Forty years ago was the fall of Saigon to the Communist forces from North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front (Việt Công) The final scene of the first act of our play “Cha Joe” portrayed that point in history, where Fr. Joe Devlin witnesses the city overtaken by the communists. In that famous picture of the Air America helicopter picking up refugees was Fr. Joe somewhere on that stairway at the “safe hotel”

On the following day aboard the USS Midway, some refugees were retrieved off their boat. They were concerned that they would be let off in Thailand and that the Thai government would send them back. Fr. Joe interceded for them.