At 60, Vietnam's war orphans in US still search for their mothers

In 1975, 150 children survived a military aircraft crash near Vietnam during Operation Babylift, a campaign that evacuated over 3,300 presumed orphans to the United States. Most of these war orphans left their homeland before they could decide for themselves. Many still long to know their origins and the identities of their birth mothers.

Recently, Murch, now 60, returned to Vietnam for the first time to search for her mother. Unlike others, she found it easy to connect with Vietnamese adoptees as she shared their similar appearance. She visited the crash site and a local shelter, where she saw children with familiar eyes. Murch returned to the U.S., grappling with questions about her identity.

She was born in Vietnam in June 1974 and separated from her mother in January 1975 when she was placed in an orphanage. At a gathering in Boulder, Colorado, in March 2024, Murch received a piece of C-5A insulation material from the crashed aircraft. This piece came from Sister Mary Nelle, who had helped organize the evacuation of the orphans.

Nelle gave Murch a file with documents that might help her uncover her identity. In the file, she found a birth certificate confirming her name as Nguyen Thi My Phuong, born on June 24, 1974, in Vinh Long. The file included details about her time at the To Am orphanage, her adoptive mother's letter, photos from school, and health records.

Murch's search revealed that another girl with the same adoption file, Tran Ngoc An, was also separated from her biological family. Murch is now working to help other adoptees find their families, accepting responsibility for the 33 boxes of documents left by Sister Mary Nelle.