Opening Welcome
Stories from Sr. Mary Nelle Gage and other Friends For All Children caregivers, an update on the C-5A memorial project, and a preview of Mike Frailey's film The Adoptees.
Archives in Love and War · StoryScope Studio
Bridging the records of the past and the voices of the present
In April 1975, as Saigon fell, more than 3,300 Vietnamese children were evacuated to adoptive families across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. The administrative heart of the effort was in Boulder. The records that document that evacuation were kept, box by box, for fifty years, by one person. In 2024, she gave them to one of the children.
Those children are now in their late forties and fifties. Many are only now beginning to ask the questions that could not be asked before. The archive exists at exactly that moment. What started as 33 boxes in a basement in Colorado has become something much larger: an interactive bridge between the records of the past and the people they were written about.
The Operation Babylift Collection holds more than 4,800 original documents, photographs, correspondence, and case files from the 1975 Vietnamese child evacuation, processed through Love Ethic Archival Practice (LEAP), a trauma-informed methodology that puts the dignity and agency of survivors first.
If you were adopted through Operation Babylift
Your file may be in this collection. We are actively connecting adoptees with their original records. However you arrive at this question, whatever stage you are at, there is a place for you here.
Submit an Adoptee InquiryApril 9–12, 2026 · Boulder, Colorado
A four-day gathering marking the 51st anniversary of Operation Babylift, bringing together adoptees, veterans, birth families, filmmakers, authors, and Vietnamese diaspora communities for storytelling, film, writing, archival exploration, and honest conversation. All events are free and open to the public.
View Schedule RSVPExhibition · East Window Gallery · Boulder
Curated by Devaki Murch. Exhibit runs April 4–25, 2026.
Opening reception Saturday, April 4, 7–9 PM
4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder, Colorado
Exhibition Details33+
Boxes of Records
4,800+
Individual Records
3,300+
Children Evacuated
51
Years Since Babylift
In the press
Smithsonian Magazine: This Adoptee Discovered a Trove of Documents in a Nun's Basement. The Rare Vietnam War Records May Rewrite the Story of Operation Babylift.
ABC 20/20: Operation Babylift: The 50-Year Journey
Nexstar Media: The Vietnam War: Flight to a New Future
Washington Post: The children of the Vietnam War's 'Operation Babylift' have turned 50. A look at the lives they built.
Why This Work Matters
Most original nursery and adoption records in Vietnam were destroyed in the chaos of evacuation. On April 4, 1975, the C-5A Galaxy crash-landed shortly after takeoff from Saigon, killing 138 people and destroying all records on board. For decades, many Operation Babylift children grew up with little or no documentation of their early lives.
These records are fragile. Many are handwritten. Some are already deteriorating. There is no other archive like this one, and without active stewardship, the origin stories of thousands of people will be lost before the people they belong to ever find them.
The work is not simply archival. It is relational. It means opening boxes that have been closed for fifty years, reading documents with care and context, and ensuring that what is preserved reflects not just the administrative history of an evacuation but the full humanity of the people it touched.
April 9–12, 2026 · Boulder, Colorado
The Gathering
"We are connected by invisible threads, threads of memory, of loss, of survival, and of love. Even when we cannot see them, they are still holding us together."
Noel Nguyen, adoptee
About the Gathering
Fifty years after the fall of Saigon, Boulder is once again at the center of a story that shaped thousands of lives. From offices in Boulder, Friends For All Children processed adoption paperwork, coordinated flights, matched children with families, and managed the stateside logistics of one of the largest humanitarian evacuations in U.S. history.
"These records were created here in Boulder, and now it's time to come back to that," said Devaki Murch. "The lives we have now started here."
Invisible Threads brings together adoptees, caregivers, veterans, and community members to explore their shared past and reflect on what it means to be a refugee in 2026. Events span the CU Visual Arts Complex and the Boulder Main Library. All events are free and open to the public.
Exhibition · Running Throughout
East Window Gallery · 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder
Open April 4–25, 2026. Opening reception Saturday, April 4, 7–9 PM.
Exhibition DetailsInvisible Threads · Boulder, Colorado
April 9–12, 2026 · All events free and open to the public
"We are connected by invisible threads, threads of memory, of loss, of survival, and of love. Even when we cannot see them, they are still holding us together."
Noel Nguyen, adoptee
Full Schedule
Stories from Sr. Mary Nelle Gage and other Friends For All Children caregivers, an update on the C-5A memorial project, and a preview of Mike Frailey's film The Adoptees.
A panel conversation on belonging, identity, and what it means to be a GenX'er raised in the US, with roots in Vietnam.
Learn MoreMoth-style storytelling with Huyen Friedlander, Kim Delevett, Mike Frailey, Derek Powell, and Lani Lang. Hosted by Deanna Byck.
A literary nonfiction workshop using letter-writing as a gateway to authentic voice. Free, limited to 20 participants.
Reserve Your SpotAndrew Lam, Ross Meador, Aryn Lockhart, Leann Thiemann, and Noel Nguyen share their work and the stories behind the stories, followed by an opportunity to speak with authors and purchase books.
BookTalk DetailsThanh Tan presents We Were Soldiers, Too in conversation with Jeremy Hubbard. Pilot screening: Intersections by Tran Van Kirk. Closing: Archives in Love and War, Devaki Murch.
Huyen Friedlander and Jane MyHanh Joy of Con Tím Mẹ gather to discuss first family exploration — an open, intimate conversation for adoptees and families navigating this terrain.
Exhibition · Running Throughout
My Name Is Mimosa, curated by Devaki Murch. East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Open April 4–25, 2026. Opening reception Saturday, April 4, 7–9 PM.
Exhibition DetailsHistory Colorado Oral History Project
Friends For All Children was based in Boulder. We are working with History Colorado to record oral histories from adoptees and caregivers, preserving these firsthand accounts as part of the permanent historical record.
To participate, contact:
Kim Kennedy WhiteSaturday, April 11, 2026 · 2:30 – 4:30 PM
Boulder Main Library · Free and open to the public
Stories Behind the Stories
Five authors share their work, their research, and the personal stories that brought them to write about Operation Babylift. Talks will be followed by an open opportunity to speak with the authors and purchase books.
Stories from the Edge of the Sea
Bay Area Vietnamese American essayist and author of four books. His memoir Perfume Dreams won the PEN Beyond Margins Award; Birds of Paradise Lost won the Josephine Miles Literary Award.
Carried Away: A Memoir of Rescue & Survival Among Orphans of the Viet Nam War
A harrowing true story of resilience, sacrifice, and survival during one of the most tumultuous evacuations in history. At 19, Ross Meador arrived in Vietnam searching for purpose, and was thrust into a race against time as Saigon fell.
Operation Babylift: Mission Accomplished: A Memoir of Hope and Healing
Two survivors of the inaugural Operation Babylift flight share their personal journeys and the bond formed from the events of April 4, 1975.
Leann Thiemann was a volunteer nurse who helped evacuate Vietnamese children during Operation Babylift. Her first-person account of those final days in Saigon has become one of the defining narratives of the evacuation.
Adoptee, writer, and community voice whose words open our gathering: "We are connected by invisible threads, threads of memory, of loss, of survival, and of love."
Saturday, April 11, 2026 · 10 AM – 1 PM
Boulder Main Library · Free · Limited to 20 participants
With Andrew Lam
Literary nonfiction, whether personal essays, memoirs, journalism, or profiles of others, is an art form that demands patience and care. For beginners, the essential first step is discovering one's authentic voice.
This 3-hour workshop invites participants to write a letter in the traditional style. Composing a letter to someone you know, admire, or love is one of the most effective ways to connect with your own voice. Participants will then read a portion of their letter aloud, followed by group discussion to share thoughts and provide constructive feedback to refine the work.
The subject matter is open: childhood experiences, hidden traumas, observations about the world we inhabit, or our deepest fears and longings. While the letter may be deeply personal, it should be crafted with the intention of eventually shaping it into a literary piece — one that could one day reach a wider audience.
Write in your natural, intimate voice, but always keep in mind that the work might someday be read by many.
Sign Up HereAbout Andrew Lam
Andrew Lam is a Vietnamese American author and journalist whose works have been published since 1989. He is among the first generation of Vietnamese Americans to write and publish in mainstream media. Lam and his family arrived in San Francisco in May 1975, weeks after the Vietnam War ended.
His first book, Perfume Dreams, won the PEN Beyond Margins Award. His essay collection East Eats West was nominated for a top nonfiction honor. His short story collection Birds of Paradise Lost won the Josephine Miles Literary Award and was a finalist for the California Book Award. His latest, Stories from the Edge of the Sea, explores love and loss in the Vietnamese American diaspora.
Lam was a regular commentator on NPR's All Things Considered for eight years. PBS documented his return to Vietnam in 2004 in the film My Journey Home.
East Window Gallery · Boulder, Colorado
April 4 – 25, 2026 · Curated by Devaki Murch
"I never had a hospital record or baby book. I had newspaper headlines."
Devaki Murch
Opening Reception
April 4
Saturday · 7 – 9 PM
East Window Gallery
4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2
Boulder, Colorado 80304
About the Exhibition
On April 4, 1975, the first evacuation flight of Operation Babylift crashed shortly after takeoff. 150 children survived. Devaki Murch was one of them.
For decades, her origin story lived in archives she had never seen. Then the archives found her, and she became their keeper. My Name Is Mimosa is her reconstruction: the news articles, flight documents, and connections that turned 50 years of silence into voice.
What started as a personal inquiry became a mission to reconnect an entire community with their beginnings.
About Devaki Murch
Devaki Murch works where archives play hide and seek and stories refuse to stay quiet. She is an artist, curator, researcher, and experience designer. Her work grows from her own history as an Operation Babylift survivor and expands into archive processing, exhibitions, oral histories, and participatory storytelling projects.
She is the Founder and Executive Director of StoryScope Studio and the steward of the Operation Babylift Collection. Read the full story in Smithsonian Magazine.
The Fine Print of Belonging
Alongside the exhibition, The Fine Print of Belonging is a panel conversation on belonging, identity, and what it means to be a GenX'er raised in the US, with roots in Vietnam.
Friday, April 10 · 4:30 – 6:30 PM · CU Visual Arts Complex
Operation Babylift Collection
Articles, archives, library & film
Submit resource suggestions to: devaki@operationbabylift.org
"To our Babylift adoptees: As I look back on that day, most of you were approximately the same age as my children. So I can, in a way, look at all of you as part of a large extended family... I am always happy to give anyone who asks whatever insight I might have regarding this small part of your new beginning."
Bud Traynor, Pilot
Every Sparrow That Falls: The Story of the C-5A Galaxy Operation Babylift Crash
Self published, 2017. Gleaned from survivor and witness statements and direct interviews, this story comes to life through firsthand accounts of the April 4, 1975 crash.
Operation Babylift: Mission Accomplished, A Memoir of Hope and Healing
Pebbles Media, 2019. Two survivors of the inaugural Operation Babylift flight share their personal journeys and the bond formed from the events of April 4, 1975.
Children of Reunion: Vietnamese Adoptions and the Politics of Family Migrations
University of North Carolina Press, 2014. Explores the history of Vietnamese adoption in the United States, focusing on the challenges and politics surrounding family reunification and international adoption.
For Children Cannot Wait
Hodder & Stoughton, 1972. Written by a key organizer of Operation Babylift, detailing her experiences working with Vietnamese war orphans and her humanitarian efforts during the Vietnam War.
The War Cradle: The Untold Story of Operation Babylift
2000. An overview of the ordinary people who were moved into action, despite an unpopular war, to seek out the children of Vietnam and find them new homes in the West.
Fragile Delivery: The Operation Babylift Crash
CreateSpace, 2012. A memoir recounting the experience of a surviving crew member of the C-5A Galaxy crash during Operation Babylift on April 4, 1975.
Operation Babylift: The Lost Children of Vietnam
An award-winning documentary directed and produced by Tammy Nguyen Lee, 2009. Through interviews with adoptees, volunteers, and parents, the film explores identity, cultural integration, and the lasting impact of the humanitarian effort. Visit Against The Grain Productions for more information or to purchase.
The Historians: Operation Babylift
Historian Lisa Temple tells the story of Operation Babylift, the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War. Defense Intelligence Agency.
Operation Babylift: A Celebration of the Human Spirit (April 24, 2022)
To celebrate the 47th anniversary, the Pan Am Museum and Holt International hosted a special event reuniting Vietnamese war orphans with three former Pan Am flight attendants who volunteered for the mission.