Operation Babylift: The incredible story of the inspiring Australian women who rescued hundreds of orphans at the end of the Vietnam War

by Ian W. Shaw

In late March 1975, as the Vietnam War raged, an Australian voluntary aid worker named Rosemary Taylor approached the Australian Embassy seeking assistance to fly 600 orphans out of Saigon to safety.

Rosemary and Margaret Moses, two former nuns from Adelaide, had spent eight years in Vietnam during the war, building up a complex of nurseries to house war orphans and street waifs as the organisation that built up around them facilitated international adoptions for the children. As the North Vietnamese forces closed in on their nurseries, they needed a plan to evacuate the children, or all their work might count for little ...

Based on extensive archival and historical research, and interviews of some of those directly involved in the events described, Operation Babylift details the last month of the Vietnam War from the perspective of the most vulnerable victims of that war: the orphans it created. Through the story of the attempt to save 600 children, we see how a small group of determined women refused to play political games as they tried to remake the lives of a forgotten generation, one child at a time.

Genres: War, Nonfiction

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 28, 2019

Reviews

[Amanda - Mrs B's Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
Operation Babylift, written by Ian W. Shaw, is a 2019 Hachette Australia publication. In his latest historical non fiction title, Ian W. Shaw outlines the dramatic account of an astounding moment in our history books. He draws our attention to the careful operation of hundreds of orphans from Vietnam, who were rescued and taken to safety – thanks to the determination of two Australian women. This incredible turn of events is both educative and incredibly touching, revealing a hidden chapter of the Vietnam War.

Towards the close of the Vietnam War, two Australian women and voluntary aid workers decided to take a very brave move. In the dying days of the Vietnam War, these two former nuns approached the Australian Embassy, in the hope that they could help rescue hundreds of orphans stuck in Vietnam. By airlifting these young children out of the war torn country of Vietnam, the women hoped to provide these children with the safety of a new home in the Western world. It was an ambitious and dangerous operation, but the two women remained strong in their resolve to see this rescue mission take flight. It broke their hearts to see so many babies and young children abandoned during a time of fierce conflict. The rescue mission and the need to evacuate these children to safety became more paramount as the armed forces of North Vietnam launched attacks on Saigon. With assaults coming in from all fronts, in the form of bombings, violence and tough restrictions, the mission to save these young lives was of great importance. A plan was put in place and enacted, but it came at a great cost. What cannot be denied is bravery and commitment demonstrated by those who participated in the process of ‘Operation Babylift’.

Ian W. Shaw, the voice of this incredible act of bravery, is definitely the right person to convey this true tale of events. Shaw has penned six books in the non fiction, military and historical categories. The author has also previously been nominated for a Victoria Premier’s Literary Award. Shaw has utilised the wealth of experience he has in non fiction writing and produced a book that goes a long way in bringing to life events of the past.

Operation Babylift is divided into two clear parts. Part one is labelled as ‘Waifs of War’ and contains seven accompanying chapters, along with a Prologue. Shaw also includes a map of the Republic of Vietnam preceding his book. Part two is named ‘Operation Babylift’ and is defined by nine chapters. In addition, Shaw has included an Epilogue, Acknowledgements, Endnotes, Bibliography and an Index. This is a full, comprehensive and factual non fiction article. Shaw’s approach is methodical, clear and educative. At the same time, his depicts the human emotion, drama and heartbreak that being a part of this mission would entail.

Ian W. Shaw situates his audience very well in the conditions of Vietnam in the year 1975. Although the war was in its final stages, it did not mean that the danger was lessened to any extent. In fact, the need to evacuate and maintain the safety of so many orphans in this country became an overwhelming need. The petitioning by two Australian women involved in getting this operation off the ground made me proud to be an Australian. This was a massive feat on behalf of these women and I actually felt quite disappointed that I was not aware of this incredible act of heroism until now.

Operation Babylift was not a complete success and it was marred by heartbreak. Ian W. Shaw carefully outlines the pitfalls of this mission and the dreadful mistakes that were made. However, the desire to save so many young children’s lives remained as the principal objective. I am sure readers will shed a tear, when they come across a sad and regrettable chapter in this rescue mission. The coverage in this section of Operation Babylift was excellent, balancing sensitivity with valid information.

I have recently developed a strong desire to learn more about the Vietnam War experience, it tends to be a somewhat neglected chapter in our history books. It was refreshing to see a true tale of this nature emerge, highlighting the influence of Australian women in getting this life changing mission off the ground. It did change the course of many lives, hopefully for the better. Thank you to the dedication shown by the author, Ian W. Shaw, in bringing Operation Babylift to our attention.

*Thanks is extended to Hachette Australia for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.

*Book #7 of the 2019 Aussie male author challenge.

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Operation Babylift was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other western countries (including Australia, France, West Germany, and Canada) at the end of the Vietnam War, on April 3–26, 1975. Along with Operation New Life, thousands of children were airlifted from Vietnam and adopted by families around the world.With the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang having fallen in March, and with Saigon under attack and being shelled, orphans would be airlifted out of Saigon on a series of 30 planned flights aboard Military Airlift Command (MAC) C-5A Galaxy and C-141 Starlifter cargo aircraft.Adoption agencies as well as service organisations including Friends of Children of Viet Nam (FCVN), Friends For All Children (FFAC) etc, petitioned the government to help evacuate the various orphans in their facilities in Vietnam.The operation was controversial because there was question about whether the evacuation was in the children's best interest, and because not all the children were orphans.When American businessman Robert Macauley learned that it would take more than a week to evacuate the surviving orphans due to the lack of military transport planes, he chartered a Boeing 747 from World Airways and arranged for 300 orphaned children to leave the country, paying for the trip by mortgaging his house.Sadly,on April 4,1975,a USAF C-5 Galaxy making the first flight of Operation Babylift left Tan Son Nhut airbase with 328 people on board,but crashed in a rice paddy soon after take-off,crippled by explosive decompression and structural failure when the tail ramp flew off.There were only 175 survivors.Of the 153 killed,76 were children.
Australian women secretary Elaine Moir(1937-2012), Voluntary aid workers Rosemary Taylor(1938-2019), and Margaret Moses(1940-1975), gave their all in ensuring the future welfare and safety of the Vietnamese children in their care,as did many others such as Gyoparka(Lee) Maak, Doreen Beckett, Ilse Ewald,Wende Grant,Naomi Bronstein,Dorothy Stark,Regina Aune,Susan McDonald,Rena Huxley(Briand), and Rosa Tintore to name a few.

[Jane Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book provides many interesting facts and a detailed account of Operation Babylift for those interested in or affected by these historical events. However it reads as biased in nature whereby it glorifies adoption and demonises the Australian government did putting safeguards in place to ensure that inter country adoptions are ethical. I would have preferred to read a more balanced account of the complexities involved.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew absolutely nothing about the events in this before reading it (and in fact, the same could be said for my knowledge about the Vietnam War as a whole). At times this felt like a bit of an info dump, though I suppose that's to be expected when I'm lacking the background knowledge. What came across loud and clear, however, was how horrible of a time this was for every single person involved.

[Annie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. So much was unknown to me. Glad read in the 50th Year to end of Vietnam. A lot of Heros in this book. People that should be called Legends - not sports stars. Real people working unselfishly. Thankyou to Ian Shaw for writing this book. May more people read it.

[Claire Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew nothing about this story when I picked this book up. It was much more traumatic in the middle of the book than I was expecting and I was wholly unprepared for that. It was also interesting reading this in the aftermath of the recent exit from Afghanistan and a reminder that we never learn!

[Regina C. Aune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Triumph and tragedy

This is a well-researched and well-written book regarding Operation BABYLIFT regarding the Australian participation in the Vietnam saga. It certainly highlighted the women, particularly Rosemary Taylor, who were critical in caring for the many orphans and children in Vietnam and who worked so desperately to ensure their safety and well-being. Although I was aware of the role of Australia in Vietnam and Operation BABYLIFT, I did not have a clear understanding of how that all played out on the international stage and within Australia before reading this book. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain a more complete understanding of the human pathos of the last days of Vietnam. There are several factual errors in the chapter covering the American aspect of Operation BABYLIFT but they do not detract substantially from the story of what occurred. (I can speak to these errors because I was the Medical Crew Director on the AMERICAN C-5A Operation BABYLIFT mission and lived through this whole experience.)

[Keira Mckenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has traveled Vietnam in 2019 I fell in love with the culture, history, customs, sights and the people.

This heartbreaking history of war torn Vietnam and the heroics was one I had not heard in depth about prior. I learnt about the Vietnamese War but about some of my own Australian history as well.

Of course I would love to read and hear now from other perspectives.