Vietnam War

9 Pages 2172 Words

pt. Vera Jones wrote the Women Marines director: “I sit here calmly typing this letter and yet can get up, walk to a window, and watch the helicopters make machine gun and rocket strikes in the area of the golf course which is about three blocks away” (Starr 234). In Saigon and other larger bases one thousand three hundred women volunteers were officers who served in support roles. Most women had jobs in communications, personnel, and administrations. Very few women had the chance to work in intelligence, photography, data processing, supply, air traffic control, and film production. Staff Sgt. Betty Reid spoke for many of the office staff when she wrote:
“This has been one of the most challenging assignments in my entire Army career and I’ve never worked as hard in all my life. [It has been] one of those jobs where I have left an office with a feeling of self-satisfaction and accomplishment and a feeling that I have been taxed to the extent of my capabilities” (Starr 234).

The first female in history to be ordered into a combat zone was M/Sgt. Barbara Dulinsky. Bewteen 1967-73 thirty-six women Marines served in Saigon. Lt Col. Eleanor Jeanne McCallum commented:
“Life at Tan Son Nhut for the most part is routine…We do, however, have our moments of excitement in the form of sporadic rocket attacks. These happen just often enough to keep the blood circulating and the adrenalin glands alive…There’s a lot of satisfaction in knowing we are sharing the duty here with our male counterparts and these fellows appreciate this fact” (Starr 234-235).

Roughly seven thousand five hundred American women served one-year tours duty as nurses in Vietnam and in the fifth Field Hospital in Thailand (Starr 237). In Japan, Guam, Okinawa, and Philippines thousands of additional nurses were stationed to care for the wounded. Nurses primarily ...