'No one suffers more than the children:' Legacy of Operation Babylift 50 years later

Devaki Murch
Apr 30
4 min read

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation of Vietnamese orphans to the U.S., Australia, France, West Germany, Canada and other Western countries as South Vietnam teetered on the brink of collapse.

While the exact number of orphans flown abroad is debated, most accounts say around 3,300 children were evacuated.

"The evacuation of orphans and refugees was a unique episode in the annals of USAF history. As no precedent for this type of operation had been previously established, numerous and novel problem areas were encountered from the embryonic stage through conclusion," United States Air Force Maj. Gen. Leroy J. Manor wrote in the wake of the operation.

The tragedy of the first flight

In April 1975, as South Vietnam faced defeat at the hands of a massive North Vietnamese offensive, President Gerald Ford launched Operation Babylift to evacuate thousands of Vietnamese orphans from Saigon.

The mission started on April 4, 1975, and ultimately saved more than 3,000 orphans. But tragedy struck on the first U.S. bound flight.

Aboard the C-5A Galaxy transport plane were 250 Vietnamese orphans, volunteers, nurses, and 36 women who worked for the Defense Attaché Office (DAO). Just 12 minutes after takeoff, the rear cargo door locks failed, causing severe damage to the tail controls. Despite pilots attempts to make an emergency landing at Tan Son Nhut airbase, the plane crashed in a marsh two miles from the runway.

The crash claimed 138 lives, including 78 children. Survivors were rushed to hospitals, and a morgue was established at the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital to handle the overwhelming loss.

APRIL 4, 1975 / SAIGON / Getty Images: Bettman

A grieving survivor watches as a baby war orphan is carried to a hospital following the April 4 crash of a U.S. C-5A cargo plane near Saigon

**APRIL 4, 1975 / SAIGON / Getty Images: CBS Photo Archive**

CBS reporter Murray Fromson covered the tragic crash of the first Operation Babylift flight.

**APRIL 11, 2015 / SAIGON / Getty Images: HOANG DINH NAM**

Forty years later, survivors returned to the crash site, seeking answers about their lost families and homeland.

This photograph taken on April 11, 2015 shows a framed picture placed in memory of perished babies inside a memorial altar set up near the crash site.

The president issued the following statement the day of the crash:

"I am deeply saddened at the loss of so many lives in the crash of the United States (C-5A) mercy (f)light today near Saigon. I wish to convey my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims, many of whom were coming to new homes in the United States, and to the volunteers who were caring for them on the flight. Our mission of mercy will continue. The survivors will be flown here when they are physically able. Other waiting orphans will make the journey. This tragedy must not deter us from offering new hope for the living. The government and people of the United States offer this hope in our rededication to assisting the Vietnamese orphans as best and as quickly as we can."

Public reaction

Operation Babylift touched the hearts of people around the world as the events played out on their televisions, according to a Military Airlift Command Office of History paper written in 1989 by Coy F. Cross II.

"Babylift provided a rare opportunity for Americans to feel good about some part of the Vietnam War. Some of the good feeIing evaporated when the airlift did not flow smoothly," Cross wrote. "Despite (Military Air Command's) best efforts things beyond the command's control - a plane crash, civilian adoption agencies, non-contract airlines-interrupted the air flow. Yet, even with these hurdles, the operation succeeded."