Nurses In Vietnam War

“Where there are men fighting, there are always nurses.” 2 Women worked on the front and at home during World War ll, unlike women nurses who were not in the fighting

Yes it was hard to do these roles but they risked their lives especially if they went to go and fight. At least some of the women had hope that their husband or loved one would return back home alive. And the nurses were brave for not passing out while doing operations to the injured ones.

However, female soldiers also have many tough things to do and face the risk of death. Although they join a war as nurses, they need to fight against an

From 1861 to 1865, “between 2,000 to 5,000 women” volunteered to serve as nurses in military hospitals during the Civil War. Nurses from all over came to lend a hand during this devastating time. Clara Barton, Annie Etheridge, Dorothea Dix, Susie King Taylor, and Helen Gilson were just a few of the many nurses who volunteer their services to the war effort. Women wanted to be involved and help out as much as they could. Most women did not want to be at home - doing their traditional domestic work. Many women thought that helping out during the Civil War as nurses was an addition to doing their home duties. Women also believed that working as a nurse helping soldiers during the war would make a difference in how people viewed them. Being a

Prior to WWI, women were only allowed to be a military nurse but even then, they weren 't actually enlisted. They were taking care of the men during the war and wasn’t given no type of recognition for doing so. Women 's roles

December 7, 1941 a date that will forever be remembered in American history, was the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. The air in the country after the attack was that of patriotism and determination to defend the nation. America’s involvement in World War II had a profound effect on the profession of nursing. In the time frame of the war nursing saw influences and changes take place within the creation of the National Nursing Council for War, the shortage in nurses, the expansion of nursing practice used while in flight, the view of African Americans serving their country, and the post-war affects of nursing when the war ended.

These female nurses provided medical help for the wounded soldiers at Gallipoli and also on the Western Front. As most of the hospital stations were near the front line many nurses were exposed to aerial bombs and shelling. They were expected to work in primitive conditions; some hospitals were equipped for a mere 520 people yet held 2500 during the wartime. As a result of the long hours and poor conditions many nurses suffered serious illnesses. A total of 2139 Australian nurses served overseas and of these 25 died. Through enduring such adverse conditions nurses proved extreme dedication towards the war effort and their country.

These early nurses were quickly educated on the rigors of war and the primitive accommodations. Hundreds of women lasted little more than a month and for those that did last the work became gratifying and their Christian mission. At the bloodiest moments of the war, nurses braved heat of moment and offered selflessly to treat injured. These ladies

Before the war, few women were nurses. Being a nurse was a man’s job, but now that most men got called out to the war they were in need of nurses. Since women had the time to help, several volunteered themselves. Many men thought the job wouldn’t be appropriate for them. They didn’t want their delicate women to be subjected to the horrors of war, but as time went on they realized how strong they were, mentally and physically. Although a large amount of them were untrained to be nurses, they did an excellent job attending the soldiers. Some women demonstrated their leadership skills, like Dorothea Dix who stepped forward and became the Union Superintendent of Nurses. She recruited volunteer nurses that were over the age of 30 and were “plain looking women”. She recruited these women because she didn’t want people to think that the women were there for the men’s sexual desires. Since there had already been a big controversy were women were being called prostitutes for being nurses (Wayne). Other women took their housekeeping skills to the soldiers’ camps, cooking and doing their laundry. A few women worked as spies for their

The nurses experienced so much trauma in such a little time, that most suffered from PTSD. The experiences that brought on this PTSD was the shock of conflict in Vietnam, the problematic return to a country that did not understand their participation or experiences, the denial of their work in Vietnam, and a sense of isolation from their male counterparts in Nam and their female counterparts back home as well as absence of veterans service groups upon returning to home. The nurses were not recognized for the job that they had done, which allowed many soldiers to return home to their families.

On March 15, 1965, large shipments of troops arrived in South Vietnam. These troops occupied the country until 1973. During this time, many men fought and died for the United States of America. The numerous nurses that operated on thousands of soldiers are often forgotten. The soldiers that the nurses operated on were usually blown apart and crippled for life. The nurses worked diligently to save these men. Even by working hard to save these men they were not recognized as army personnel by the public. The Vietnamese citizens and even the male American soldiers looked down upon the nurses. The United States did not acknowledge the nurses that served in the Vietnam War until 1993. The nurses

Navy medical personnel were able to stabilize and treat most casualties and perform minor surgery, but the more serious cases were medevaced to other treatment facilities in Japan or in the continental United States. A five-story, concrete building, located on Tran Hung Dao, was the Navy’s only hospital. From the day it opened, it began to receive American combat casualties directly from the field. In 1964, the Navy assigned Lieutenant Commander Bobbi Hovis, one of the first Navy nurses to volunteer for service in Vietnam, to Saigon. With her commanding officer and fellow nurses, Hovis helped set up Station Hospital Saigon. As she settled into the daily routine of providing medical care to U.S. military personnel, the security situation in South Vietnam’s capital changed dramatically.

One of those men was called the knight hospitalers, which is where the word hospital originated. During the civil war, “Although we only hear about the predominantly female Union Volunteer nurses, the confederate army assigned 30 men in each regiment to take care for the injured. This could have been the start to the modern combat today” says Lucas. He continues to explain that military nursing was predominantly male until the turn of the century when female nursing schools organized their annual meeting in New York City and excluded men from nursing in the military. Hence forth only women were allowed to serve as nurses in the Army Nurse Corps, which was formed in 1901. Lucas proclaims that it was not until after the Korean War, that men began flowing back into the military’s nursing program.

In the fall of 1862, a war raged between the union and confederate forces at the Battle of Antietam. More than 130,000 soldiers fought, more than 22,000 were wounded. On the battlefront was a woman, Ms. Clara Barton, nicknamed the “Angel of the Battlefield”. Ms. Barton observed the strain of frontline battle, namely hunger, sickness, and wounds and once said “I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them”. (CITATION) It is this same dedication to nursing and our armed forces that drives my philosophy of nursing.

One of the roles women played in the Vietnamese military were nurses. They were usually 20 years or older. More than 80% of the women were military nurses, said the Vietnam center and Archive. “Combat nurses worked 12 hour shifts 6 days a week.” When bad things happened they sometimes had to work 24 or 36 hours. They had a lot of emotions, said also by the Vietnam center and Archive.