Last week, Queen Anne resident Betty Tisdale, went to Fort Benning, Ga. for a reunion of orphans from the An Lac orphanage in Vietnam.
In 1975, Tisdale organized the evacuation of 210 children from the orphanage when Saigon fell to the communists during the Vietnam War.
The orphans were evacuated to Fort Benning, where Tisdale arranged for their adoption to parents around the country.
Thirty five years later, many of those orphans were reunited for the first time.
The "Angel of Saigon" as Tisdale has been called, first started helping orphans in 1961 to continue the work of Dr. Tom Dooley after his death. She now helps children in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Colombia and Mexico through the organization she founded, HALO - Helping and Loving Orphans. Tisdale will fly to Haiti in a few weeks to aid the Foundation Rose-Mina de Diegue in Haiti.
Tisdale has been recognized as one of the recipients of Washington state's 2010 Jefferson Awards. The Jefferson Awards honor ordinary individuals who help others. Awardees will be celebrated in a ceremony on April 26 and a National Nominee will be announced.[[In-content Ad]]
