From: Mary Ann Rientjes...Volunteer at Clark AFB, The Philippines during Babylift.

Mrs. Rientjes email address is available from:

Lana@Vietnambabylift.org

All I remember is that one day we heard that they were bringing baby orphans to the base gym and that volunteers were needed 24/7.

I volunteered for a swing shift. Probably in two weeks time I took care of two different babies. What would happen is that you would line up at the door and the babies would be on cots right next to each other on the whole floor of the gym.

So when you lined up you would walk around until you were next in line and that is the baby you were assigned to. I remember the crying of babies and the horrible smell of dirty diapers.

Of course they were cleaned up but there were so many diapered babies that it was hard not to smell that smell. I think about the third time I went there I was assigned a little girl who I was told was two yrs but only weighed around 10 lbs. It scared me at first when I saw her because her head was all bandaged as if she had been wounded and then she also did not have an arm from her shoulder down.

I really didn't think I could handle her because of the pain I felt for her but I remember saying I have to do this. Just as I picked her up, she grabbed me around the neck and would not let me go. After that night I requested to care for her and my request was granted. I have always thought that maybe because I was brown color that she was not afraid of me. I remember she had diarrhea so bad that I was constantly changing her; I think she probably had dysentery. I also had to take her to the nurse?s office about every four hours for meds and to take care of her wounds.

Lots of the babies had tags on them for destinations that they were going to. Almost every day a load of the babies were taken. This particular baby I was taking care of had a tag to go to Belgium (I think) but toward the last days that I took care of her she had a new tag that said Florida. I always wondered what happened to her.

Anyway, I got used to taking care of her and one evening I came and she was gone. I was crushed!!! I still remember that feeling of emptiness.

I was really attached to her.

I also remember going to the flight line with groups of babies getting ready to go to different places. We would wait in line outside the planes, it seemed forever. Then we would take them into the plane and there would be like two apple boxes on each seat with belts so that the two babies faced each other.

This also was hard on me because by the time we got the baby in the seat it had somewhat gotten used to you and would hug your neck and not want you to let go.

Another thing that I will never forget is when the airplane with all the babies crashed. We were at Dee and Bonnie O'Dell's when we heard someone crying and screaming. It was their neighbor who had just received the news that her husband (I think a flight engineer) was in the plane that carried the
babies.