Military service had both advantages and pitfalls for nurses. The soldier was one of more than 100 who were wounded during Viet Cong attacks on two U.S. military compounds at Pleiku, 240 miles north of Saigon. Medical training lasted ten weeks and revolved around triaging battle wounds. The Korean War led to even greater savings of lives by the use of helicopters for battlefield evacuations and much quicker removal to more capable medical facilities, such as MASH hospitals, well known to all of us. Particularly in an emergency, an Army or Navy nurse in Vietnam might be allowed (or even required) to perform procedures well beyond their normal scope of practice. Topic: a journal of the liberal arts, Some remarks, by way of contrast, on war surgery, old and new, Journal of the Association of the Military Surgeons of the United States, The evolution of casualty evacuation in the British Army in the 20th century (Part II) 19181945, The contribution of the 2nd Auxiliary Surgical Group to military surgery during World War II with special references to thoracic surgery, The surgical management of the wounded in the Mediterranean theater at the time at the time of the fall of Rome, Battle casualties and medical statistics. These women volunteered for a variety of reasons: to serve their country, to help the service men who were wounded, to receive training and an education, to further their military careers, to prove themselves or just to have an adventure. A helicopter was shot down on our side of firebase Landing Zone Judy the morning I left for home, and 30 men died that day too. Long Binh, the 74th Field Hospital and the 24th Evacuation Hospital, Cu Chi, with the 12th Evacuation Hospital and the 27th Surgical Hospital and the 91st Evacuation Hospital, and Phu Some of the U.S.S Repose's nurses on the Navy Nurse Corps birthday. They were able to serve their country and save and comfort the wounded men in their facilities. Vietnam combat physician Dr. David Cromwell recalled that on one occasion, the building the villagers had given permission for his team to work from had been booby trapped with a tripwire. Recruiters targeted high schools, colleges and career fairs; ran newspaper articles; aired radio and television commercials; and assigned existing Army nurses to work as recruitment counselors. In 1968,Dr. David Cromwell was a licensed doctor in Maryland, a qualification that allowed him to direct commission as an officer and physician. The Vietnam War era was a polarizing time in the American history. One nurse told me that although she wanted to leave Vietnam and return to the States, she felt guilty about leaving behind the wounded men and other nurses and doctors. Feel inspired by your work. Theora L. Peyton (Arlington, VA), changes an intravenous saline bottle on a patient at the 3rd Field Hospital. [5], As a result, the 95th was sent to the then-static Cassino front where it was re-staffed and re-equipped.[4]. I had no experience in emergency room, no trauma or intensive care training, recalls Marsha Four, RN, a former ANC first lieutenant. When they landed, the medic and crew chief were responsible for loading the wounded into the back on litters, where they could administer further first aid, including blood transfusions and fluids via IVs. As part of the buildup for operations in South Vietnam, the 95th was reactivated 26 March 1963 at Fort Benning, Georgia and alerted for overseas movement. The military hospital at Netley, near Southhampton, the final destination of many of the hospital ships from the Boer War, First World War and Second World War. [3] In addition to Salerno, the hospital made two other amphibious landings (Anzio and Southern France). Between 1966 and February 1973, 43 Army physical therapists, 33 of whom were women, served in South Vietnam. For example, according to Forbes, Vietnam combat medic and retired Lt. Col. Alfred Rascon finally received the Medal of Honor he'd been nominated for in 1966 in 2000. [1], The 95th Evacuation Hospital was again activated on 26 March 1963 and inactivated in South Vietnam 28 March 1973. One nurse said a seriously wounded soldier asked her to call his mother. Nurses sometimes found novel ways of blowing off steam between shifts. Field Hospital for Vietnam War: "MUST - Medical Unit Self-Contained Transportable" 1966 US Army (Your Army Reports No. Medics not associated with the program were also assigned to treat locals. Nurses tours in Vietnam lasted for one year, although a few returned for two or more tours. The rate of major amputations, 5.2% of all serious injuries and 7.4% of all major limb injuries, is similar to earlier conflicts, including Vietnam. In 1861, there were two types of hospitals that surgeons operated in: field hospitals and general hospitals. China Beach (1988-1991) The trials of a weary nurse, her friends and colleagues in a Vietnam War field hospital. 1966), p. 1 (OCLC) 01495105: National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. At precisely 10:30 on a sunny morning in late November, the first squads of Vietnamese Army troops scrambled from US Marine helicopters to launch a complex, two landing zone, vertical assault against communist Viet Cong southwest of Da Nang. 3rd Field Hospital, Saigon Cayetano E. Barrera Identifier r3-04235-0006_0068 Creation Date 1-1-1967 Description Color photograph. The emotional demands on the nurses were substantial. Many of the soldiers, Marines and sailors the nurses treated were very young: 18 to 22 years old, with a few as young as 17. Vets make up 9.7% of their generation. The 95th Evacuation Hospital achieved national recognition at Anzio when,[citation needed] on 7 February 1944, a German plane dropped a load of fragmentation bombs on the hospital in an effort to evade two British planes, rendering the hospital inoperable, killing 28 people, and wounding an additional 60. This claim is repeated in Vietnam veteran Tim O'Brien's semi-autobiographical short story collection,The Things They Carried. More scenes of seriously wounded patients being treated and prepared for surgery. His fellow combat medic veteran James Cruz was sent to a refugee camp in the mountains. Medical advances made in the Vietnam War are still used today Public Domain The use of medevac helicopters to provide in-transport medical care in the Vietnam War saved countless lives. Claire Starnes Collection (Vietnam Women Veterans Association) [VA053676], Vietnam Center 6th Triennial Symposium Session - Saving Lives in Vietnam: Nurses, Aidmen, and Dustoff Pilots, William Foulke Collection (Department of the Army Special Photographic Office (DASPO)) [va035970], Frances T. Shea Buckley Collection [va045054], Frances T. Shea Buckley Collection [va044489], Frances T. Shea Buckley Collection [va044893], Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, 2023 Texas Tech University, 2023 Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive. The U.S. Army's 8th Field Hospital becomes operational at Nha Trang. To say challenging doesnt come close to the feelings that I had about being incompetent. That is, to keep them out of shock, to stop the bleeding, and also as much as possible prevent infection if you could.". At the beginning of the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederate Medical Departments were unprepared for the number of causalities unleashed. If your application was denied, and you still refused to fight, you could be sent to military prison, as Vietnam combat medic Ben Sherman found out. While that was all true so far as it went, the footage paints a deceptively tranquil picture that does not capture the mental stress of military nursing. Troops in military hospitals received the same help from the Red Cross as those in the field, as well as access to recreational activities. On the other hand, its inherent vices are its vulnerability under enemy's fire and its inability to hold operated patients for adequate periods of time. The history of the military field hospital is, to a large extent, the history of military medicine, reflecting the symbiosis between surgical treatment and medical evacuation. They put their own lives in danger to save their comrades, even after they'd sustained injuries themselves. To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org There was also no guarantee that even a seemingly friendly and sympathetic local wasnt a Viet Cong agent or sympathizer. Many combat medics who served in Vietnam acted with immense courage under terrifying circumstances. We used a Jeep to pull the boat, but I have no idea where the Jeep and boat and skis came from, she says. During the Vietnam War, many of the 16-week Naval Hospital Corps school graduates went directly to 8404 Field Medical Service School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, or Camp Pendleton, California . There was some uncertainty. Sometimes when the medevac copter took off carrying a soldier with a minor wound you wished it was you. We were their emotional support. Medics went into battle with very limited supplies as many bandages, gauze rolls, and morphine syringes as they could carry or persuade others to carry, and possibly an IV bag and a pair of scissors. 400,000 people were killed or maimed and 500,000 children were born with birth defects because of American bombings. ca. The U.S. Army Support Command, Vietnam, reactivated the 3rd Field Hospital in May 1965 to provide the best medical facilities in the country for American Forces. Medical evacuation missions carried out by UH-1 Iroquois helicopters ("Hueys")became known as Dustoffs, after a call sign used by the first iteration of this type of helicopter in the 57th Medical Detachment. Combat medics in Vietnam often weren't able to carry enough morphine to relieve every injured soldier's pain. US Army experience in the Korean War, The Surgeon General, Department of the Army, A survey of evacuation, resuscitation and mortality in a foreword surgical hospital, The mobile army surgical hospital (MASH): a military and surgical legacy, Journal of the National Medical Association, Medical support of the US Army in Vietnam, War surgery in a forward surgical hospital in Vietnam: a continuing report, Time and its effects on casualties in World War II and Vietnam, Warfare injuries: history, triage, transport and field hospital setup in the armed forces, Early evacuation of patients from the battlefield after laparotomy: Experiences in Vietnam, Israel and the Falklands, Surgery in the field during the Lebanon War, 1982: doctrine, experience and prospects for future changes, Integration of military unit and civilian hospital during mass casualty situations: experience during the 1982 Lebanon War, Find out more about saving to your Kindle, Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316493489.001. Total loading time: 0 Medical, surgical and consultative assistance was provided to the DuyTon and Provincial Hospital of Da Nang on a regular basis. Despite the long hours and sometimes horrifying wounds these women had to face, many nurses found their service rewarding. It was easily the best military hospital in Vietnam. USS Enterprise photo inscribed by Captain J. L. Holloway III, the ship's commander. As today, some nurses joined for financial reasons. The united . The actual move began with one third of the staff moving to the new site from 45 July. The 95th Evacuation Hospital originally constituted as the 74th Surgical Hospital 21 December 1928. Six months before I graduated, I was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps, and they paid for my last year of school. The records pertaining to your medical care would be filed in your individual medical records. Military officials and many servicemembers expected female nurses to be attractive as well as nurturing, arguing that sex appeal and femininity were important for morale. The phrase "BandAid over a bulletwound" is grimly close to what they were able to accomplish. During the initial phase the unit provided its own mess, electrical power, potable water and hospital laundry facilities. Many films and TV programs about U.S. involvement in Vietnam do not depict a single American nurse. Most Vietnam-era military nurses were in the Army, with smaller numbers serving in the Navy Nurse Corps and a handful in the Air Force. The hootches also had rats, bugs and frequent problems with mold and mildew. Nurses who went to work in civilian hospitals after the war were often frustrated by the limitations of their jobs. They arrived in Vietnam with various levels of nursing experience, from newcomers to the field with barley six months of Nursing under their belts to experienced veterans of twenty plus years. Virginia, and arrived with the 17th Field Hospital, Saigon, in March 1966. Too Hot and Humid for Nylons Nurses arriving in Vietnam quickly found that the climate didn't lend itself to the glamour the recruitment posters had promised. During World War II the 95th Evacuation Hospital operated as a 400-bed mobile hospital. During the war, more than 58,000 servicemen and women lost their lives. [1] It was activated at Fort Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1 June 1941. This is a story I needed to tell, and I am only 50 years too late. He told the Army's website, "Your job, as a medic, is to maintain the person's life. After a Vietnamese rifle severed his spinal cord, Ron Kovic bounced around Vietnam field hospitals and eventually landed in a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital in New York. A U.S. Air Force flight nurse and a Red Cross nurse attend to the needs of American wounded prior to their aeromedical evacuation from Tan Son Nhut Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam. of your Kindle email address below. Unfortunately, that autonomy and responsibility didnt erase gendered expectations. Even the Veterans Administration was ill-equipped to meet the needs of female Vietnam vets. Published & distributed by 1st (Aust) Field Hospital Association Inc. ABN 42 805 791 858. Feature Flags: { The . According to NPR, this scarcity of supplies led Vietnam medics to resort to using M&Ms as a placebo. I dont think I ever slept in Vietnam, Evans says. They were under intense physical and mental pressure.". Unlucky nurses could fall victim to bombings, ambushes or booby traps the Viet Cong regarded American military personnel as invaders and dealt with them accordingly. ANCA Service. Making her own decisions. I'm trying to take the pain away just enough where you are not going to be screaming or moving around or jerking," he said. After that, the medics worked at base clinics until receiving their orders to deploy to Vietnam. ft. 472.3 RECORDS OF HEADQUARTERS OF THE U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND VIETNAM (MACV) 1958-73 2,270 lin. Army nurse in Vietnam checking medical charts at desk in holding area. During 1966 and 1967, four surgical hospitals, six evacuationhospitals, and another hospital unit of a field hospital arrived in-country. By 1 April, the vertical construction was initiated consisting of two-by-four frames for tent wards. These men earned his respect and the respect of the nation. They made great sacrifices yet have not received the recognition and respect they deserve. 09 January 2020. NSA Hospital Danang Vietnam PJ Kelly 115 subscribers Subscribe 356 Save 92K views 12 years ago Notice Age-restricted video (based on Community Guidelines) Almost yours: 2 weeks, on us 100+ live. By the end of June, the hospital had experienced an additional 1215 admissions and 1188 outpatients for a total of 2476 admissions in the first 63 days of operation. In the 1987 book Nurses in Vietnam: The Forgotten Veterans, former Army nurse Jacqueline Navarra Rhoads recalls this gruesome anecdote: I remember this nurse came in and she was scheduled to take the place of another nurse. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. . Medevac choppers often picked up, unloaded and took off again without ever stopping the rotating blades. During the early years of the Vietnam War, the Air Force used cargo planes to evacuate patients to hospitals in the rear. Among the recipients was Thomas Bennett, who was killed in February 1969 while trying to save a wounded soldier during heavy fire. From 2001 to 2006 soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan sustained 3854 lower extremity and 3349 upper extremity injuries classified as serious by forward medical teams. Mandatory deployment to Vietnam lasted one year, with the option to extend. The expansion of the war in the Republic of Vietnam placed greater burdens on the Army Nurse Corps. ", As sentiment in the U.S. turned against the war, the hostile attitudes of American civilians towards veterans prevented many from finding an outlet once they were home. Some bases even hired local civilians to operate on-base beauty parlors so that female personnel could keep their hair in some kind of order. Medics weren't supposed to fight, although Matos says he was ordered to perform at least one infantry-related task. The Army Nurse in Vietnam. At its peak in 1969, the Red Cross operated 67 field stations in Vietnam staffed by more than 200 field personnel. While nurse recruitment efforts were often aimed at women, about 20 percent of the military nurses who served in Vietnam were men. Like other soldiers, combat medics were trained in fitness drills, firearms (unless they were conscientious objectors), and how not to get shot. I didnt join for a noble cause or thinking I could change the world, I just wanted to see some of the world, like Germany, Japan or England, says former 1st Lt. Louise Lou Eisenbrand, RN, who was an ER nurse at the Armys 91st Evacuation Hospital at Chu Lai in 196970. The casualty rate is estimated to have been as high as a third. We didnt just take care of their physical wounds, any nurse that has served in any war zone will tell you, says Grace Lilleg Moore, who was a second lieutenant at the Armys 12th Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi in 196869. on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. by a nurse at an Army hospital on the South Vietnamese coast in February 1965. It used UH-1 "Huey" helicopters. Some did their best to compartmentalize, pushing the horrors out of their minds. Writing in The New York Times, Vietnam combat medic Rafael Matos of the First Armored Division explained that during the Tet Offensive, he and his fellow three medics were constantly on duty. 8th Field Hospital Moved from 43rd Medical Group to 68th Med. Harry J. Schneider, X-ray Officer Capt. TWS is the largest online community of Veterans existing today and is a powerful Veteran locator. I was responsible for them," Four later told Whyy. 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