Figure 1.--One of the many tragic aspects of the Vietnam War was the fate of the children of American servicemen and their Vietnamese consorts left behind after the American withdrawl from Vietnam. Some of these children are seen here in a Saigon orphange. They were generally ostracized in Vietnam. Some of the children were eventually repatriated to America.

The War created large number of orphans. There were an estimated 70,000 orphans in Saigo alone. Many were being cared for in Catholic orphanages. Nuns in April 1975, managed to arrange the evacuation of more than 2,000 children by giant cargo planes during the last few days of the War. The effort was called “Operation Babylift.” One of the planes crashed on April 4, 1975, adding yet one more tragedy to the War--killing 144 adults and children, including 76 babies. Many Vietnamese orphans were the children of American Servicemen and Vietnamese women. One of the many tragic aspects of the Vietnam War was the fate of the left behind after the American withdrawl from Vietnam. The unions rarely involved marriage and considered shameful by Vietnamese society. The families involved often did not accept the children, especially if they looked American. Many were abandoned by their mothers because of the shame a mixed race child would bring on the family. These children became street children and many were raised in orphanages.These children were often easy to identify in Vietnamese orphanages. They were generally ostracized in Vietnam even when they grew up. Some of the children were eventually repatriated to America. After the War a program was initiated to repatriate many of the children to Ameica. This was complicated by the lack of birth certificates and other documents. Having been abandoined by their mothers, many did not know who their parents were.

Created: October 30, 2003
Last updated: October 30, 2003