Listen to On-Demand to Connections: Operation Babylift (4/24/15)

 To acknowledge a major anniversary related to America’s involvement in the war in Vietnam, Connections discusses Operation Babylift. Listen to the full program audio on-demand.

In 1975, 2700 Vietnamese babies and children were evacuated to the US mainland in Operation Babylift. Another 1300 went to Canada, Australia and Europe.

Forty years later we speak with some of those adoptees about their lives, and with adoptive parents and veterans who were involved in this major turning point.

Our guests:

• Greg Hodges, airlift adoptee who grew up in Cohocton, New York
• Tia Keevil, airlift adoptee who is now a nurse in New York City
• Lana Noone, adoptive parent who’s first adoptive daughter, Heather, passed away not long after arriving in the U.S.; her other daughter, Jennie, was the last baby placed through the Operation Babylift.
• Sister Mary Nell Gage, was in Vietnam between 1973-75 and was stationed at the Presidio during Operation Babylift
• Bill Terrell, a Vietnam veteran who helped rebuild an orphanage destroyed during the war when he was on active service 

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Watch as a group of determined World War II veterans make a cross-country trek to Washington, sharing stories of struggle, determination, and friendship along the way.

World War II was a revolutionary period in time that took the lives of over 400,000 individuals, and called for sacrifice from countless others. In 2004, the United States commemorated the honor of these individuals with the construction of a monument for those who fought and died for their country. 

A Gathering of Heroes follows the journey of World War II veterans who make the trek from Indiana to Washington to honor the friends that they lost to war. Despite barriers of age, distance, and transportation, these veterans make their way along a 12 hour bus ride to the memorial. Watch as they share inspirational stories and memories from the front lines.

Watch the Full Episode:

This program is a part of the VETERANS CONNECTION, an initiative  to draw awareness to the issues faced by of veterans.

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Our Time: PTSD and Mental Illness – After War and Right of Mind explores PTSD and mental illness through the eyes of those often overlooked: the kids and family members nearby.

Watch the Full Episode:

This program is a part of the VETERANS CONNECTION, an initiative  to draw awareness to the issues faced by of veterans.

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Visit the Desert Training Center in the Mojave desert, where one million soldiers prepared to enter WWII. Major General George S. Patton, Jr. said in 1942, “We cannot train troops to fight in the desert of North Africa by training in the swamps of Georgia.” In the space between war and a new battle, NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT unfolds. Hastings reaches out to five men, a new generation returning from war. He brings them to the river and shares his secret: there are places where you can still be consumed by a simple act, find joy in a fight, and be redeemed as you gently release another creature, unharmed, into quiet waters.

Watch the Full Episode:

This program is a part of the VETERANS CONNECTION, an initiative  to draw awareness to the issues faced by of veterans.

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Visit the Desert Training Center in the Mojave desert, where one million soldiers prepared to enter WWII. Major General George S. Patton, Jr. said in 1942, “We cannot train troops to fight in the desert of North Africa by training in the swamps of Georgia.” 

Watch the Full Episode:

This program is a part of the VETERANS CONNECTION, an initiative  to draw awareness to the issues faced by of veterans.

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Canine Soldiers explores the intimate bond between Military Working Dogs and their handlers-combat soldiers who make life-and-death decisions based on the instincts and behavior of the dogs who lead their patrols.

In wars where the rules of engagement have shifted from traditional combat to the unforeseen and the invisible, these highly trained dogs are saving soldiers’ lives and giving them comfort, hope and protection.

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