Remember When: Rescued Orphans from Vietnam

By: Phil Scoggins | WRBL News 3
Published: March 03, 2010

Tad Smith is one of Les and Rose Smith's adopted sons. Tad was one of over 200 orphans who made it out of Saigon on the "baby lift" arranged by Betty Tisdale in the spring of 1975. Betty was a fervent supporter of the An Lac Orphanage in Saigon. She made multiple trips there to help bring supplies and comfort to the children. Betty's husband was stationed at Fort Benning. She used her influence to orchestrate the evacuation of the orphans out of An Lac. The last airlift came shortly before the fall of Saigon in April of 1975.
The children were flown by the U.S. military from Saigon to the Philippines to Fort Benning. Tad was a newborn when he arrived and had to be treated at Martin Army Hospital. He was finally released to the care of Les and Rose, but Tad wasn't out of the woods yet. His health was touch and go for the first several years of his life. Rose says, "We had just been from one crisis to the next. He had infections and diarrhea and just was really, really sick and in the hospital. It was like we were praying every breath we took, please God let him live."
Les and Rose found out some details about Tad's family from a young woman who worked in the orphanage. She said Tad's mother and father were Cambodian. Tad's father was a Cambodian army officer. The whole family was exterminated by Pol Pot except for Tad's mother. She was pregnant and managed to escape. The story is told that she would walk at night and hide during the day. She got as far as Saigon when Tad was born. She took Tad to An Lac and asked them to take her son so he could live.
Rose says she and Les have always talked to Tad about his birth mother. Rose recalls that on Tad's birthday each year he would always say, "Wouldn't my first mother be proud of me today?"
Tad grew up in Columbus and went to Hardaway High School. He and his wife Deyka have an eleven-year old girl, Kendall. Two years ago Tad decided to enlist in the Army. In thinking back on that decision, Tad says, "It was my time to try to figure out what I was here for, and I think the service it called me and that's what I'm here to do."
Tad was not the first nor the last orphan adopted by the Smiths. They adopted six children in all from An Lac. Rose adds, "They were not related, but they are now!" Les and Rose also have two biological children, Jennifer and Spike. Four of the Smith children still live in the Columbus area.
Rose has not seen Betty Tisdale since she left Columbus back in the early 80's. She and her family are anxiously awaiting the An Lac Reunion that is planned for the weekend of March 26-28th in Columbus. Betty is flying from Seattle to be reunited with around 50 of the orphans she helped to rescue. Les and Rose and their family plan to be there.