always wondered how, if and where I can maybe look for living Cambodian relatives.
My email address is adrienne21275@hotmail.com if you have any suggestions, I will be eternally grateful.

Adrienne M. Kay

By: malik saunders

malik saunders — Fri, 15 May 2009 07:33:02 +0000

my father passed away in 1975 from complications from the war.i was told that he might have had a child over in vietnam.i would i go abou locating theme?mistamalik@hotmail.com

By: keara graham

keara graham — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:20:08 +0000

i think this isi a good site and has a lot about the crash and the plane but not enough on the subject injenoral

By: Mike Frailey

Mike Frailey — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:31:05 +0000

I was on the first flight out of Viet Nam as one of the “older” kids. I remember the flight well. I have a wonderful life in America but want to let all know we still have problems with immigrations. Many of us are not citizens…. I am looking publishing and possible video of President Ford welcoming us to America…34 years later… We belong to no country: Viet Nam nor America. Please help.

Thanks,
Mike/ mikefrailey@hotmail.com

By: Gary Williams

Gary Williams — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:11:23 +0000

I was on the last baby vac out of Clark Air Base in ‘75. I remember that these babies were in the worst condition and their departure had been held up hopping Marcos would let them stay in the PI until they were better. The deadline came and a call went out for anyone with a passport. I was given the responsibility to care for a 3 month old girl named Ty Hang. We traveled together until we reached Hawaii. She was too sick to continue on and was hospitalized.
My ship was in drydock at Bremmerton, WA. and I was on leave in PI visiting friends, when I got involved with Operation Frequent Wind and New Life.
By Gary Williams / cberrypickle@aol.com

By: Marion H Barth

Marion H Barth — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:01:56 +0000

I was the Family Service Coordinator, and instrumental in the planning of the reception of the children at Clark Air Force Base from the very beginning of Baby Lift, Freedon Lift and Operation New Life. Many know me as the woman on the box who gave them their instructions about how the children(babies) would be handled. Chaplain Wrag asked me to coordinate this effort for the first flight which crashed, and friends died who were medics on that flight, I had to tell the volunteers to stand down, listen to the radio for further instructions. Then with the chaplancy and Red Cross volunteers as well as Family Service Volunteers we met the embasy flight that was coming in with the rest of the families whose wife/mother/father/husband was on the crashed flight. This began for me a 6 month time of working with the babies/refugies etc. Their are many holes in this story, I never thought to even look on the computer for information, it was history. I had my house girl save all the Stars and Stripes Newspapers for me, since I had no time to read them. I still have the papers as well as many official photos taken during this time. My husband Major Joseph V. Barth was commander of Law/enforcement Branch of the Security Police Division, and he and others were the ones on the planes that went into Vietnam to bring out people. There is too much of the story to put in this small box.

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:40:33 +0000

Hello,
I have a limited edition, signed, matted and framed, Bill Kurtis photo of the Last Baby Lift that is collecting dust at my home, if someone would like to buy it. It shows numerous babies in cardboard boxes, waiting to be flown to the US.

Jim
grandsrus@frontiernet.net