Vietnam Army Nurse
April 9, 2008 – 6:00 amI met Grace today in the hospital where I was volunteering and where she was visiting a patient. How fortunate for me to learn that she had been in the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam war.
Grace attended St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Ottumwa, Iowa. She entered the Army Student Nurse Program, and graduated a 2nd Lt. Her basic training was at Ft. Sam Houston where she spent a lot of time marching. After that she was sent to Reynolds Army Hospital at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, where she was stationed when she received word she was being sent to Vietnam.
Grace called her sister to tell her the news but told her not to tell their mother. This seemed totally unreasonable. Her mother was told, accepted the news, and flew to Oklahoma to be with Grace prior to her being shipped out. She was Grace’s biggest supporter.
Although many women joined the service against their parents’ wishes, Grace said her mother had been supportive from the beginning. She herself had wanted to join the Navy, but her mother cried so much she did not do it.
While in Vietnam, Grace was assigned to 12 Evacuation Hospital in CuChi, where she was head nurse in the orthopedic unit. She says there were good times and bad times. She feels she became a better nurse and a better person because of her experiences in Vietnam. However, when she returned from Vietnam, she wanted to forget everything. She left her footlocker and all her belongings in California, arriving home with only her uniform, which she was wearing, and her pocketbook.
She married, had children, and after they were grown, Grace went back to nursing and later became Director of Nursing at Chestnut Hill Rehab Hospital. She is an active member of Chapter 210 of the Vietnam Veterans of America.
For information on World War II, go to www.PegGeorge.com
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