Submitted story

Ray Snedegar will present a program titled “Operation Baby Lift In Vietnam” at the Champaign County Historical Museum, 809 East Lawn Avenue in Urbana on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m.

Operation Babylift was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other western countries at the end of the Vietnam War from April 3-26, 1975.

Snedegar, who was a loadmaster in the U.S. Air Force, was assigned to help with the mission. The first chartered Pan Am plane took off with 310 people on board. Under attack about 14 minutes into the flight, the plane malfunctioned and crashed. Ray helped evacuate 145 babies and 12 adults from the plane crash. The remaining passengers died in the crash, including 78 children.

Info from Champaign County Historical Museum