Carried Away
About
A harrowing true story of resilience, sacrifice, and survival during one of the most tumultuous evacuations in history.
1975—Saigon is on the brink of collapse. Amid the chaos, a young American is thrust into a race against time. A year earlier, 19-year-old Ross Meador arrived in Vietnam searching for purpose—determined to do good in a world consumed by war. But as the city crumbles around him, his mission becomes clear: help evacuate as many orphaned children as possible before it’s too late. As the Vietnam War nears its devastating end, Ross becomes a key figure in Operation Babylift, a last-ditch effort to rescue thousands of children before Saigon falls. Faced with impossible choices, and the growing urgency of an unwinnable war, he must risk everything to bring these children to safety.
Now, 50 years after Operation Babylift, Carried Away revisits this extraordinary moment in history—a daring rescue mission that saved lives, changed destinies, and remains one of the greatest humanitarian efforts of the Vietnam War.
Praise for this book
This book skillfully drew me into the background for the story of how Ross went to Viet Nam. His adventure-seeking outlook and parents' trust were an unusual combination when he was nineteen and the US was in upheaval. And then I became astonished by how much important work he managed to achieve in his time there. The vignettes of various people and situations became part of the larger story of caring for orphans, facilitating their adoptions, and removing them safely from the country when it became necessary under war conditions. Ross's courage, commitment, and overall competence were astounding, especially for someone who grew up in comfort and without major responsibilities.
I was gripped by many vivid descriptions, including the time when another, smaller orphanage delivered all of their kids to his orphanage, unbidden, thinking that he would have a better chance of getting them out of the country. "There were now babies everywhere—babies in boxes on the counters, babies under the sink, babies on top of the refrigerator. They were in the closets, in the shower, there were twenty on a bed. There were babies lining the hall, and in the large rooms with tile floors. Many laid on woven mats on top of sheets, side by side all over the room. The sound was a force. Our staff was herculean in feeding and changing diapers for the crowd." Photos of infants in all kinds of make-shift cardboard box bassinets enhanced this description.
His occasional humorous passages in the midst of all the exhaustion and tension added to the overall impact of the book for me. I especially liked reading about the time when Ross and Cherie were getting some of the children ready for the first evacuation flight, when they needed to prepare lists with their names and birthdays, even of children who still were being dropped off at the door and were unknown. So they gave them impromptu biblical names like Moses and Ezekiel or names of athletes. And when the embassy was under attack on the last day and he was ducking gunfire by staying under a table in the embassy restaurant, he were joined by two priests. Ross brought out a gift bottle of cognac from his backpack and the three of them sipped under the table. He has the ability to set a scene with very few words!
Now it's April 2025, exactly fifty years after he managed the children's evacuations and experienced his own terrifying wait and flight from the roof of the embassy. Fifty-year anniversaries are often times for celebration, but they can also be occasions for sadness. I can imagine feeling a big mix of emotions on this fiftieth anniversary of the final days at the orphanage and the last long day with the crowds at the embassy. The author should be very proud of having saved lives and having acted with exceptional courage and kindness during his time in Viet Nam. Thank you for this fascinating book about real people and real behind-the-scenes events in a pivotal period in history. Your book is just as valuable for its insights into your life as a teenager, then as a young man, and now decades later.