World Airways - "Operation Homeward Bound"

My life, I find, is a jigsaw puzzle of many different pieces. Some of those pieces fit nicely in its place; other pieces take some adjusting and turning before fitting in. On one occasion, I found that this particualr piece in my life fell in place like a glove. I didn't have to do any tweaking, use any leverage, or refer to a picture...this piece was meant for its particular spot.

January 2005, I got in touch with a lady in Colorado, her name was Shirley Peck-Barnes. In my eyes, Shirley was a phenominal lady and I owe a lot of my most recent adoption experiences to her; she truly was a dear friend to me. After a 45 minute phone with Shirley, I had learned that she was working closely with Randy Martinez, CEO of World Airways to help coordinate a trip back to Viet Nam; to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Operation Babylift".

In the beginning of April of 1975, "Operation Babylift" was a mass evacuation of orphans out of Viet Nam, which was instated by President Gerald Ford. When President Ford saw the first batch of orphans come home on the World Airways flight he immediately saw the importants of getting other babies and children out of Sai gon. It was the heroic efforts of Ed Daley and his staff that help launch "Operation Babylift". Because World Airways was the first airline to bring children to their new families in 1975, 30 years later, they wanted to give some adoptees the opportunities to return to their motherland.

I had the privilege to be a part of that trip and for the first time see my country. The opportunity was overwhelming and until the day that I left, I thought it was just a dream. Opportunities like this just don't come knocking on your doorstep everyday. I was humbled by the fact that I was even considered to be an honored guest. Just like all the other adoptees who were being considered, I had to submit a letter of request, a bio page, and my reason for why I should be accepted to go on the trip.

Now keep in mind...it was January that I had the phone conversation, I could not say ANYTHING to anyone for two months until April approached. The adoptees who had been selected were requested to keep silent because World Airways wanted to be the first to announce the trip. Once the press release went out and the trip was made public, only then were we able to tell our friends and family. Oh my gosh though, it was tough keeping the news silent. But it was well worth it, because days after the announcement, I received my letter of acceptance in the mail...I AM GOING TO VIET NAM!!!

June came fast and before I knew it my wife and I were flying down to San Francisco to meet up with the other honored guest who were all a part of the trip. The trip was only a week long and so it was a whirlwind adventure, but overall very-very fun! I have deep memories of my time there and that part of my life has been stamped forever. I owe so much gratitude to World Airways and the folks there who helped put the trip together. Please feel free and see what World Airways is doing these days, just follow their link: http://www.worldairholdings.com/

Life is a puzzle and you will never know what pieces will be handed to you...