'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
CBS reporter Murray Fromson covered the tragic crash of the first Operation Babylift flight.
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."
'No one suffers more than the children'
In his White House Memoirs, President Ford wrote:
"Early in April, I directed that money from a $2 million special foreign aid children's fund be made available to fly two thousand South Vietnamese orphans to the United States as soon as possible. I ordered American officials in Saigon to cut through any red tape that might stand in the way of the children's escape. Then I told our Air Force to begin those mercy flights as soon as possible. Everyone suffers in a war, but no one suffers more than the children, and the airlift was the least that we could do."
Timeline of Operation Babylift
Source: Military Airlift Command (MAC)
1973
27 Jan: Signing of Paris Peace Accords ending war in Vietnam.
1974
9 Aug: Richard M. Nixon resigned. Gerald Ford became president of the United States.
Dec: Communist attacks began in Phouc Long Province.
1975
6 Jan: Communists captured entire Phouc Long Province.
4 Mar: North Vietnamese Army began large offensive in Central Highlands.
8 Mar: An estimated 100,000 refugees began moving from northern regions of South Vietnam toward Hue.
10 Mar: Massive North Vietnamese Army attack on Ban Me Thout.
14 Mar: Communists conquered Ban Me Thout.
South Vietnamese President Thieu decided to withdraw forces from Central Highlands, abandoning outlying provinces to the Communists.
16 Mar: Chaotic retreat of South Vietnamese Army and civilians from Central Highlands. Military units disintegrated and abandoned their equipment.
24 Mar: South Vietnamese Army withdrew from Hue. North Vietnamese Army occupied the city.
28 Mar: Officials closed Da Nang airport as mobs of civilians and military deserters overran the runway and airport facilities.
29 Mar: Despite bans by United States and South Vietnamese government officials, World Airways flew the last evacuation flight from Da Nang.
30 Mar: Da Nang fell to Communists without resistance.
2 Apr: An unauthorized World Airways flight evacuated 58 orphans from Saigon.
3 Apr: President Ford's announcement that Air Force C-5As and other aircraft would fly over 2,000 Vietnamese orphans to the United States initiated Operation BABYLIFT.
4 Apr: A C-5A on the first official BABYLIFT mission crashed shortly after takeoff from Tan Son Nhut airport.
21 Apr: President Thieu resigned.
27 Apr: USAF stopped flying C-141s into Vietnam.
9 May: U.S. State Department officially terminated Operation BABYLIFT.
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