Operation Babylift Collection
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Original trial posters from lawsuit
DISPLAY: 4x6 b/w printed on foam core
Cargo Compartment
Children from Allambie nursery in cargo of C-5
Original trial posters from lawsuit
DISPLAY: 4x6 b/w printed on foam core
Children in the troop compartment
In the Troop compartment (upstairs behind the wing )To maximize care, two children were placed to a seat and given a juice or milk. There were 73 seats. Adults sat between the seat rows. The seats faced to the rear of the aircraft. -Bud Traynor
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Original trial posters from lawsuit
DISPLAY: 4x6 b/w printed on foam core
San Diego Tribune
"Come to dinner, my dad has something for you. " Brett Davidson
It was an original paper from April 5, 1975."
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Gratitude Vest
Each pin and patch represents a soldier on a MACV(Military Assistance Command- Vietnam) flight to and from his tour of duty. To Vietnam for his tour; home to the United States at the end of his tour. All branches of the service, which served in Vietnam, all ranks are represented. Each pin and patch was generously given by a serviceman.
American Airlines flight attendant Ruth Routten would walk from the front to the back of the aircraft, slowly, hoping the sight of the pins and patches would break the ice for conversation to occur on the long flight. The soldiers dubbed the aircraft the “freedom bird” coming back to the world.
Friends For All Children Archive Collection
PLANE INSULATION from C-5A Galaxy crash
During a memorial service at a rice paddy where the C-5A crashed a gentleman from a nearby hamlet presented us with an irregular part of of the C-5A plane. Personnel at Scott Airbase confirmed that this is an original piece of that planes insulation. - Sr Susan Carol McDonald, SL
Mary Nelle gave this to me last spring when I started this project.
Gift from Friends For All Children
Mimosa, Vespoli, Hawaii, USA
There are boxes and boxes of adoptee files. “Is mine in there?” I asked Mary Nelle.
”Somewhere,” she replied, going to the basement to get a few file folders. She brought them back up and plopped them on the table.
I reached for the stack and opened up the first folder.
”MOMMY!”
It was my mother’s handwriting. Very distinct, very mom. Of course, I know my mother’s handwriting. It was my file. It held the story of me before I was theirs. The handwritten note was the application letter from my mom to be considered to adopt a child. It had the home studies, background checks, legal paperwork, checklist for paperwork, medical notes, correspondence, pictures, and follow-up letters…a receipt. This was all me.
Microfiche at Koloa Library
1987, middle school reports on Operation Babylift. Microfiche was my primary research source. These are the files that started a lifelong collection my my past.
Star Presidian, San Francisco 1975
Harmon Hall was transformed into a makeshift hospital receiving children as they were flown in from Vietnam and were awaiting the arrival of their adoptive families.
DISPLAY: 2x4 print on paper
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Saigon cemetery and Friends For All Children plot
Despite extraordinary efforts to provide extraordinary medical care, disease and malnutrition claimed some of their precious lives. FFAC purchased a cemetery plot in which beloved babies were respectfully buried.
CONVOY LISTS from Presidio to SFO
Convoy lists for departures from the Presidio to SFO to take children to final destinations
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DISPLAY: Original Papers in binder
The Babies in the Paper Boxes
Mildred K Peterson purchased this original print from her neighbor Bill Kurtis, war correspondent.
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Axel Koch Family Collection, CO
DISPLAY: Framed Print
VIETNAM MAGAZINE
DISPLAY : Original Magazine
Hmong Story Cloth
Hmong women from the mountainous area of Laos use a distinctive reverse cross-stitch embroidery to tell the stories of their lives, including their escape from the communist Pathet Lao across the Mekong River. The Hmong were strong allies of the U.S. during the Vietnam War.
I am pretty sure we purchased the work just after the end of the war. All the information was coming out about what the US had really been doing in Cambodia as well as Vietnam. Caroline and I are old enough that we were in initially in college as the war was cooking up and there was a lot of activism going on against the war here in Colorado. There was a group in the US who had connected with refugees here and artisans, I think, in Cambodia. The group was raising money for the affected tribes by selling these pieces.
Gift from Tom and Caroline Hoyt, purchased in 1978
"Bunny Plane" Convoy
Bunny Plane Convoy Print (Getty), Original "Bunny Plane" Manifest
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DISPLAY: 2x4 print on paper
Selected Books
Selection of Operation Babylift Books
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DISPLAY: Private Collection: Devaki Murch
Bullet Vase
From mortar shells clever and creative Vietnamese artisans create a vase.
Friends For All Children Archive Collection
Poster Boards
Friends For All Children poster boards with documents, notes and letters.
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DISPLAY 4' x 6' poster
Record Book
Record book of adoptees for Friends for All Children
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DISPLAY: Book on stand
MYSTERY BOX
It's a surprise!
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DISPLAY: TBD
Original Lists
Nursery Roll Call lists post crash, Destination lists of children, Bus lists from Presidio, Operational and Admin lists from FFAC
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DISPLAY: Folder, Papers on clipboard
Slideshow: Mary Nelle Gage
Presentation following Fireside Reception by Sister Mary Nelle Gage
USAID Passenger Manifest
As I was connecting with people. I contacted Linda Boris, who wrote “Every Sparrow that Falls.” She emailed me a pdf of the survivors of the plane crash.
It was the first time I had ever seen my name in print. It actualized me BEING in that place and that time. Proof. Me. On that list. Right there. My orphanage name is Mimosa, second to the last on the list..
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FILE: USAID list to Friends for All Children, 1975
Rosemary Taylor
Collection or Original notes, corrspondence and papers from Friends for All Children staff, adoptees and families
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DISPLAY: Multiple formats
Devaki Murch, personal records
Personal Adoption file of Devaki Murch, adoptee, C-5 Survivor
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Murch Family Collection
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DISPLAY: Papers in Folder
Conflict in Vietnam
"Conflict in Vietnam" on Atari was a classic war strategy game where players took on the role of a military commander during the Vietnam War, navigating key battles across the conflict, managing troops, utilizing different weapons and vehicles, all while facing the challenges of the dense jungle terrain; it was considered one of the first detailed war simulations on the platform, focusing on tactical decision-making in a historically accurate setting
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DISPLAY: Pamphlet
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