Karen Kaiser
In the spring of 1973, a young American couple, Karen and Steve, heads to Saigon, Republic of [South] Vietnam where Steve will begin work on a contract awarded to his employer by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). They could not have known that they would soon be witnesses to history.Naïve and unprepared for what confronts them, the couple’s resilience and determination are tested as they strive to create a life in a place so foreign and oppressive it’s hard to function. Against the backdrop of an on-going war, Steve works five and a half days a week while Karen figures out how to cope on her own. By early April 1975, the war pushes against the outskirts of Saigon and the future of Steve’s project is uncertain. The couple has a decision to make-stay and see what happens or go. Are there still commercial flights from Tan Son Nhut, or will they be hauled off the rooftop of their apartment building by the Air America helicopter pilot who lives downstairs? Should Karen accompany the children on Operation Babylift?This down-to-earth tale not only celebrates the adaptability of the human spirit, but also exposes the dilemma faced by so many civilian ex-pats as South Vietnam came to grips with the fact that it had lost the war.
