Vietnam Babylift Personal Stories
I was in Vietnam in one capacity or another from
October 1967 until April 1975 except for the years 1971 and 1972. From 1973
until the end, I was the Funds Manager for the South Vietnamese Air Force
at Bien Hoa. An interesting note is that Bien Hoa was the busiest airport
in the world during the war and I believe TSN was second.
I was diagnosed with cancer of the vocal cords in the fall of 1974 and from
the moment Twila Donelson heard of this, she was the most caring and thoughtful
person imaginable towards me. I truly believe it affected her more than it
did me. She was deeply concerned, as she knew I loved the water, and she gave
me the address of a friend of hers in Texas, who as a Colonel had undergone
the same operation, but still boated. I can't say enough about her kindness.
In the early afternoon of the day of the C5A flight, Twila entered the doorway
of my office at DAO (Defense Attache Office)TSN and stated that she was leaving
shortly to accompany the orphans and would not be back. She stated how sorry
she was that I wouldn't be going. I don't recollect what I said, but she turned
to go out the door, then paused, turned around, looked at me, but without
saying anything more, left. I could see the sadness that had enveloped her
face and could detect tears in her eyes. A few hours later, she was dead.
Another girl that was on the flight, but survived was Thelma Thompson. I visited
her in the hospital in the Philippines. She told me she had been saved by
a miracle, as she had originally been seated in the bottom of the airplane,
but at the last minute had been asked to go and sit up in the tail section,
as they were in need of more companions for the orphans there. Although the
C5A was 65 feet high, Thelma only needed one short step to reach the ground
when she exited at the conclusion of the crash. As I remember, there was nothing
left of the bottom part of the plane. We can only hope that the end for most
was instantaneous. I understand that Thelma incurred $40,000 in medical bills
and the amount the government gave her was barely sufficient to cover this
and she continues to suffer today.
I first met Sally Vinyard (The last American woman to leave Vietnam) in 1969
when we both worked for NAVY/OICC in Saigon. She moved back to Fallbrook,
CA after the war and I was fortunate indeed in living in her town for a few
years before I moved once again. We had many a delightful evening together.
I would like to back up her contention that the Babylift was not political
at all. Everyone in DAO knew long before that date that the end was near,
as the shredders were going all the time. Even the ever optimistic Frank Toner,
who had been in Vietnam since 1952, knew by April 1st that all hope was lost.
It is a shame that people and organizations try to please their agendas by
inferring such. Also, Sally didn't mention that she adopted a beautiful Vietnamese
girl who has grown to maturity and is the apple of her eye. But, then again,
Sally has always been a very modest and unassuming person.
Although this was the first C5A flight, other South Vietnamese orphans had
been flown into Oakland on Wednesday night April 2, 1975. They may have come
from Danang. (Reference Stars & Stripes Saturday, April 5, 1975.) The
next day's edition headlines "178 Die On Babylift" with a heartbreaking
picture of a Vietnamese and an American lady carrying two orphans after the
crash.
Finally, I would like to post the following second paragraph from the "Unclassified
- Immediate" message dated 05 May 75 from SECNAV Washington, DC to ALNAVSTA:
"As we relocate the Navy civilian employees of the Defense Attache Office,
Saigon, I note with pride the service given under adverse and sometimes dangerous
conditions by the few hundred on the rolls at the last, and the several thousands
who served before them in Vietnam. Particularly noted with deep regret are
the thirty-one civilian employees who lost their lives in a volunteer effort
in the tragic plane crash on 4 April 1975."
Brock Townsend
Email: Townsendl@cs.com
(I have five Vietnamese-American daughters, two of whom were born in Saigon.)