Vietnam Babylift Personal Stories
"I watched the Vietnam Babylift adoptee
program yesterday and was so filled with emotion...
There were so many things running through my head while the program was on...
I am sure you know that the majority of the orphans from Vietnam were not
fathered by Americans. When I was working with the Babylift in 1975 the military
had all left in March 1973, two years before Operation Babylift. The only
military during the last two years of the Defense Attache Office were almost
all senior officers. What had been MACV was now reduced in size (but not much
by function) into what became the Defense Attache Office and manned by more
mature civilians. DAO had 1200 Civilian employees and of these between 300
to 400 were women.
I can see how difficult it is for the adoptees to try to understand the circumstances
in Vietnam that would lead to parents giving up their children...Having lived
in Vietnam and seeing the poverty, children sleeping on the streets, going
by the maternity hospital and seeing mothers in labor lying in the courtyard
and then being told that many left their babies there after giving birth.
Families were very large and wages were very low.
The Americans lost 58,000 men to the war, but the Vietnamese lost many times
that, so along with poverty there were so many women faced with being the
sole support of their families.
It was mentioned that part of the reason for bringing the orphans to America
was political. I am not political (registered as non-partisan) but do want
to say yes, we did try to get more money out of Congress to keep the South
Vietnamese Government afloat. But that was in 1974 and early 1975. By the
time we were doing Operation Babylift, even if Congress had appropriated more
money it would have been too late to do any good. I do not think the two were
related in any way. I never at that time or any time since heard any reference
whatsoever about the Babylift being used to try to get more money. I truly
believe it was solely for humanitarian purposes. An all out effort was made
to try to save as many lives as possible. I wish they had mentioned General
Homer D. Smith. If it had not been for him I do not think any orphans would
have gotten out and a lot of others would also have been left behind. I do
not believe there would have been an Operation Babylift if it had not been
for General Smith...We all felt very badly about leaving Vietnam and I believe
everyone was hoping that we could do one last good deed as we were leaving...
While Operation Babylift was an historical event for those directly concerned,
it was just one more event in days full of catastrophes that we dealt with.
Each day thousands of people were evacuated, it was a 24 hour operation. American
citizens, their families, Vietnamese citizens who worked with the Americans,
other embassies and their citizens.
There was a big lawsuit in San Francisco regarding the orphans and my dear
friend Bobbie Noflett who risked her life many times to save some orphans
was sued and it was stated the children would have been better off left in
Vietnam...True, Vietnamese take better care of their extended families than
we do, but not strangers...It is a different mind set. We give to strangers
during a catastrophe but tell our families to "shape up"...
I am really sorry that those who came to America then had to suffer because
of being of another race, but truthfully, I believe the suffering would have
been far greater had they not come to America.
Of all the people that I processed through the evacuation center and put on
the planes to go to America, of course, no group impacted me more than the
babies. I can still to this day tell you what they wore and how sick they
were.
It is wonderful for me to see people who have really done something with their
lives and I wish for all of them a wonderful life ahead...
I believe it is a wonderful and healing event for the adoptees to get together,
support each other and help the others...
These are just my own personal opinions and I do not speak for any others".
Signed,
Sally Vinyard.
(Lana's Note...Sally was involved in the aftermath of the C5A crash. She
is elderly now, and I know that she would love to hear from the Babylift adoptees
and their families. Please write to her at my email address (lana@Vietnambabylift.org)
and I will forward all messages to her. Many thanks.)