October 5–November 9, 2020
T
HE NURSES WHO served in the Vietnam War are among the
least recognized of American military veterans. Many films and TV
programs about U.S. involvement
in Vietnam do not depict a single
American nurse. In fact, more than
6,000 U.S. nurses — the large majority of them
women — served in Vietnam during the war.
Some didn't make it home alive, and many
others were changed forever.
Operation Nightingale
Although some American forces (and a few American nurses)
were stationed in Vietnam in the '50s, U.S. involvement in
the region escalated dramatically in the 1960s. Between
1963 and 1969, the total number of U.S. military personnel
in Vietnam grew from 16,000 to around 550,000, although
until 1965, American troops were still officially considered
advisers to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).
Although helicopters were used during the Korean War, they became the visual and auditory signature of U.S. involvement
in Vietnam, carrying troops to the field and providing rapid medical evacuation of wounded personnel. Helicopter
medevac greatly increased the chances of surviving even horrific wounds.
T
HE NURSES WHO served in the Vietnam War are among the
least recognized of American military veterans. Many films and TV
UNTRY
