With the utmost respect, I am writing to thank you for the Vietnam Babylift website.

As the 35th anniversary approaches, I have been contacted by family members regarding the numerous commemorative events that are taking place all over the country and on the Internet.

You asked to be contacted if there are names omitted that should be included in Recognition. I have one very special name to add. My aunt.

Clara F. Bayot, born August 12, 1928, never married, died April 4, 1975 on that fateful day of the C-5a Galaxy crash in the rice fields just outside Saigon.

My aunt was quite a remarkable women in her own right. Growing up in the (then) Territory of Hawaii on the island of Kauai in the small plantation mill camp in Waimea. She was the 3rd eldest of 8 children of Filipino/Chinese heritage, her parents migrating from the Philippines to work for the pineapple and sugar mills in Hawaii. She graduated Waimea high school in 1946 and set out to see the world. She entered into the U.S. Civil Service role and traveled all over the world. She had a soft spot in her heart for children most likely due to never marrying and coming from a large family. We, her family, knew her captivating smile, adventurous spirit and her giving heart. She was a beautiful woman in all ways. We are not surprised that she would not hesitate to stay and help the orphans, help those children escape to safety. We are so not surprised. It is because of her selflessness, her commitment to the children, that we call her our family's hero. All four of her brothers are WW2, Korean War or Vietnam veteran heroes, but she is our female wartime hero.

Thank you for your time and for considering Clara Bayot for her immemorial participation in the greatest humanitarian effort of our times.

With much Aloha and respect,
Mrs. Yvette Ku'ulei Naumu Elliott