THE WALL OF FACES

Mary is buried at St Boniface Cemetery, Lafayette, Tippecanoe County,IN.

ON THE 35th ANNIVERSARY OF



THE " OPERATION BABYLIFT " CRASH







- 04 APRIL 1975 -











COLONEL REGINA AUNE USAF ( RETIRED )







Colonel Aune, 60, an Air Force officer now assigned to Brooks City-Base in San Antonio, was a flight nurse aboard a C-5 cargo jet that would be evacuating orphans from South Vietnam in early April 1975.







Aune, then a 1st lieutenant flying out of Clark Air Base, the Philippines, remembers that when she arrived in Saigon to pick up the children on 4 April, there was a sense of desperation as North Vietnamese forces closed in.







Her mission was the maiden flight of " Operation Babylift ", a humanitarian effort to relocate hundreds of war orphans to the USA.







It was to be one of the good things that came out of a divisive and ugly war, she recalls.







But shortly after takeoff, something went horribly wrong.







Aune remembers a loud explosion.







An investigation later determined that a lock on the cargo doors had failed, leading to a rapid decompression.







" There was a big hole in the back of the plane," Aune says.







In a matter of minutes, the aircraft crash-landed near Saigon and broke into pieces.







In all, more than 150 of the 328 aboard were killed.







Most who survived — including Aune — were seated in the passenger compartment of the cavernous C-5, located above the cargo bay.







The cargo deck was crushed on impact and all but a handful of passengers there were killed.







"I think of this every five years, when there is an anniversary story about Vietnam," says Aune, who broke her back and every bone in her right foot.







Aune and others who survived the crash helped to carry 149 children to safety, under the most difficult of circumstances.







The crash did not stop Babylift.







By the end of April, more than 1,700 orphans had been flown out of South Vietnam.







" We did a lot of good," Aune says.







( 2005 )







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REGINA AUNE NAMED NEW DEAN OF TAMIU's







COLLEGE OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES











Texas A&M International University announces the selection of Dr. Regina C. Aune as new dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences after a nation-wide search.







TAMIU Provost Pablo Arenaz said Dr. Aune brings proven leadership skills to the dean’s position as the Dr. F.M. Canseco School of Nursing continues to address the current national nursing shortage.







“ Dr. Aune brings a wealth of experience, including having served as former dean of Gallen College of Nursing in San Antonio and as chair of the International Expeditionary Education and Training Department at the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine in Brooks City-Base, Texas.







At TAMIU, dean Aune will bring the School of Nursing to a new level of growth, research and nursing education,” Dr. Arenaz said.







Dr. Aune holds a Ph.D. in leadership and policy from the University of Utah. Her M.S. in nursing was earned at the University of California, San Francisco and her B.S.N. at St. John College of Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio.







Her research interests include " Combat Readiness: Hygiene Issues Related to Military Women," " Prenatal Care in and out of the U.S.," " Ability of Aeromedical Crew Members to Perform Selected Nursing Tasks in Conventional and Chemical Warfare Environments," " The Career Anchors of Men in Professional Nursing," and " The Career Anchors of Selected Groups of Nurses."







She has published in the " Encyclopedia of Nursing Research and Military Medicine."







She has also served as journal reviewer for Military Medicine and Internet Journal of Nursing Practice.







She is a recipient of the Exceptional Service Medal from the Board of Regents of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She has also received both the Presidential Award and the Meritorious Service Award from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.







Special honors include having named an Eagle in the Gathering of Eagles Capstone event for the U.S. Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College, being inducted into the Airlift Tanker Association Hall of Fame as a member of the Aeromedical Evacuation Legacy Team and having had the Aune-Paget Aeromedical Evacuation Trophy named after herself and SSgt Michael Paget, USAF. She has also received the USAF Cheney Award for valor in a humanitarian mission connected with aircraft.







( 2009 )

Thank you Mary Klinker for being there for the lost children of Vietnam.



-Tim Hoye

Vietnamese Adoptee

Wisconsin

April 1975

"An God said who shall we send.I answered I am here,send me."

Isaiah 6:8

Repos Dans La Paix

Rest In Peace.