Be prepared for a heartbreaking read. Although a fictitious account of the Vietnam War from the point of view of a US Army nurse, the author researched and conducted interviews in order to present a factual representation from composite experiences. A few days before turning twenty-one, newly trained nurse Frances "Frankie" McGrath decides to join the Army Nurse Corps, the only branch of the service that would take a combat inexperienced recruit to work on the battlefields of 1965 Vietnam. Sheltered and naive, Frankie yearns for her father's approval and respect. The battle cry was to prevent the spread of communism in the world. Believing this action will put her on the family's Wall of Heroes, country club girl Frankie is ill-prepared for her family's and society's reaction to her impulsive decision.
Forming life-long friendships with two other combat nurses Ethel and Barb, Frankie finds the support she lacks from the people back home. Her new found friends give her a tough love initiation and before long, Frankie has distinguished herself for excellence in the OR (Operating Room) and her kindness toward the wounded and dying. She learns to perform tracheotomies and stitch up soldiers after life saving surgeries as the doctors rush to save the next dying patient. Covered in the blood of the wounded and dying, Frankie sees the unthinkable: American and South Vietnamese soldiers, South Vietnamese civilians, American medical personnel with most of their body parts blown off, faces missing, their skin burnt to a crisp, unable to cover and protect what is left of their internal organs.
Yes, Frankie grows up fast but not without PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) which will plague her throughout her life. She falls in love, is manipulated men who lie about being married, loses those she loves to the randomness of fate, tries to hang on by a thread to those who offer stability, however short-lived. When Frankie's tour of duty is over in 1969, she returns to a country that has no use for her or those who served in any capacity in Vietnam. "Baby killer!" as they spit on her. Many storekeepers refuse to serve her. Her parents lie that she was studying abroad in her absence and direct her never to admit where she was or what she did in the war effort.
President Lyndon Johnson and his government, as well as the Stars and Stripes daily military newspaper, lied to the American people that the US was winning with a minimal number of casualties while acting honorably toward the civilian population. In truth, more than 58,000 American soldiers died from combat, disease or accidents. More than 300,000 soldiers wounded. 8 female nurses died from attacks against our bases, as well as over 1,100 medics and 680 corpsmen (hospital assistants or pharmacists). More than 500,000 of the 3 million who served suffered from PTSD. American soldiers committed atrocities and outright murder and execution of entire villages. The American government gave orders to drop bombs and Napalm (a skin disintegrating burn agent) on South Vietnamese villages. Sprayed the countryside with Agent Orange which killed people and crops and caused cancer and miscarriages for generations of civilians and military personnel for generations to come. The American government gave orders to unceremoniously bomb Cambodia as a sign of strength to North Vietnam, China, and Russia.
"There are no women in Vietnam." If you ever hear someone making this uninformed statement, here are some facts and figures to refute that misconception. According to the author, "Approximately 10,000 American military women were stationed in Vietnam. Most were nurses in the Army, Air Force, and Navy, but women served as physicians and medical personnel, and in the air traffic control and militay intelligence. Civilian women also served in Vietnam as news correspondents and workers for the Red Cross, Donut Dollies, the USO, Special Services, the American Friends Service Committee, Catholic Relief Services, and other humanitarian organizations."
The women were there. The women made a difference. The women were forgotten. The women were finally remembered and honored with the Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1993.
Stand proud, ladies!
By the way, although the US involvement ended in 1973, the Vietnam War finally ended on April 30, 1975 when North Vietnam invaded Saigon, collapsing the South Vietnamese government. South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were overtaken by the North Vietnamese and remain communist to this day.
All of this heartache, death and destruction and nothing gained.
Please let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at elainewrites@earthlink.net
I wish you all a life inspired by the wonder of the world around us. May you find and live your truth, in harmony with people, nature and the environment. May you be a force for good and a source of love and comfort. May the world be a better place for you having lived and loved here.
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