#remembering vietnam

In the South China Sea, crewmen of the amphibious cargo ship USS Durham take Vietnamese refugees aboard a small craft, 4/3/1975. NARA ID 558518.

OTD 1975: Operation “Baby Lift” ends

More than 3,300 Vietnamese orphans rescued

Vietnamese Refugee Children on an Operation Babylift Flight Arriving at San Francisco International Airport, 4/5/1975. Ford Library, NARA ID 12007111.

In April 1975, the North Vietnamese captured Saigon, taking control of South Vietnam and marking the end of the Vietnam War. In the chaotic final days before the fall of Saigon, President Gerald Ford ordered the evacuation of Vietnamese orphans.

The mission, officially named Operation Babylift, began April 3, 1975 and ended #OTD 1975, only 16 days before the fall of Saigon and the end of the war. In all, more than 3,300 children were evacuated to the United States.

President Gerald R. Ford greets and holds Vietnamese refugee babies at San Francisco International Airport Following the Arrival of an Operation Babylift Plane from South Vietnam" 4/5/1975. NARA IDs 7839930and23869153.

Shoes from a Child Transported During Operation Babylift, 1975. Ford Library.

See the National Archives’ Remembering Vietnam online exhibit. Special exhibit tour with curator Alice Kamps below: