Vietnamese Babylift orphan pays it forward

In the chaos, thousands of south Vietnamese orphan kids wonder if they will survive. Jeff Gahr is one of those orphans.

His birth name is Than Winn. He was 12 in 1975. His father was a soldier in the South Vietnamese army. He died in combat when Jeff was three.

His mother was a business woman. One year after his father's death, the Viet Cong destroyed a bridge Jeff's mother traveled on a routine basis. The night after that bombing, his mother died after her truck drove off the end of the destroyed bridge. She had no warning and didn't realize the bridge had been destroyed the night before. Jeff was four.

For the next several years, Jeff and his two brothers lived in orphanages outside of Saigon. He remembers U.S. soldiers visiting the kids, bringing them gifts and telling them stories of America.

"It's always a hope and dream of a Vietnamese orphan to be able to go to America to see what's there, but I didn't think it could happen," says Gahr shaking his head, remembering that dream as a kid.

Desperate To Escape

Jeff and his brothers knew the war was coming to an end. It was inevitable the North Vietnamese army would overtake Saigon. There were rumors the approaching Viet Cong would kill everyone, especially orphans.

At this time, an American family, Tom and Sheri Clark, had taken Jeff and his two brothers out of the orphanage and brought them to their own home in Saigon. The couple were part of Friends of Children in Vietnam, a relief organization with a goal of finding homes for south Vietnamese orphans.

Ross Meador, co-director of Friends of Children of Vietnam, was desperate to find a plane that could evacuate orphans out of the country.

"We weren't able to find a plane that would take our kids out until we met Ed Daly," says Meador.

Ed Daly was the tough-talking, pistol-packing president and owner of World Airways. The airline was a key military contractor shuttling U.S. troops and cargo in and out of Vietnam. Daly was hands on, personally riding shot gun -- literally -- on his own flights.

What kind of guy was Ed Daly? Just days earlier, Daly fought off south Vietnamese soldiers desperate to flee the country. They climb onboard one of his aircraft. The World Airways Boeing 727 was full of women and children.

As the plane taxied toward the runway, its rear gangway, a stairway underneath the plane's tail was still deployed.

Daly stood on the final step end, with a pistol in one hand, punching soldiers with his other hand until the plane taxied faster than the soldiers could run. The gangway was lifted and plane took off with body of a dead south Vietnamese soldier stuck in the wheel well.

Meador approached Daly with his plight. "Ed Daly kind of winked and said, 'I think we can take care of that,' " says Meador with a smile.

'We Are Going To America'

On the night of April 2, 1975, relief workers told the nuns that ran Jeff's former orphanage they had a plane that could fly orphans to America but would leave right away. The nuns hesitated, saying it was too dangerous and they didn't have government authority to release the kids.

So Meador and others contacted families like the Clarks who were housing orphans. The Clarks jumped at the opportunity and told Jeff and his brothers.

"They said, 'Go pack you stuff, we are going to America.' We were just shocked", says Gahr. "We were so excited, we couldn't focus on packing, we just wanted to go."

Jeff and his brothers climbed about a World Airways DC-8 -- a cargo plane with no seats. The flight had just dropped off supplies and was scheduled to fly back to Japan empty. Daly offered it up to save the orphans.

With babies in cardboard boxes, children strapped to the floor with cargo ties, the plane was ready to take off. Jeff's dreams of flying to America were about to become a reality. But the south Vietnamese army had other plans.

As the flight was about to take off, the control tower told the airliner's pilots to stay put. South Vietnamese soldiers boarded the flight. They grabbed Jeff and his 13-year-old brother saying both boys were too old to be the flight and ordered them off the plane.

"They brought my brother to the front of the plane and that's where Ed Daly began arguing with the soldiers. He was yelling that my brother is an orphan and should stay on the plane," says Gahr.

Then Jeff caught a break.

"While they argued, the solider that was watching me stepped away and the relief workers on the plane told me to go hide in the back which I did," says Gahr.

Harrowing Takeoff In The Dark

Unfortunately, Daly lost the argument with the soldiers and Gahr's 13-year-old brother, who was a father figure for Jeff, was taken off the plane. The front door was shut and the plane began to taxi to the runway. Jeff came out of hiding and was strapped down to the floor for take-off.

"I was very sad that my brother was gone, but I had to be strong for my 10-year-old brother," says Gahr.

The tower operated by the South Vietnamese continued to denied clearance for take-off. But that didn't stop Ed Daly. He ordered his pilots to turn off all interior and exterior lights and take off anyway. The plane barreled down the runway in the dark and took off.

"They never did get clearance, but they took off anyway and I'm glad they did," says Gahr.

After a stopover in Japan, Jeff, his 10-year-old brother and 55 other orphans landed safely in Oakland, California. The flight made headlines. The South Vietnamese government filed a formal protest against the United States over the flight.

The next day, President Ford ordered the U.S. Military to begin Operation Babylift, a series of 30 planned flights intended to evacuate orphans to America.

But the first plane out, a massive U.S. Air Force C-5A Galaxy cargo plane, crashed shortly after take-off, killing 150 people onboard. Most of them were orphans. If it weren't for Ed Daly, the Clarke family and Ross Meador, Jeff and his brother would have been on that flight.

"It's a powerful reminder of how fortunate I was to be able to take off," says Gahr. "I couldn't believe how people would go to that extent and help people who have no relationship to them. It's very incredible to me."

A Chance To Pay It Forward

Jeff's older brother eventually made it to America. All three were be adopted by American families and grew up in different parts of the country.

Names were changed. Than Winn became Jeff Gahr. Jeff would grow up in Wisconsin and McMinnville, Oregon and graduate from Oregon State with a degree in engineering.

At 48, Jeff is married with two kids, and has been an engineer at Boeing for 15 years. But it was five years ago that Jeff's famous plane ride would change his life again.

In 2005, World Airways organized a reunion flight inviting many of the original orphans that Daly and his team had airlifted to safety.

"This time we had seats, we didn't have to hang on any straps," says Gahr laughingly.

A DC-11 was painted with the original color scheme to honor the famous flight. They took off from Oakland, where they landed 30 years earlier.

They flew to Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon and visited the orphanage where Jeff lived. It was there that a reporter asked him a pivotal question.

"He asked if there was anything I could do now to help the children," says Gahr. "I couldn't answer him. I thought about for years afterwards and it still bothered me."

Jeff says it was his strong Christian faith that helped provide an answer. He started a new foundation, Compassion in Deeds, to help Vietnamese children with their schooling.

There is no such thing as free public primary and secondary education in Vietnam. It costs roughly $100 per year, per kid to send them to elementary school all the way through high school. With the help of a Vietnamese co-sponsor, Compassion in Deeds is now sponsoring 33 Vietnamese kids who otherwise would be walking the streets or forced to take jobs with minimal pay.

"I can see how I can help other children in the same situation to get a better life, just like I had that chance," says Gahr.

Orphaned at four, rescued by a roughneck airline owner at 12, Jeff Gahr is now paying it forward. He's giving Vietnamese kids he doesn't know a second chance, just like strangers give him.

If you want more information about Compassion in Deeds, email Jeff Gahr at compassionindeeds@gmail.com