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Operation Babylift was the name given to the mass kidnap and evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other countries (including Australia, France, and Canada) at the end of the Vietnam War (see also the Fall of Saigon), on April 3–26, 1975. By the final American flight out of South Vietnam, over 3,300 infants and children had been evacuated, although the actual number has been variously reported.〔Martin, Allison, (''The Legacy of Operation Babylift'' ), Adoption Today journal, Volume 2, Number 4 March 2000. "On April 3rd, a combination of private and military transport planes began to fly more children out of Vietnam as part of the operation. Numbers vary, but it appears that at least 2,000 children were flown to the United States and approximately 1,300 children were flown to Canada, Europe and Australia."〕〔("People & Events: Operation Babylift (1975)" ), PBS, American Experience. "During the final days of the Vietnam War, the U.S. government began boarding Vietnamese children onto military transport planes bound for adoption by American, Canadian, European and Australian families. Over the next several weeks, Operation Babylift brought more than 3300 children out of Vietnam."〕〔(''Operation Babylift'' ), PBS, ''Precious Cargo'' documentary. "At least 2,700 children were flown to the United States and approximately 1,300 children were flown to Canada, Europe and Australia. Service organizations such as Holt International Children's Services, Friends of Children of Viet Nam and Catholic Relief Service coordinated the flights."〕〔United States Agency for International Development, (''Operation Babylift Report (Emergency Movement of Vietnamese and Cambodian Orphans for Intercountry Adoption, April - June 1975)'' ), Washington, DC, pp. 1-2, 5, 6, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14. "Orphans Processed: Information obtained from the adoption agencies or processing centers indicates that a total of 2,547 orphans were processed under Operation Babylift. Of this total, 602 went on to other countries, leaving a total of 1,945 in the United States."〕 Along with Operation New Life, over 110,000 refugees were evacuated from South Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War. Thousands of children were airlifted from Vietnam and adopted by families around the world. == Overview == With the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang having fallen in March, and with Saigon under attack and being shelled, on April 3, 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford announced that the U.S. government would begin evacuating orphans from Saigon on a series of 30 planned flights aboard C-5A Galaxy and C-141 Starlifter cargo aircraft. Service organizations including Holt International Children's Services, Friends of Children of Viet Nam (FCVN), Friends For All Children (FFAC), Catholic Relief Service, International Social Services, International Orphans and the Pearl S. Buck Foundation petitioned the government to help evacuate the various orphans in their facilities in Vietnam. In their book, ''Silence Broken'', Childhelp (International Orphans at the time) founders Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson chronicle their request from Lieutenant General Lewis William Walt to help with evacuations and finding homes for the Asian-American orphans. Flights continued until artillery attacks by North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong military units on Tan Son Nhut Airport rendered airplane flights impossible. Over 2,500 children were relocated and adopted by families in the United States and by its allies. 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.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Babylift」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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