American women in Vietnam “supported, opposed, and suffered the war.” (Marshall 3). The women were important in the Vietnam War. However, their importance went unrecognized for a long time. The women sacrificed their home lives just like the men to serve their country. They also suffered and witnessed many horrific events. Kathryn Marshall’s In The Combat Zone helps portray the significant roles that women performed as nurses, Red Cross workers, and Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas (SRAO) and United Service Organizations (USO) volunteers during the Vietnam War.
In her book, In The Combat Zone, Marshall records many nurses’ stories who served in Vietnam and positively impacted the American soldiers. Most of the nurses’ tour of duty generally lasted one year. (Marshall 5). Throughout the year the nurses had many new experiences and served many people, military and civilian. Approximately 80 percent of the military women served in the Navy, Air Force, and Army Nurse Corps. (Marshall 45). They all experienced many struggles and rewards throughout the war. (Norman 75). The nurses were important and helped save many men’s lives. The nurses worked with battle casualties, medical illnesses, and civilians. During the 1968 Tet
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Offensive one center held 1,500 patients. (Norman 76). The nurses made a difference in the soldiers’ lives. Occasionally they risked their own lives to save the soldiers’ lives. Flying shrapnel and glass damaged the nurses’ quarters and typhoon winds blew off the roofs. (Norman 77). They saved many soldiers’ lives, while sometimes risking their own and sacrificing their home lives. In The Combat Zone demonstrates how American nurses played a significant role in the Vietnam...
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...ards, or socialize with local young women.” (Zeinert 38). The USO also hired singers and high-kickers to tour with major entertainment, such as Raquel Welch and Bob Hope. (Marshall 9). In The Combat Zone the SRAO and USO women helped the soldiers get some relief from the war’s atrocities. The women played an important role in the Vietnam War.
Women were important in Vietnam by serving as nurses, Red Cross workers, and SRAO and USO volunteers. The women helped save lives while risking their own. They helped boost the soldiers’ morale. They supported the soldiers when many Americans back home didn’t. They were there to heal, listen, entertain, and provide relief from the horrors of war. Marshall’s In The Combat Zone helps portray the important roles women held as nurses, Red Cross workers, and SRAO and USO volunteers during the Vietnam War.
Senior Officers were more inclined to have trained male soldiers in preference to female nurses. Major General Howse (Director of Medical Services) has been quoted as saying that “the female nurse (as a substitute for the fully trained male nursing orderly) did little toward the actual saving of life in war... although she might promote a more rapid and complete recovery”. General Howse was speaking at a time when the contribution of the Nursing Service to the treatment of the wounded soldiers, at an early stage, had yet to be recognized by the Australian authorities.
Women played an important role throughout American history. They were known in the Civil War to be doing various acts. Women had enlisted in the army as soldiers, spied and gathered information about the enemy, took care of wounded soldiers, traveled and helped within the military camps and even took over their husbands’ businesses. There were many things that they did to contribute to the war just as much as the men did. Even though it was dangerous they still helped whether it was on the battlefield, in a hospital, or at home, they still tried to help out the best they could.
During the war, women played a vital role in the workforce because all of the men had to go fight overseas and left their jobs. This forced women to work in factories and volunteer for war time measures.
It has been known that the Vietnam War affected many American soldiers who were involved in the war physically and psychologically. The Vietnam War was one of the most memorable wars in history. Many Americans’ lives lost for no objective at all. Chapter 10 informed us about how the Vietnam War started and what really happened during that time. It also gave us background information about Vietnam Veterans and nurses who were involved in the war and what they went through during the war. I had the opportunity to interview a Vietnam Veteran also.
"From Home Front to Front Line." Women in War. Ed. Cecilia Lee and Paul Edward Strong. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. The Churchill Centre. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
The women during the war felt an obligation to assist in one form or another. Many stayed at home to watch over the children, while others felt a more direct or indirect approach was necessary. Amongst the most common path women took to support the war, many "served as clerks...filled the ammunition cartridges and artillery shells with powder at armories, laboring at this dangerous and exacting task for low wages. Both sides utilized women in these capacities (Volo 170)." Women that stayed away from battlefields supported their respected armies by taking the jobs that men left behind. They were the grease in the gears of war, the individuals working behind the scenes so that the men would be prepared, ready to fight with functioning weapons and operational gear.
Here at the Chelsea Naval Hospital, the influx of patients arriving home from the war inflicted with "battle wounds and mustard gas burns," has created a shortage of physicians and it is becoming increasingly difficult to fight this influenza. Even our own physicians are falling ill from the disease and dying within hours of its onset. Today I received a letter from Dr. Roy, a friend and fellow physician at Camp Devens, who describes a similar situation:
Women have changed people`s ideas on war for the past two centuries of American history. “People are realizing females have contributed to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan,” stated Professor Megan Mackenzie (Harris 2). Although women are not fighting on the front lines, they help in many different ways in the military such as being nurses and women Air force Service Pilots. In his career, General Martin Dempsey has noticed an improvement in the culture, discipline, and physical prowess since women first joined the military (Harris 2). Leon E. Panetta once stated that women are willing to fight and die alongside men, proving that everyone is committed to the job (Roulo 2). In November of 2012, four female soldiers planned to sue the Department of Defense because the “brass ceiling” was stopping them from proving they could fight (Harris 1). The American Civil Liberties Union and others supported them because they thought the military was discriminating against women (Harris 1). Women have shown that they are committed to helping though their contributions to past wars and battles in American history.
During World War I and World War II, America called upon thousands of women to become nurses for their country to help in hospitals and overseas units. America’s calling was considered a success and by the end of World War I, 23,000 nurses served in Army and Navy cantonments and hospitals, 10,000 served overseas, and 260 either died in the line of duty or from the influenza pandemic (“Nursing Reflections”, 2000, p. 18). In the early 1930s, nurses experienced the devastation of the depression. Families were very poor and unable to feed themselves let alone pay for a nursing visit. This caused many nurses to seek work elsewhere. Nurses who were lucky to be empl...
The images created by propaganda poster had a dramatic effected on convincing many women to choose nursing as a career and dedicate their efforts to serve their country by enlisting in the Red Cross and the United States military. “Over 350,000 American women volunteered to serve in the armed forces during World War II. More than 59,000 of those women were registered nurses, who volunteered to serve in the United States Army Nurse Corps” (Monahan and Greenlee pg.
This source was useful to how women stepped up to help be nurses during war time where there could have been terrible shortage.
During the Civil War they really worked towards building more hospitals and it drove the nursing profession to grow and have a large demand for nurses, but they were more like volunteers, such as wives or mistresses who were following their soldier men. Being a war nursing at that time was seen as a job for the lower class and no “respectable” woman could be seen in a military hospital. During the Civil War Phoebe Levy Pember, a young widow, went north to the confederate capital of Richmond. She eventually ran the world’s largest hospital, where on an average day she would supervise the treatment of 15,000 patients who were cared for by nearly 300 slave women. The war then led to a greater respect for nurses which was noticed by Congress. They then passed a bill providing pensions to Civil War nurses, but more importantly this led to the profe...
Many women took role in the Vietnam War, although the exact number is unknown. Many think this number is anywhere from 4,000 to 15,000, which is a huge range. This includes women working as military nurses, physicians, air traffic controllers, intelligent officers, clerks and many other positions in the United States Army. Some women worked for the Unites States Army while others worked for the Air Force and even the Marines. A main part of this is that none of these women were drafted, they all volunteered to go to the battlefields. Many of the women whom volunteered for the Vietnam War were volunteering nurses.
Nursing has been around for centuries, but has adapted dramatically over the years. Around the year 300 A.D, the Roman Empire placed hospitals in towns that were under its rule. Nursing came to be more important in the 1850s. Nurses were needed all the time, but in the 1850’s needed on the front lines at the Crimean war and Civil war. Nurses were needed at the war zone to help care for the sick and wounded soldiers. A lady
Since the start of the colonies in the United States nursing has been at the forefront of patient care. It all began in the home and moved to the battlefield during any time that Americans where in need. Since that time nursing has evolved from nurses just trying to provide basic care into nurses being a doctors eyes and ears when he cannot be around his patients and even providing primary care. Nurses have always stepped forward to be on the front lines of medical care. This process is continuing with nurses now continuing their educations to achieve the highest levels possible so they can help the most patients.