Commemoration to Feature Steve Ford, Thuy Williams, and Members of the Grand Rapids Vietnamese Community

It’s been 50 years since the fall of Saigon and the end of American involvement in the Vietnam War. One of the most notable outcomes of the fall of Saigon was the welcoming of our allies in Vietnam to find refuge and home here in the U.S.

Operation Babylift, President Ford’s initiative that evacuated thousands of South Vietnamese children from the country as northern forces took over was the first effort in April of 1975. One month later Gerald Ford asked the nation to open its doors to refugees that included families and other allies. In Grand Rapids the local religious, education and political community embraced this charge from Gerald Ford and today those refugees have built a vibrant and contributing community.

Join us as we commemorate the new lives many Vietnamese were able to build since April 1975 – around the world, across the nation, and even here in West Michigan.

Hear Stories From Vietnamese Americans Impacted by Ford’s Efforts

President and Betty Ford's son, Steve Ford, will take the stage during the program. Operation Babylift is one of Steve's favorite legacies of his father. Steve will be introducing Vietnamese adoptee Thuy Williams, an Operation Babylift evacuee who grew up in Portland, Oregon.

Following Thuy, local Vietnamese Americans will offer insight into their experiences and the broader impact Ford’s refugee support had on their lives and the community. They include:

Lệ Trần
Father Peter Vũ
Alice Kennedy
Duyên Bùi
Son Trần, East Kentwood High School graduate

Special Musical Performance

Attendees will also be treated to a musical performance from Vietnamese American singers and dancers:

Ánh Trần
Khoa Mai
Thu-Hương Nguyễn
Cường Lương

Details on Attending

Registration

Space is limited and registration is encouraged of our Friday, May 9, 2025 event, running from 6:30 - 9 p.m.

Registration is open until the event is full. In the event of a sell-out show, we will offer overflow seating in the DeVos Learning Center down the hall.

Register to Attend

Can’t attend in person? Watch the livestream:

Where

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
303 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504

When

Date: Friday, May 9, 2025
Time: Program runs from 6:30 - 9 p.m. Join us in the lobby starting at 5:30 p.m. to view info panels from Grand Rapids Public Museum and enjoy light refreshments.

Program Supporters

Thank you to the following supporters who are helping bring this event to the Ford:

STEVE FORD has enjoyed a successful acting career for over 25 years appearing in over 800 hours of film and television productions. He has worked on over 25 films and many guest-leads in television. Most recently you would have seen Steve appearing in the hit movie “Transformers” and “Black Hawk Down.”

Steve’s other film credits include “Contact” with Jodie Foster, “Armageddon” with Bruce Willis, “Starship Troopers and Eraser” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Heat” with Al Pacino, “Carrie II” and “When Harry Met Sally” as Meg Ryan’s boyfriend. He has also done numerous guest-leads in television shows such as “Suddenly Susan,” “J.A.G.,” “Flipper,” “Walker Texas Ranger,” “Dr. Quinn,” “Baywatch,” “The Cape,” “Columbo,” “Murder She Wrote,” and “Happy Days.” Steve also hosted a full season of the prime-time series “Secret Service” for NBC. Early in Steve’s career he spent six years playing Andy Richards on the Emmy Award winning CBS daytime show, “The Young and the Restless”.

Before becoming an actor in 1980, Steve worked on the professional rodeo circuit as a team roper and still ropes today in his spare time. He owns a ranch in California. Steve served three years on the Board of Directors of The National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City and currently serves on the Board of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.

He is also highly sought after nationally as a motivational speaker for corporate events relating his inspiring experiences during his family’s stay in the White House and his years in Hollywood. Steve speaks about his own successful battle overcoming alcoholism over twenty-five years ago. He shares with audiences inspiring stories of character and leadership that lead to the Ford family’s success which will help audiences rethink their own lives. He is the third son of President and Mrs. Gerald R. Ford.

Ford has been a trustee with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation for over 40 years. He has served as Vice-Chairman from 1987-1989 and 1995-1997, and Chairman from 2010-2014.

THUY WILLIAMS was born in Ho Chi Minh in 1970. Her family was able to get her on the first flight out of Operation Babylift. Her mom walked her up the steps of the plane then left the airport. That plane crashed and her mom was told she died in the crash. Unknown to her, Thuy had been taken off the plane because it was too full and put on the plane the next day. She made it safely to Portland, OR where she was adopted and grew up.

Thuy knew that her father had been a GI and so to honor all those that served, she joined the Army. After an 8-year stint as a tank mechanic, she came home to the US. She is now a coach of soccer, track and lacrosse and spends her time traveling the world using sports to bridge the gap with traumatized people in refugee camps in third world countries. She helps kids process trauma by using sports as a way to create friendships and smiles. She also is a business owner of Acme High Performance, a construction company in Portland.

She created and is president of one other nonprofit: Breaking Boundaries which takes kids from the US to do community service projects in third world countries. She is also an ambassador for the American Amputee Soccer Association, which brings amputee soccer to those around the world.

She was able to find her mom in Vietnam in 2001 and has been back many times to see her. In 2018, she found a sister on her father’s side of the family and has now met 5 of her 9 half-sisters.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

About Our Panelists

Rev. Peter G. Vũ was born in Saigon City (currently Ho Chi Minh City), Viet Nam. As a young boy he witnessed the War & the end of it with great horror and deep appreciation for peace. He grew up with the Communist government system and endured lots of hardship with them for over a decade. Faith and Prayers helped him to survive as well as learning and exchanging ideas of Prayers and Mediations with huis Buddhist friends. After High School, h escaped by boat and came to the United States of America to begin my Seminary Training. After one year at Union High School to learn the language & new culture he attended Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He went onto study in St. Paul, Minnesota, and finally received his MDiv in Chicago.

He has ministered to People of God at six different churches over the last twenty-six years, including the last 20 years here. He has worked in schools, hospitals, nursing homes. He also currently serves as Chaplain at the Grand Rapids Homes for Veterans and as a Catholic Priest of the Diocese of Grand Rapids.

Alice Kennedy was born in Saigon, South Vietnam, where she immigrated from as a child in 1975. She attended Riverside Middle and graduated from Creston High School. Her home has been Grand Rapids since 1975. She is the owner of Kennedy Management Resources, Inc. (KMR Diversity Theatre), providing equity and inclusion workshops through interactive theatre. She also served the community through coaching the JV girls' and boys' tennis and teaching tennis at East Kentwood High School for 25 years. She has received numerous awards for her service including the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, the Asian Center of West Michigan and the Kentwood Education Community Foundation.

Lệ Trần and her family fled SaiGon, Việt Nam on the morning of April 30, 1975 when the South Vietnamese government collapsed. Later that Fall, Le and her family found refuge in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and made a home there. For the last 23 years, Le has been an art teacher at East Kentwood high school, where she also serves as the Asian Student Union advisor. Le is actively involved in the community - she serves as Chairperson of the Board for the West Michigan Asian-American Association. Le was awarded the prestigious Fulbright-Hays GPA to Vietnam (2004) and Bulgaria (2008), in addition to two Fellows with the Smithsonian. In 2021, Le received the Michigan and the National Art Education Association Awards for Secondary Art Teacher of the Year. Le Tran continues to make a lasting impact on the lives of her students by guiding them through searches for their family immigration stories from Việt Nam to America and collaborating with the Grand Rapids Public Museum for this momentous event, marking the 50th year anniversary of the Fall of SaiGon.

Duyên Bùi migrated to the United States from Sài Gòn, Việt Nam, May 1975.

For over 20 years she worked at Freedom Flight Refugee Center, founded to welcome Vietnamese coming to Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Center later went on to serve refugees from, Cambodia, Laos, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Somalia Eritrea, Ethiopia, Bosnian and other nationalities of war-torn countries. She was a Job Developer and took care of accounting functions and fundings. Later she worked at Kandu Inc. of Holland, Plastech of Dearborn. Before retirement she took on the job to assist New York Life to connect with refugee communities. She and her husband, Tung Do, AIA, (arrived from Vietnam in 1980) raised their children in Grandville, MI. She is also the co- author of a published book of poetry: thơ:duyên, lê chiều giang, nguyễn thị khánh minh.