麻豆社

In the chaos of the helicopter evacuation from Saigon in April 1975, Doan Ho脿ng Curtis' sister was somehow left behind. It would haunt her family for years.

Doan was just three years old when her family made it onto one of the last helicopters to leave Saigon as troops from the communist North took over the city and the Vietnam war came to an end. Her father was a major for the South Vietnamese air force and if he'd stayed in Saigon he could have been killed. Leaving Vietnam was an extraordinary moment for the family, but one that would have a deep and lasting impact on them, because somehow, in the turmoil of the evacuation, Doan's 17-year-old half-sister Van was left behind. It would take Van six years and a treacherous journey via Thailand before she could be reunited with her family, who ended up settling in the United States. Doan says the anger and confusion of why her sister was left behind has defined her whole life. Now an award-winning documentary filmmaker living in the US, Doan returned to Vietnam in 2005 with her family - including her sister Van - to make a documentary and confront the past. It's called Oh Saigon: A War in the family.

News report of Fall of Saigon came from CBS news.

The song Hoa Soan B锚n Th峄乵 C农, was performed by Van and written by Tu岷�n Khanh.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: June Christie

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Sepia-coloured photo of Doan Ho脿ng Curtis' family from 1973. Doan is being held by her father and her half-sister Van stands behind them. Credit: Doan Ho脿ng Curtis)