To All The American Women Who Served in Vietnam: Part VI Final

OFTEN OVERLOOKED YET NO LESS IMPORTANT

We always hear about the American women who served in Vietnam in the context of military nurses or Red Cross volunteers- the fact is, there were many other women who served. To them, we will now offer our heartiest thanks and a tribute to each group.

US Marines/Vietnam
In 1967 plans were set in motion to send one officer and nine enlisted women to fill desk billets with the MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam), based in Saigon. The section

provided administrative support to Marines assigned as far north as the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). Later, two more officers were added and served as historians with the Military History Branch, Secretary Joint Staff, MACV.

There were about 28 enlisted women marines and 8 officers between 1967 - 1973.

US Army Medical Specialist Corps/Vietnam
With the number of military personnel increasing from 23,000 to 550,000 between 1964 - 1969 medical facilities were enlarged and established including 23 additional fixed installations. "There were surgical, evacuation units along with field hospitals, and a 3,000 bed convalescent center, supported by a centralized blood bank, medical logistical support installations, six medical laboratories, and multiple air ambulance ("Dust Off") units".a   Between 1966  and 1973  43 Army physical therapists, 33 of whom were women, served in Vietnam. In 1966  two Army dietitians were added to the medical mission. Eventually, a 20 women would serve in all four combat tactical zones. Seven of these women, served as dietetic consultants to the MACV (Medical Assistance Command Vietnam) Surgeon. While the majority of occupational therapy support for Vietnam casualties was provided by therapists in military hospitals in Japan, Hawaii and the States, one occupational therapist was assigned in Vietnam in 1971. Many of these Medical Specialists treated members of the SEATO (Southeast Asian Treaty Organization)- Australia, Korea, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, South Vietnam and, of course, the US. Some patients were also civilians and prisoners of war. Within this group were many consultants. The majority of Army dietitian and physical therapists who served in Vietnam were lieutenant 
colonels and majors. b

US Air Force Women in Vietnam
The US Air Force Command refused to send women into a war zone until the war itself escalated and casualties increased beyond the capacity of male nurses and medics. Consequently, sixteen female nurses arrived at Cam Ranh Bay air base in 1966. Still,

because of the requirement for WAF squadrons and separate dormitories, only a limited number of enlisted women  were stationed in Vietnam at any one time. Most enlisted women served in Thailand assigned to units of the 13th Air Force at Korat, Udorn, Nakhon Phanom, Takhli, and Don Muang. They also served out of Bangkok and at U-Tapao. WAF officers served in many different capacities including supply, aircraft
maintenance, public affairs, personnel, intelligence, photo-interpretation,meteorology, and administration. 
* We have not seen a figure for how many Air Force women (even nurses) served in Vietnam. We are not sure if that is a function of Air Force policy or some other reason. As always, we are open to any information or suggestions readers may have. Just post your remarks in the comments section below.

US Women's Army Corps
Women have served in the  US Army since World War II when, by 1944 the Women's Army Corps reached peak strength at 100,000 enlisted and officers. Shortly after the war, Congress folded the corps into the Regular Army of the United States.

Most of the women who were in the US Army Corps in Vietnam were volunteers. Although not permitted to fill combat roles, they filled positions (beyond the Army Nurse Corps) in communications, supply, and administration. In 1964, General William Westmoreland, requested that the Pentagon send a WAC (Women's Army Corps) officer and a non-

commissioned officer to help in organizing and training a Womens' Armed Force for the Army of South Vietnam (ARVN) and assist where needed with the men's forces. Later, in 1965, a request was sent for 15 stenographers to be assigned to MACV headquarters. By 1970, over 20 women were on duty. Eventually there would be WAC personnel stationed at Qui Nhon and Cam Ranh Bay- all officers and NCOs. Shortly thereafter, 80 enlisted women reported for duty at Tan Son Nhut Air Base (just outside of Saigon). All of these women were under the same threat of attack as their male counterparts with the exception of not being armed for self-protection, even though they had been trained with sidearms and rifles. A total of nearly 700 women, officers and enlisted, served in Vietnam between 1962 - 1973.

US Navy Women in Vietnam
Many women served in the US Navy during the war in Vietnam, although the majority served stateside, in the Pacific, Europe and on hospital ships. Only a handful, other than nurses, actually served in theatre. Their roles, like their sisters in the other branches, were primarily to take over those duties normally held by their male counterparts who were serving on board ships and other areas directly involved with the war. There were numerous ships stationed offshore of Vietnam. Nine US Navy women (all officers) served in Vietnam in logistical and

support administrative capacities at Cam Ranh Bay. No enlisted Navy women served in Vietnam. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt did facilitate some policy changes in 1972 whereby a limited number of women officers and enlisted were assigned to the crew of the hospital ship USS Sanctuary. The first group included 32 enlisted and 2 officers. These women served on the ship's deck, in supply and operations as well as administration. This group would represent the very first sea-going women sailors who were expected to perform the same duties and tasks as their male shipmates. 

MORE CIVILIAN WOMEN WHO SERVED

THE USO- The USO (United Services Organization) was made up of 6 other agencies-the YMCA, the YWCA, the Jewish Welfare Board, the Salvation Army, Traveler's Aid, and National Catholic Community Services. This body was created in 1941 by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Since the request for USO volunteers was granted by the Department of Defense, each

volunteer was given the rank of GS-10 or Captain. At the peak of the war, the USO had 22 clubs in Vietnam.

Each club had 3 staffers at all times. They provided snack bars, barber shops, gift shops, overseas telephone lines, photo labs, and hot showers. Many of the clubs were on the beach as in the Da Nang and Vung Tau areas. The main clubs were the Saigon USO, four in the Da Nang area: China Beach USO, Freedom Hill USO, Golden Gate USO, and the Liberty Center. There were 3 clubs at Cam Ranh Bay: Cam Ranh Bay #1 USO, Aloha USO, and Coffee Bar USO.

*It is important to note that USO Shows and USO Clubs were totally separate functions of the national USO.

So many others...there were American women journalists, American women volunteers with humanitarian, aid, and religious groups. Considerable numbers of these women ran or assisted in operating orphanages, clinics, food banks and other facilities for Vietnamese civilians. We will dig down to uncover more about the women who served as we move forward with our blog.

At this point, we would like say THANK YOU and WELCOME HOME to all the American women who served and sacrificed. Politics aside, these great citizens did what they could to make a very miserable situation a little better while setting aside their comfort zone, psyche and personal safety. There is just not enough gratitude and certainly not enough words.

As we wrap up our month of tributes to women, Vietnam: My War Too would like to send out a very huge THANKS to 
Ann Kelsey, DAC, USARV Special Services, Library Branch, 1969 - 1970 
who took the time to offer us leads, answer our questions and engage in a "hands-on, been-there, done-that" style of informative, professional guidance. Without her balance and steadfastness (not to mention sense of purpose), much of the information we have shared would not have been uncovered. Having said this, a huge thanks goes out to all the women who took the time to write down and share their memories and experiences via the

Vietnam Womens' Memorial Foundation 

Please visit them. They have links to most of the information found here and we humbly thank them for providing a wonderful repository where Americans can forever visit  this historical archive.

Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation website

(click here)

Vietnam Women's Memorial
Washington, DC
1993 - 2013
Twenty Years of  Honor

a "Army Medical Specialist Corps in Vietnam", Colonel Ann M. Ritchie Hartwick; Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation website www.vietnamwomensmemorial.org 
b Ibid

October: Our Month For Honoring American Women in Vietnam: Part V

THE AMERICAN RED CROSS

American Red Cross Patch

Although they went by many names (some not appreciated, some hangovers from World War II and Korea and some used derisively by soldiers) the women of The American Red Cross (SRAO) Supplemental Recreational Activities Organization volunteered to serve their brother-soldiers and contribute in their own way to the effort in a war that no one of their generation really understood. Some have settled on the nickname "Donut Dollies" and found comfort in that association.

In the most notable group of civilian women who served in Vietnam there were three outfits:
the American Red Cross (ARC), the United Services Organization (USO), and the Army Special Services.

Most of the early groups of women who went to Vietnam set out to be a part of something they believed to be important-standing behind their nation. In the early days, the volunteers were girls who had been born as the "point" of the Baby Boom- right after WW II and were raised on John Wayne, General George Patton, the Battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima and all the fantastic red-white and blue of their country- America. Volunteering to do their bit made sense and was, they believed, in the tradition of those women who volunteered by the thousands during World War II both at home and abroad. They would quickly learn how much the world had changed in those 20 years.

Originally established in 1882 by Clara Barton, the Red Cross provides, to this day, service to civilians and military during times of war or other crises such as natural disasters. 

"The ARC was sent to Vietnam by Congress in 1962 to assist the increasing number of American military in the country. General William Westmoreland, the military commander at the time, requested the service of the ARC workers. He considered them of great importance to the  morale of the men. Of the twelve-hundred women who worked for the ARC in Vietnam throughout the war, 627 were part of the Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas (SRAO) Program, or better known as the Donut Dollies. In addition to the Donut Dollies, there were also women in the ARC who worked in Service to Military Hospitals and Service to Military Installations. In the peak year, 1968, there were 480 ARC staff who assisted an average of 25,550 men each month in the clubs, and 2,300 cases each month in the hospitals."-a

The women who were a part of the ARC (SRAO) volunteered. Most of them were just out of college in their early 20s. All of them had college degrees. None of them had experience in war, and were not provided with any training to protect themselves in the case of an attack. Because there was no front line, per se, in the war in Vietnam, danger was everywhere. More often than not, their billets were situated in camps and compounds vulnerable to attacks. Many stories have been related where the Red Cross housing might be located near a helicopter pad or some other important area- the idea being that the enemy would never attack a structure with red crosses painted on the roof and walls. But they would. The enemy would wait for nightfall and run around madly tossing sappers (percussion bombs) into the open windows of Red Cross quarters knowing full well that any GIs nearby would run to help the women- and then the infiltrators would blow up the helicopters. This was an incident that occurred in An Khe sometime between the summer of 1969 and summer of 1970 as told to us by a volunteer stationed there who dove under her bed when she heard the explosions. The enemy was not there to kill Donut Dollies, he was there to blow up helicopters.

"Donut Dollie" engaging soldiers in the field in a game
intended to take their minds from the war-if
just for a few moments.

Joann Puffer Kotcher's Memoir

More often than not, soldiers in the field especially, would ignore or ridicule the efforts of these women who had risked life and limb- without protective gear like helmets and flak jackets, riding in helicopters, jeeps and troop trucks to reach their destinations. 
One can imagine that trying to balance the silly games and Kool-Aid and snacks with death and destruction was not a simple task- for the soldiers OR the Red Cross volunteers. Their charge, at all times, was to BE CHEERFUL no matter what.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

The young American women who volunteered, whether with a civilian organization, such as the Red Cross or as Army Special Services and USO personnel connected with their brother-soldiers because they were roughly the same age. They might share a cup of coffee in the morning, swap a few laughs and then- whoosh off the boys would go on their helicopters out into the field. Sadly, many would not return. If they survived but were wounded, more often than not,  medevac choppers would carry them off to a hospital in another area or to a US Navy hospital ship offshore. Some times they would come back- but most of the time they would not. These volunteers would never see those guys again. Their buddies often did not see or hear from them again either.

In some instances, Red Cross girls would go to hospitals and MASH units to visit fellows who had been wounded, guys they had shared some stories of home with, guys who'd shown photos of their girlfriends back home only to find the young soldier had lost both of his legs. Or had his face half blown off. Any of a million different kinds of injuries. They could not cry. They could not show emotion. They could not tell the soldier how bad they felt. They had to keep smiling no matter what.

Even a warm cup of Kool-Aid tasted
pretty good!

Most of the Donut Dollies were about the same age as the soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors serving in Vietnam. By 1969, the age of 60% of military in country was 19.  It was up to these young women to keep a game face on. Imagine the pressure to withhold emotions in the midst of a war. A war that was raging all around them. Many of the women returned stateside and never received any therapy.  Just as their brother-soldiers, they pretty much faded back into "the world" as if nothing had ever happened. "After all, it was only a year- how bad could it have been?", their unknowing friends would wonder.

Sometimes a cup of coffee from a "round eye" was
the best thing a soldier could think of.

"Yes and how many seas must a white dove sail, before she sleeps in the sand?"

-Bob Dylan "Blowin' in the Wind

The question was asked "How many (SRAO Red Cross) volunteers died?" The answer is four we will list their names here with deepest sadness and in honor of their contributions and ultimate sacrifices- regardless. May they rest in eternal peace.

Hannah E. Crews, Jeep accident, Bien Hoa October 2, 1969

Lucinda Richter, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Cam Ranh Bay February 9, 1971

Virginia E. (Ginny) Kirsch, murdered by an American soldier, Cu Chi August 16, 1970

Sharon Wesley, April 4, 1975, "Operation Babylift" crash, after her tour with ARC

The American Red Cross Memorial
Washington, DC
November 11, 2013
" In Honor and Memory of the
Men and Women of the American Red Cross
Who Gave Their Lives In Service
to Mankind

In Memoriam
May You Rest In Peace
Thank You

Thank You Women of the American Red Cross (SRAO) Vietnam

(Donut Dollies)

Welcome Home!

1. Attributions: a Weber, Maryann L., "Forgotten Sacrifices: American Civilian Women in the Vietnam War"   (1996) Master's Theses, Paper 1272. San Jose State University.
2. Photos: Have been gleaned from various sites on the internet. Most do not have credits or attributions, kindly contact us if you recognize any of these photos and/if they are yours, we can remove them or, at your request add the credit.  We understand how personal they are. VMWT mywartoo@gmail.com
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