We all have fond memories of Father Crawford who helped us get the ACS “Teenagers” baseball team going.

I came across an article written by Joe Dantonio of World Airways, recalling his memories of his part in the 1975 Orphan Airlift from the Oakland Station point of view. In it he mentions the arrival of Father Crawford with his entire *flock* from Viet-nam.

Here is an exert from the article …

” … The 727 arrival was emotional in a different way. Polio still ran rampant in Viet Nam. No one there had ever heard of Jonas Salk or his vaccine. The result was some terribly disfigured children that found refuge in an orphanage run by an American Priest by the name of Father Crawford. As the infrastructure of Viet Nam collapsed, Father Crawford sought alternative arrangements for his charges. An orphanage in Oregon was closed and standing idle. Father Crawford and his entire flock, including the children, the Nuns, and other personnel were flown to Oakland by World Airways and transported to Oregon by bus. Many of these children were old enough to be suspicious of everyone in the strange environment they were entering. I was particularly impressed by the Mother Superior, who with exceptional dignity and warmth, dealt with everyone’s apprehensions. On arrival, one of the flight attendants felt compelled to converse with Mother Superior in academic French. Mother Superior was trying to console the children in Vietnamese and speaking to me in perfect English. Needless to say, French was soon eliminated from the communications circle.

The Father Crawford flight involvement spanned a comparatively few hours, but also left a permanent memory of how fortunate I have been. … ”

If you’d like to read the entire article Click Here.

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