Invisible Threads: Stories Connected by Operation Babylift

INVISIBLE THREADS: Stories Connected by Operation Babylift April 9–12, 2026 | East Window Gallery, Boulder, CO

"There is a thread—soft as breath, strong as the roots of an ancient tree... An invisible thread tied us close, threaded through the heart, stitched with love, braided with courage." —Noel Nguyen, OBL adoptee

This isn't just an exhibit. It's a gathering.

Over four days, we're bringing together Operation Babylift adoptees, veterans, caregivers, and families—many meeting for the first time in 50 years. We're activating the archives from the Operation Babylift Collection, preserved with care by Sister Mary Nelle Gage and now shared through the Love Ethic practice.

THURSDAY 4/9, 6-9pm: Opening welcome with Sister Mary Nelle Gage

FRIDAY 4/10, 6-9pm: StoryShare presentations + gallery reception

SATURDAY 4/11: Writing workshop, author talks, film screenings

SUNDAY 4/12, 10am-12pm: Birth search & reunion panel with Con Tím Mẹ

The people in these photos and stories, many are here this weekend. Others live forever in our hearts.

A fragment of the C-5A Galaxy that crashed on April 4, 1975? We survived that crash. We are here.

The Relative Immigration Petition request from a mother trying to bring her son to the US? That's Louis Caputo's story. Jeff found the website and contacted us to help find information. The invisible threads connecting.

Those Pan Am pictures? They were taken by a 19 year old volunteer, Lisa Pauly Jenkins who flew out to the Pan Am event last April after we contacted her and met many of the adoptees.

The baby blanket? Go find Shea Bissell and her amazing story.

The framed photograph "Babies in Cardboard Boxes"? A gift from Axel Koch, passed down from his grandmother who purchased it from her neighbor, war correspondent Bill Kurtis in 1975. Fifty years later, it came home to this archive. Go say hi to Axel.

These are not artifacts. These are living connections.

Some people in these photos are here. Others live forever in our hearts. All of them are a part of our collective story.

The people in these photos and stories are here. Come meet them

Gallery open 9am-9pm throughout the weekend. Open April 3-25, posted hours.

More info: devaki@operationbabylift.org | #InvisibleThreads #OperationBabylift #ArchivesInLoveAndWar

RSVP to be updated on the agenda and ways to participate!

operationbabylift.org

From the records we remember, through the stories we connect.