The Nurses
Roughly 5000 nurses served in Vietnam. What they saw could never be imagined, even in the darkest nightmare.
They were there, ready as the helicopters arrived with the torn and mangled. They would rush in the heat and gloom to fight for the lives of those broken around them.
For the G.I.s, they were a reminder of home, someone to speak to them in a familiar way, a reminder of the love they left behind on American soil.
For those destined to die, they were the last face they saw, offering kindness, compassion, and care.
The Nurses on the Wall
Captain Eleanor Grace Alexander, U.S. Army. Died in a plane crash on November 30, 1967.
Second Lieutenant Pamela Dorothy Donovan, U.S. Army. Died of a rare Southeast Asian Virus on July 8, 1968.
Second Lieutenant Carol Ann Elizabeth Drazba, U.S. Army. Killed in a helicopter crash near Saigon on February 18, 1966.
Lieutenant Colonel Annie Ruth Graham, U.S. Army. Suffered a stroke in the country on August 14, 1968.
Second Lieutenant Elizabeth Ann Jones, U.S. Army. Was traveling with 2LT Drazba and was killed in the same helicopter crash, on February 18, 1966.
Captain Mary Therese Klinker, U.S Air Force. Died in a plane crash on April 4, 1975, just three weeks before the fall of Saigon.
First Lieutenant Sharon Ann Lane, U.S. Army. Killed in a rocket explosion on June 8, 1969.
First Lieutenant Hedwig Diane Orlowski, U.S. Army. Died alongside Cpt. Alexander in a plane crash on November 30, 1967.
The Donut Dollies1
The American Red Cross sent young female college graduates to boost troops’ morale in Southeast Asia.
They were called Donut Dollies.
“A few years ago, I wrote something down because it was too important for me to lose the memory of this moment,” recalls Holly Watts, a Donut Dolly from 1966 to 1967.
“I noticed him waiting in line, wearing black leather like so many others that day. The large book lay open under the thick glass, and he approached it cautiously. Turning the pages slowly, he paused, running his finger down the length of the page and finally across. With shaking hands, he copied numbers on a slightly crumpled envelope.
“I knew this was his first visit to the Wall. He looked so lost and in such pain. I touched his arm and asked if I could help. He just showed me the paper, held tightly now. I pointed to the other side of the Wall’s apex, past the crowd filling the path in front of us.
“I saw his eyes sweep the area. They were not the enemy, but still, he did not move. As the crowd grew, I took his callused hand, and we walked together until we reached panel 47W.
We stood together in the sun, drenched in our pain. I squeezed his hand and slowly moved away.
“Oh, how I wish I had hugged him…for both of us.”
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