Over 265,000 American women served in the military during the Vietnam War, including 11,000 in Vietnam.

Women’s History Month officially takes place in March, but that doesn’t mean that one must arbitrarily wait around until that month to recognize and honor the service of the many remarkable American women who have served in the United States Armed Forces throughout the nation’s history.

Although the first American female warrior to actually fly and fight in combat—A-10 Warthog pilot Martha McSally (a now-retired U.S. Air Force colonel and former U.S. senator) didn’t do so until 2004 (in the skies over Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom)—that does nothing to diminish the vital noncombat roles performed by American servicewomen in previous wars. For instance, during World War II, there were the immortal WACS, WAVES, and WASPs. And then there were the military nurses of the Vietnam War.

The American Women of the Vietnam War

The inspiration for this story came to me from a YouTube video that was originally posted three years ago by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—but reshared on MSN two months ago via the Newsworthy Women page—titled “Women on the Frontlines: Vietnam’s Unsung Heroes.” As stated per the video’s textual blurb:

“Over 265,000 American women served in the military during the Vietnam War, including 11,000 in Vietnam—90% as volunteer nurses handling critical trauma cases. Their responsibilities included treating severe injuries like amputations and chest wounds. Many also served in nearby countries, including Japan, Guam, and the Philippines.”

Indeed, members of the Army Nurse Corps arrived in Vietnam as early as 1956, eight full years before the U.S. “officially” became involved in combat operations via the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Though not arriving “in country” as early as their Army counterparts, U.S. Navy nurses were not to be outdone, serving off the Vietnamese coast on hospital ships such as the USS Sanctuary (AH-17) and USS Repose (AH-16); the latter ship (nicknamed the “Angel of the Orient”) was credited with treating more than 9,000 battle casualties and admitting over 24,000 patients for inpatient care in Southeast Asian waters. Last but not least, U.S. Air Force nurses participated in aeromedical evacuation (AE) missions.

Seven U.S. Army nurses and one U.S. Air Force captain paid the ultimate sacrifice during the conflict (along with fifty-nine civilian women):

• 1st Lt. Sharon Ann Lane
• Capt. Mary Therese Klinker
• Capt. Eleanor Grace Alexander
• Lt. Col. Annie Ruth Graham
• 2nd Lt. Elizabeth Ann Jones
• 1st Lt. Hedwig Diane Orlowski
• 2nd Lt. Pamela Dorothy Donovan
• 2nd Lt. Carol Ann Elizabeth Drazba

To all these Vietnam War women of valor, living and deceased, thank you for your service, and Bravo Zulu!

Postwar Tributes (Real-World and Fictitious)

The best-known and most fitting tribute to America’s Vietnam War servicewomen is, of course, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington, DC, which, as the memorial’s official website notes, “is the nation’s first—and still its only—memorial to military women on the National Mall.” The site was officially dedicated on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 1993.

American nurses in Vietnam have also been immortalized in American pop culture. The most famous example is the ABC-TV series “China Beach,” which ran for four seasons from 1988 to 1991 and starred the lovely and talented Dana Delaney as First Lieutenant (later captain) Colleen McMurphy, U.S. Army. In 1990, the series won a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, and Delaney won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1989 and 1992.

Meanwhile, lost in the shuffle of American pop culture history is the 1984 motion picture Purple Hearts, directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Ken Wahl (three years before he became a Hollywood A-lister and heartthrob via the CBS-TV crime drama series Wiseguy) as Navy surgeon Don Jardian and Cheryl Ladd (of Charlie’s Angels fame) as USN nurse Deborah Solomon. As the official description on the IMDb page reads, “In the middle of the Vietnam War, a Navy surgeon and a nurse fall in love. Their affection for one another provides a striking contrast to the violence of warfare.”

About the Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ). He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.

Image: Shutterstock.

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