Operation Babylift survivor’s 25-year search for birth mother continues

When she returned to her homeland for the first time in 2010, the 36-year-old kneeled and touched the ground at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport "to make sure she wasn’t dreaming."

"After 35 years I finally returned to my roots," Odile says. Although her main goal was to find her birth mother, 14 years and nearly 10 trips after her first visit to Vietnam, she still has not succeeded.

In 2023 Odile and her husband decided to settle in Vietnam to make the search easier.

Odile Dussart as a child with her adoptive parents, residing in Nice, France. Photo courtesy of Odile

Odile Dussart was born Bui Thi Thanh Khiet on May 11, 1974, according to her Vietnamese birth certificate. Her mother, Bui Thi Nghe, gave birth at a hospital in Phu Cuong commune, Thu Dau Mot town, southern Binh Duong province (now Phu Cuong ward, Thu Dau Mot city).

When Khiet was three months old, her mother took her to the Viet Hoa orphanage in Cho Lon, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. From that moment she became an orphan.

Before Vietnam’s reunification on April 30, 1975, over 3,300 children, considered orphans or mixed-race were evacuated on flights as part of the U.S.’s Operation Babylift. The first flight met with a tragic accident on April 4, 1975, when a C-5A Galaxy aircraft carrying hundreds of children crashed, killing 153. Among the 175 survivors was Bui Thi Thanh Khiet.

After being treated for her injuries, Khiet was taken to San Francisco, U.S., before being transferred to Nice, southeastern France, where she was adopted by a construction engineer and his seamstress wife. Her adoptive parents named her Odile Dussart and provided her with love and educational opportunities.

Throughout her childhood, Odile was the only Asian in her school, and faced mockery and insults because of her appearance, especially her small eyes. When teachers were not around, she would be called "lemon face," a derogatory term referencing her skin tone. Despite being an excellent student and consistently topping her class, she would cry sometimes to her parents, saying she did not want to go to school.

"Life is never easy, and you have to fight to reach the top," her adoptive father once told her.

He explained how fortunate she was to survive the plane crash. "You must be strong because you carry the blood of a heroic nation."

His words motivated her to return to school. She became more confident and no longer feared being teased. When children acted out of line, she bravely stood her ground. Only when she reached middle school did the racism cease.

At 12 Odile’s father became seriously ill. Before he passed away she promised him she would become a lawyer to fight injustice of the sort she had endured. After her father’s death her family faced financial difficulties. To fulfill her promise to him, she juggled multiple jobs-teaching, modeling and bartending-to finance her education.

But over 12 years she obtained seven law-related degrees in France and across Europe.

Odile Dussart reconnected with the nun who had looked after her at the orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City in December 2010. Photo courtesy of Odile

When she turned 25, her adoptive mother gave her the adoption documents, including her birth certificate. She explained that she had withheld them earlier out of fear Odile might abandon her studies and return to Vietnam to search for her birth mother. From that point Odile began researching Operation Babylift and the plane crash and connecting with Babylift children living in various countries.

After trying in vain for more than a decade to gather information about her birth mother, Odile decided to return to Vietnam with the documents to search for more clues. In December 2010, after becoming a lawyer, Odile returned to her homeland for the first time. Using the address of the orphanage listed on her birth certificate, she met Blandine, a nun of the Saint Paul de Chartres order who had cared for her before she boarded the flight. The nun told her that her birth mother was very young, possibly underage, when she gave birth.

However, other information in the birth certificate remained unclear. Even the mention of her mother’s hometown, Phu Cuong commune, was uncertain as to whether it was really her hometown or just a temporary place of residence.

Without getting much information from the nun, Odile visited the People’s Committee of Phu Cuong Commune to inquire if anyone knew her mother, Bui Thi Nghe. Officials there informed her that someone with that name had indeed lived in the commune, but she could get no further details. They asked Odile to leave her contact information and promised to inform her if they learned more. However, no call ever came, and the search hit a dead end.

Seeing her struggle, many people advised her to be content with her life in France and stop searching for her mother. "But I still want to find her, to know who I am and where I come from," Odile says.

She also knows that it is never easy for a mother to give up her child, and so she has never harbored resentment. She hopes to meet her mother again regardless of the circumstances.

In August 2011, during her second return to Vietnam, Odile brought multiple photocopies of her birth certificate and childhood photos, asking friends and the media for help in her search. She continued her search over the years, returning to Vietnam in 2012, 2016 and 2019.

"Since starting this journey to find my mother, I have considered myself a citizen of this country."

Despite spending most of her life in France and not speaking her mother tongue, she felt a deep connection with Vietnam and its people.

Odile and her French adoptive mother before she relocated to Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Odile

At the end of 2023, to facilitate her search for her family, Odile and her husband moved to the ancient town of Hoi An. In May 2024 she obtained Vietnamese citizenship and plans to bring her 93-year-old adoptive mother to live with her once immigration processes are completed. Now 50, Odile continues her daily search for information about her birth mother, knowing that with time, memories fade and her chances of finding her family diminish.

But she remains determined to see her journey through to the end. "As a lawyer, I believe the importance of this search lies not just in the outcome but in the journey toward fulfilling your dreams."