President Gerald R. Ford Carrying a Vietnamese Baby from "Clipper 1742"
4/5/1975
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This photograph shows President Gerald R. Ford at San Francisco International Airport, carrying a Vietnamese baby from "Clipper 1742," one of the Operation Babylift planes that transported approximately 325 South Vietnamese orphans from Saigon to the United States.
In April 1975 – two years after the Paris Peace Agreement and the last American troops left Vietnam – the North Vietnamese captured Saigon, taking control of South Vietnam and marking the end of the Vietnam War. During the chaotic final days before the fall of Saigon, President Gerald Ford ordered the evacuation of Vietnamese orphans, called Operation Babylift, that began on April 3, 1975.
The plan was controversial. There were questions about the administration’s political motives and whether the children would be better off in America, especially when it was discovered that some of the children weren’t truly orphans. There were rumors that the Communists would kill Amerasian children, so some desperate parents chose to send their children away to save them.
Tragically, the first Operation Babylift plane malfunctioned, causing the pilot to have to make a crash landing and killing 78 children and 50 adults. More than 170 survived. In all, more than 3,300 children were evacuated to the United States.
In April 1975 – two years after the Paris Peace Agreement and the last American troops left Vietnam – the North Vietnamese captured Saigon, taking control of South Vietnam and marking the end of the Vietnam War. During the chaotic final days before the fall of Saigon, President Gerald Ford ordered the evacuation of Vietnamese orphans, called Operation Babylift, that began on April 3, 1975.
The plan was controversial. There were questions about the administration’s political motives and whether the children would be better off in America, especially when it was discovered that some of the children weren’t truly orphans. There were rumors that the Communists would kill Amerasian children, so some desperate parents chose to send their children away to save them.
Tragically, the first Operation Babylift plane malfunctioned, causing the pilot to have to make a crash landing and killing 78 children and 50 adults. More than 170 survived. In all, more than 3,300 children were evacuated to the United States.
This primary source comes from the Collection GRF-WHPO: White House Photographic Office Collection (Ford Administration).
National Archives Identifier: 7839930
Full Citation: Photograph A3860-28A; President Gerald R. Ford Carrying a Vietnamese Baby from Clipper 1742; 4/5/1975; Gerald R. Ford White House Photographs, 8/9/1974 - 1/20/1977; Collection GRF-WHPO: White House Photographic Office Collection (Ford Administration); Gerald R. Ford Library, Ann Arbor, MI. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/ford-vietnamese-baby, February 14, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.