My name is Sarah Lawrence Haftl born Dong Thi Kim Hoa. I am an adoptee evacuated from Saigon through Operation Babylift and the unconditional love and support of the Friends of Children of Viet Nam (FCVN). Like many other adoptees my original birth name, date of birth, exact origin and birth parents are all unknown. I am only told by my parents that I left on one of the last flights out of Viet Nam and that I stopped at Clark Air Force Base en route to the US. I was kept at Clark AFB for a couple of days and was given intravenous fluids. I was severely dehydrated and on the verge of death. I arrived into the loving arms of my parents, Kathleen M. Tirrell and Wesley H. Lawrence who adopted me because they could not have children of their own. My father, a former Navy corpman and Vietnam vet returned to the US and knew he had to save at least one of the many orphaned children in Vietnam. While on tour in Vietnam and as a medical provider he was fortunate enough to set up a small medical clinic for the local villagers. It was during this time that he was touched by the many young faces he treated. Without my father's experience and both my parents' aspirations to help those half way around the world I would not be here today. I was only 8 weeks old and approximately six pounds when I arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston on April 11, 1975.

Among thousands of orphans to leave Vietnam our travels were not easy and mine was not unlike many others. At eight weeks of age I made the journey of a lifetime. I was only an infant and of course I don't remember a thing. However, I managed to survive in utero for nine months and arrive into this world completely healthy with 10 fingers and 10 toes in the middle of a war torn country with bombs and bullets flying. Severely dehydrated, malnourished and barely thriving I traveled half way around the world to arrive in the richest nation in the world.

It's been thirty years since I made that miraculous journey and I've made the best of my good fortune. Arriving in America gave me the world of opportunities that I could not have elsewhere. I arrived into a loving home with two loving parents. I was given the opportunity to go to college and today I am molecular pharmacologist in one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. I've had the wonderful opportunity to meet the man of my dreams and just last year gave birth to our first child, a baby girl. It wasn't until I held my daughter for the first time that I realized I was holding the only blood relative I have ever known. It was also then that I realized that my own mother had a love far greater than I could ever achieve. She had the strength, courage and faith to let me go to a place she had never seen or knew anything about. She let me go, all in hopes that I could have a better life. If only she could see me now. I know after holding my little girl in my arms that I could never be that strong. I could never be that unselfish. I'm proud of my mother and I know that my strong will and determination must come from her.

I'm not sure why I, out of millions of people, survived that terrible time in history but I do know that I am special and meant to do great things. Exactly what great things I have yet to discover. I do know that on the day I left Vietnam I became a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a friend, a wife and most importantly a mother.

I am, above all else, a survivor, here to remind us all that we as a human race have a tremendous capacity to reach out to one another, love one another and care for one another even if we don't know each other. In a time when people are dying all over the world for various reason we cannot forget that we CAN make a difference no matter how small. Remember those who risked their lives to save some children in a tiny country half way around the world. I have not forgotten them and from the bottom of my soul I thank all those who died and all those who helped give me life.

Sarah L. Haftl
Email: sarah.l.haftl@gsk.com