Operation Babylift: 50 years later
This year, 2025, marks 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War. Now a half-century later, the uncommon stories and experiences of civilians, veterans and refugees from beyond the battlefront are surfacing. These memories of the Vietnam War might seem fleeting as these storytellers begin to disappear; however, the curiosity and determination of Regis University’s Center for the Study of War Experience (CSWE) refuses to let them fade.
Stories from Wartime, an annual speaker series by Regis’ CSWE, is a unique undergraduate course that invites both students and the public to learn about the human experience of modern war. This year, Stories from Wartime is focused on the many perspectives experienced during the Vietnam War.
In partnership with the CSWE, organizer Devaki Murch and the Regis University Library Archives staff, “Operation Babylift: New Perspectives” is an exhibition of documents, photos and memorabilia from the inception and legacy of Operation Babylift, an undertaking that came about at the end of the Vietnam War.
In April of 1975, thousands of children were evacuated and airlifted from a war-torn Vietnam in a move to protect and rehome those orphans. Operation Babylift, as it became officially known, was one of the many overlapping aid operations to help Vietnamese orphans and refugees make their way to the United States and worldwide.
On Feb. 6, people gathered in the Fireside Lounge of the Regis Library to celebrate the opening of “Operation Babylift: New Perspectives,” followed by a Stories from Wartime speaker event centered on the volunteers that preceded and assisted with Operation Babylift.
Sr. Mary Nelle Gage, a graduate of Loretto Heights College (LHC) and a speaker at the Stories from Wartime recounted her calling to volunteer in Vietnam and the work that she oversaw with the multitudes of the orphaned and abandoned children of the war. As a novice, Nelle decided to search for the chance to make a positive change.
As a young Sister of Loretto, Nelle arrived in Vietnam in 1973 following a call to action from her fellow sisters. As a volunteer, Nelle tended to children, rallied for donation efforts and facilitated overseas adoptions.
“I had the opportunity to escort children, resulting in the finest payoff one could imagine,” Nelle Gage said. “Having made the journey to orphanages to fetch children barely surviving, who could count on no one and then seeing a child so wanted, so eagerly received: a blessing beyond words.”
Stories from Wartime will continue to explore the realities of Operation Babylift and the continuing stories of Vietnamese adoptees on the following Stories from Wartime speaker events on Feb. 20 and 27. Learn more about the experiences of Vietnamese adoptees and the media narratives surrounding Operation Babylift. Learn more and register for these upcoming events.
Additionally, “Operation Babylift: New Perspectives” will be on display at the Dayton Memorial Library through the end of February. This exhibit is free and open to the public during the operating hours of the Dayton Memorial Library.