A Time Remembered: American Women in the Vietnam War

I thank Olga for allowing me to write my own chapter for this book. After many years of not being "allowed" to talk about my experience in Vietnam, it was truly a relief to put it into words. I am forever changed by my tour in Vietnam but I am proud of my service. My children suffered because of my Agent Orange exposure and also because of my PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). They realize, however, that I knew nothing about either when I volunteered to go to Vietnam. I am proud to have been included in this book with so many brave women. I am honored that my memories will be here, in print, long after I am gone. Thank you, Olga and thank all of you who take the time to read this book. Karen Offutt Vietnam 1969 - 1970

I have always had an interest in nursing, and especially what the nurses in the War did. I wanted to learn about women in the Vietnam War, so then I learned about the nurses. I picked Women in the Vietnam War because I liked how each chapter was a different woman telling their own story about what they did in Vietnam, either as a nurse, Red Cross, special services, or voluntary services. I had no idea that there were all these different services that the women did and participated in. I personally really liked this book. Reading about the different stories kept my interest and it was very interesting hearing about everything that they went trough. Knowing that it was actually the women who survived the war that were telling their story again was amazing to me. There were 9 topics, they were, Army Nurse Corps, Navy Nurse Corps, Air Force Nurse Corps, Women's Army Corps, Army Special Services, International Voluntary Services, USO, American Red Cross, and U.S. Agency for International Development. Each woman had their own special story. They were all different, but many talked about why they wanted to be a part of the Vietnam War and their flight over there, and how it was so hot when they got there. Most talked about what they exactly did in the war, and their most memorable experiences that they went through. Many of the nurses had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and they either weren't treated fairy by men, or were sexually harassed. Many of the women still have flash backs because of the post traumatic stress disorder. The part that most surprised me is when I learned about the reaction that the nurses/women got when they returned home. I never knew that the country was so against this war, and that these nurses who gave their time and support to the soldiers were spat upon and called names like "baby killers". I think this is an excellent resource to learn about the Vietnam War and what the women went through. If you are interested in the Vietnam War itself, this is the book for you. If you want to learn more about nursing, nursing in a war area, or even just how women were treated in the Vietnam War, then this would be a good book to read. I think it is better if you learn information from true stories, like it this book, then from research papers, where information may not always be true. At least you know that you are actually learning the true life stories of these women, and that the experiences that they went through were real. I had no idea there were all these nurses and all these different types of nursing. I had no clue who "Bobbie the Weather Girl" was. All these women were part of the Vietnam War, and they had as much as a risk as the soldiers, but they somehow don't get noticed. That is why it is important to read this book, and read about all the women that were there in Vietnam. When I thought about "women in war" I automatically thought the Army nurse, but there was many other types of nurses and volunte

Having already had a copy of Olga Gruhzit-Hoyt's book about the women who served during World War II, I was anxious to read her latest book A Time Remembered: American Women in the Vietnam War (Presidio Press, ISBN 0891416692, 272 pages). What made it even more interesting for me was that I knew some of the women mentioned in her new book. Knowing how hard of a time I have had getting some women Veterans to open up, I was interested to see how the author collected her information and put it together. I quickly realized that she laid out her book by branches of the military and then the civilians who also served. She started quickly by stating, "Estimates of the number of women who served in Vietnam vary, ranging from 7,500 to 11,000 military women, with the greatest number being nurses. Add to this arbitrary figure the hundreds and hundreds of women sponsored by civilian organizations, and the figure could be near thirty thousand." As I opened the front cover I soon realized that I have already met or been in touch with some of the women the author interviewed. That helped to make this book even more interesting to me. Each chapter was about another woman and what she did during the Vietnam War. Each was powerful in its own right. The first eleven chapters were about the women who served as nurses in Vietnam. The author had five members of the Army Nurse Corps (ANC), two who were in the Navy Nurse Corps (NNC) and four women from the Air Force Nurse Corps (AFNC). Naturally having served in the Army myself I was more familiar with the terminology used by the five women who were in the ANC as well as the three women who were in the Women's Army Corps (WAC). The nurses had been with the 36th Evacuation (EVAC) Hospital, 67th EVAC, 91st EVAC, and 24th EVAC. They were in Vung Tau, Qui Nhon, Tuy Hoa, and Long Binh respectively. The events they described were amazing. The WACs had been in Saigon and Long Binh. Other chapters included stories from civilians. Those women were in Vietnam with the Special Services, United Service Organization (USO), American Red Cross (ARC), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Some of the chapters were actually written by the women themselves. Others were put together following interviews and emails between the author and the women. Regardless of how they were done-they showed the various aspects of how these women's lives were affected both in-country and since returning to The World. This book is a tribute to the women who volunteered to put themselves in harm's way. It should be required reading for students, as well as military members and families of those who have served. This book will help many others to understand that it is not just the male Veterans who suffer from various maladies of war. Our women's history is very important and sadly there is not enough books written about what our women have done to serve our country. I was glad to see this one on the book shelf at my local booksto

This book deplicts women of the Vietnam War. It has stories written by the women who were actually there, telling what they experienced. It tells about the bomb raids, soliers, and everything they've seen and what they will never forget. I recomend this book to everyone, especially if you are interested in women's roles in history, or the Vietnam War in general.