Fall of Saigon 50 Years Later: Vietnam War orphan discovers heritage and purpose
(QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Millions of Americans fought the Vietnam War.
Fifty years ago, the war effectively ended with the fall of Saigon as the communist offensive overran the city on April 30, 1975. It was a hectic, chaotic, and dangerous time as American troops scrambled to get out of the country to safety.
That included thousands of Vietnamese orphan babies to the United States in those last days in what became known as Operation Baby Lift.
One of those orphans that made it out alive now lives and thrives in Gaston County.
Family, faith, and connecting to his roots from a war-torn world where he was born are what's most important to Jason Keyser
'It's a natural affinity that I have for the culture of the people, even the pho, the soup that is kind of a staple of Vietnamese cuisine. I think it's in my bloodstream somehow because when I go to local pho shops around Charlotte, it's like there's something that connects me to the culture, to the people, to my heritage,' Keyser said.
He lives a fulfilling life, running a successful computer business outside Charlotte and a bustling coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City. But it wasn't always that way.
'A lot of my growing-up years, I didn't really want to care about Vietnam and my heritage. I think a lot of orphans feel like the stories in their mind that they create are better than the stories that they may find out,' Keyser said.
One story Keyser heard often was that of the C-5 crash carrying hundreds of Vietnamese babies.
'When I was told the story, I was like, 'Well, how does that apply to me?'' Keyser asked.
And then came the stunning revelation: he was supposed to be on that very plane.
'Sister Mary Nell, the nun who took care of me, said, 'Well, you and three other children were actually taken off that airplane before it ever took off.' And I was like, 'Wow, how'd that happen?' She goes, 'Well, in your case, you had severe dysentery, and so we needed to take you off the plane because you would not have made the flight out of the country,'' Keyser said.
Saved by fate, Keyser was put on another transport the following week, headed for the US. With him, only some medical records.
'E-4, is there a plane seat that I had? So they knew that, you know, I was that guy with this set of documents because a lot of orphans don't have documentation,' Keyser said.
Keyser was adopted by a family in San Francisco. He grew up with a brother and a sister.
'They always raised me as a Christian, and I always knew that my life had some meaning to it. '
But, as time went on, Keyser began to question who he was and where he came from.
'I had, you know, thoughts of suicide. And I've talked to a lot of other orphans, not just from Vietnam, over the years, and it is the sort of somewhat survivor syndrome. Why did I survive and not everybody else?' Keyser said.
But he got through it, leaving those questions in the past until the birth of his son Adam.
'I helped give birth to him, uh, which was a really cool experience too. But when Adam came out, I kind of thought to myself, 'Hey, this is the first biological connection I have in this world that I know of, right?' Yeah, it really did change me,' Keyser said.
Keyser immersed himself in unlocking the secrets of his past, traveling as often as he could to Vietnam, visiting the orphanage where he was left so many years ago.
Keyser learned that the communists destroyed most of the records during the fall of Saigon. But, his journey led him to his true calling in life, helping other orphans.
'Right now, we have programs in Ukraine and in Uganda, Africa. And then last year, we started a coffee shop in Vietnam. We run a business because we use our business skills, and then we're able to work with the missions in or from orphanages in those countries and try to give a better future for some of these orphans that would maybe not be able to be adopted or get out of the country,' Keyser said.
A purposeful, meaningful life that has come full circle for Keyser.
'I think it's important to make sure the story gets logged for a couple of reasons. One is so my children understand who they are, where half of them came from, and to make sure that all these, like, miraculous stories live on. And I think the other is what I've found in the last five years or so, is there's a lot of orphans that don't know how to cope with their situation,' Keyser said.
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