50 years later, Air Force pilot recalls Operation Babylift flight that killed 138

Video Operation Babylift: The 50-Year Journey – A Special Edition of 20/20

20/20 documents personal stories of children airlifted out of Vietnam in a high-stakes mission, their adoption journeys and their reunion 50 years later with those who made the operation a success.

50 years later, Air Force pilot recalls Operation Babylift flight that killed 138

SAIGON, Vietnam — As the Vietnam War continued into the 1970s, pressure to get U.S. troops out of the fray was mounting. By 1973, troops finally began withdrawing from one of the most unpopular conflicts in American history. But what remained in Vietnam was a population of the most vulnerable, innocent bystanders: babies and young children. Refusing to comply with the guidelines of the Paris Peace Accords, the North Vietnamese Army continued its…