1954-1955 - Vietnam (Operation Passage to Freedom)
Following the First Indochina War in August 1954, Geneva Accords resulted in the partition of Vietnam at the 17th Parallel. The agreements permitted a 300-day grace period, ending in May 1955, where people could freely move between the two sections of Vietnam before the borders were sealed. Operation Passage to Freedom was the U.S. Navy, and civilian-manned ships assigned to the Military Sealift Transportation Service, transportation of 310,000 Vietnamese ciivilians, soldiers, and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam. A smaller number elected to go North, approximately 14,000. For this mission, the Navy formed Task Force (TF-90), to assist the evacuation. Admiral Lorenzo S. Sabin, USN, commanded the operation.
![80-G-644528 Operation "Passage to Freedom", 1954 A young Vietnamese refugee lends a helping hand to a sailor chipping paint on board USS Bayfield (APA-33), while enroute from Haiphong to Saigon, Indochina, 7 September 1954. Note aviators' oxygen ... 80-G-644528 Operation "Passage to Freedom", 1954 A young Vietnamese refugee lends a helping hand to a sailor chipping paint on board USS Bayfield (APA-33), while enroute from Haiphong to Saigon, Indochina, 7 September 1954. Note aviators' oxygen ...](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1950-1959/1954-1955-vietnam-operation-passage-to-freedom/_jcr_content/body/media_asset_1583244850/image.img.jpg/1677778935886.jpg)
![80-G-647018: Passage to Freedom, September 1954. Transportation of Vietnamese refugees to Saigon. Propaganda posters on building in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. 80-G-647018: Passage to Freedom, September 1954. Transportation of Vietnamese refugees to Saigon. Propaganda posters on building in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1950-1959/1954-1955-vietnam-operation-passage-to-freedom/_jcr_content/body/media_asset_1197757263/image.img.jpg/1677779063822.jpg)
![80-G-647030: Passage to Freedom, September 1954. Transportation of Vietnamese refugees to Saigon. Officers and Officials at reception given on arrival of 100,000 refugees at Saigon, Vietnam. Shown: Admiral Stores; General McDaniels, Admiral Sabin... 80-G-647030: Passage to Freedom, September 1954. Transportation of Vietnamese refugees to Saigon. Officers and Officials at reception given on arrival of 100,000 refugees at Saigon, Vietnam. Shown: Admiral Stores; General McDaniels, Admiral Sabin...](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1950-1959/1954-1955-vietnam-operation-passage-to-freedom/_jcr_content/body/media_asset_3770745/image.img.jpg/1677779091673.jpg)
![80-G-647021: Passage to Freedom, September 1954. Transportation of Vietnamese refugees to Saigon. Propaganda posters on building in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. 80-G-647021: Passage to Freedom, September 1954. Transportation of Vietnamese refugees to Saigon. Propaganda posters on building in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.](/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/humanitarian/20th-century/1950-1959/1954-1955-vietnam-operation-passage-to-freedom/_jcr_content/body/media_asset_814526968/image.img.jpg/1677779125887.jpg)