Vietnam War testimony and remembrance moved from a university lecture hall in Hawaiʻi to a public “welcome home” gathering on the National Mall in Washington on Sunday, both events centered on how people carry the past into the present. At the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies hosted Devaki Murch, an adoptee whose survival on the first Operation Babylift flight has become part of how that history is recorded. In Washington, veteran Mossie Wright joined a national welcome home celebration tied to National Vietnam War Veterans Day, describing the emotional weight of returning to the memorial and seeing names from his unit on the wall.
UH Mānoa event: a survivor’s story and a challenge about who records history
At the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, students, alumni, and community members gathered on March 3 in Moore Hall to hear from Devaki Murch, introduced through her connection to Operation Babylift and her work building the Operation Babylift Collection. Murch’s account focused on more than survival; it raised a direct question about who gets to tell history and how history is preserved.
Murch was a baby on the first Babylift flight, a U. S. -led effort to evacuate children from Vietnam at the end of the war. That first flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Saigon on April 4, 1975. Of the 314 people aboard, 150 survived, and Murch was among the survivors.
In her remarks at UH Mānoa, Murch urged students to understand that their research and digital footprints can become future archives—sometimes without context or consent. She argued that the traditional model often asks people to trust systems that have already failed them.
“Traditional archives ask people to trust systems that have already failed them”
Murch framed her critique in institutional terms, pointing to barriers that can prevent personal truth from being fully represented. “Traditional archives ask people to trust systems that have already failed them, ” Murch said. “Sealed records, classified documentation, institutional protection over individual truth. We needed a different approach. ”
Tien Nguyen, a master’s student in theatre and dance, described the lecture as a link between personal memory and lived experience. “The fact that Devaki Murch boarded the first babylift flight and survived the fateful plane crash makes her journey even more magical, ” Nguyen said. “One thing prevails, as we are all humans who have survived thus far despite the odds, we should feel empowered to do the things we love, regardless of our backgrounds. ”
Raised in Hawaiʻi, Murch connected her story to local questions about memory, military presence, and accountability, tying global conflict to community-level reflection.
National Mall: “welcome home” walk and a veteran’s first-hand account
On Sunday, a national welcome home celebration brought veterans and families to the National Mall, with organizers framing it as recognition for veterans who did not receive a hero’s welcome when they returned. Mossie Wright, a Vietnam War veteran, said he was 19 when he was deployed to Vietnam in 1969, and “shocked at the reception” when he returned to the U. S. the following year. “People was calling us names, and, you know, to me was acting stupid, ” Wright said. “It took me a long time, about 10 years, before I really finally understood, you know what I mean, the sentiments. ”
Wright was visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for the first time in seven years. He described the day as emotional, saying he saw three brothers from his unit on the wall. “Three brothers in my unit — I went today and saw them on the on the wall, right? And it kind of really broke me down, ” he said.
The day included a “welcome walk” from the World War II Memorial to the Lincoln and Vietnam Veterans memorials, with the Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps leading veterans alongside service members and families. “It just brings back, for me, a lot of memories, you know, of brotherhood, ” Wright said.
Quick context and what’s next
National Vietnam War Veterans Day is March 29, marking the anniversary in 1973 when the last U. S. combat troops left South Vietnam. Local observances have typically been small at the Vietnam Memorial, but this year included expanded public events.
In the days ahead, organizers and institutions are likely to continue building spaces where firsthand accounts can be heard and preserved—whether in a campus hall or at a national memorial—keeping the Vietnam War in public view through personal testimony and public recognition. All time-sensitive references in this report align with Eastern Time (ET) where applicable.
