On April 3, 1975, President Gerald Ford authorized Operation BabyLift, a humanitarian effort to rescue orphaned children from Vietnam. Panic seized Saigon as bombs fell within three miles of the city limits. Throngs of frantic people stormed embassies and banks in efforts to secure safety for their families. Amidst this chaos, orphan evacuation efforts began. Hundreds of abandoned children were brought to orphanages and relief organizations to be flown to their adoptive parents. When the North Vietnamese troops overtook Saigon on the last day of April, 1975, over 3,000 orphaned children had been rescued.

This site is dedicated to the children who were part of Operation BabyLift and those who helped them to safety. My sister and I were two of those orphans. Much of what you read here and the pictures you see are taken from my parents records of our adoption. They come from the adoptions agencies Friends of Children of Vietnam and Friends For All Children. I also want to thank LeAnn Thieman, one of the volunteers who was on the plane that took me over the ocean. I recently got to meet her and thank her in person.

News Update:

May 1, 2000 - Welcome to my site. Currently everything is not up and running. However so far I have been able to add most of the content I was planning too. I hope you enjoy it. I also hope that the Operation BabyLift reunion was a huge success this weekend. I only wish I could have attended. Perhaps I'll make it to the one in Colorado this summer. Who knows. As soon I know specific dates for any more reunions I will be sure to post them! Please e-mail me if you have any information.

May 2, 2000 - Reunion Information!!! June 29,30 and July 1 in Estes Park Colorado by Rocky Mountain National Park. Contact Sister Mary Nelle Gage for more info at 303-985-2854.

May 7, 2000 - I am sorry if I have not responded to any of your e-mails. It's been hectic for me due to problems with DSL using Pacbell. So this weekend I had to go to work and update my web site. I hope you like the changes. Also check out the reunion page! I actually wasn't planning on going until I decided I might do a little documentary on this. Is that a good idea? Place your opinions in the Forum!

May 15, 2000 - My DSL is still down but I thought this was important. From what I have been told about the reunion on Colorado there are plenty of rooms now! Simply send in $100 deposit along with the registration. These are mountain lodges, where people bunk together and they can accommodate everyone. There are also motels nearby, and I'll be checking on those soon. No one will be turned away--everyone can come. Check out the Reunion section for more info!