served as the medical director of Operation Babylift. He gathered the orphans in Saigon, accompanied them to Clark AB (Air Base) in the Philippines, and continued to care for them on the Boeing 747 across the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles and then Long Beach Naval Support Activity. Plane crash A C-5A Galaxy, serial number 68-0218, flew the initial mission of Operation Babylift departing from Tan Son Nhut Airport shortly after 4 p.m. on April 4, 1975. Twelve minutes after takeoff, there was what seemed to be an explosion as the lower rear fuselage was torn apart. The locks of the rear loading ramp had failed, causing the door to open and separate. A rapid decompression occurred. Control and trim cables to the rudder and elevators were severed, leaving only one aileron and wing spoilers operating. Two of the four hydraulic systems were out. The crew wrestled at the controls, managing to keep control of the plane with changes in power settings by using the one working aileron and wing spoilers. The crew descended to an altitude of 4,000 feet on a heading of 310 degrees in preparation for landing on Tan Son Nhut's runway 25L. About halfway through a turn to final approach, the rate of descent increased rapidly. Seeing they couldn't make the runway, full power was applied to bring the nose up. The C-5 touched down in a rice paddy. Skidding for a quarter of a mile, the aircraft became airborne again for a half mile before hitting a dike and breaking into four parts, some of which caught fire. According to DIA figures, 176 people survived and 138 people were killed in the crash, including 78 children and 35 Defense Attaché Office, Saigon personnel. Legacy The Vietnamese adoptee-run nonprofit, Operation Reunite, is using DNA testing to match adoptees with their Vietnamese families. A memorial was unveiled in Holmdel, New Jersey, US in April 2015. See also Friends For All Children Childhelp Operation Peter Pan References Further reading Anderson, Wanni Wibulswasdi; Lee, Robert G., Displacements and Diasporas: Asians in the Americas, Rutgers University Press, 2005. Bass, Thomas A., Vietnamerica: The War Comes Home, Soho Press, Incorporated, 1997. Emerson, Gloria, Winners and Losers: Battles, Retreats, Gains, Losses, and Ruins from a Long War, Random House, 1976. Gronewold, Sue, Operation Babylift Through Film: Suggestions for Classroom Use of "Precious Cargo" and "Daughter from Danang" - Expanding East Asian Studies