Extraordinary Photos From History Explained

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Begin the Babylift

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During the Vietnam war, American troops were also charged with protecting innocent civilians from becoming casualties in the conflict between the US and the communist Viet Cong. Sometimes, scenes like the one pictured above, were the norm — with soldiers rescuing babies in the midst of combat. When the Vietnam war was declared over, the US government announced Operation Babylift, an unusual plan to get 2000 displaced Vietnamese children out of the country by then-President Ford. The first plane to leave as part of the mission took off on April 4, 1975 — and crash landed in a rice paddy not long after take-off. Out of the more than 300 people on board, the death toll included 78 children who were too small to even walk onto the planes themselves, and about 50 adults, including Air Force Personnel. 170 survived, however the ones who were placed in the cargo hold because of the lack of space had no chance to live at all. Eventually, Operation Babylift babies found their way to foster homes on Clark Airbase, and then made their way to the US.