Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1294870
could also be both a blessing and a curse. As the recruiting ads had said, women in uniform seldom lacked for male attention, whether welcome or not. Some women met and married their husbands in Vietnam, while others enjoyed having their pick of available men in a freewheeling envi- ronment. However, sexual harassment was a constant prob- lem. So was sexual assault, which added another layer to the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that many nurse vet- erans brought home with them. "Whoop, Whoop, Whoop" A n Army documentary filmed during the war (which you can find on YouTube) shows nurses shopping, reading, visiting the hair salon, writing letters, play- ing with civilian orphans and training the Vietnamese Women's Army Corps in their spare time. While that was all true so far as it went, the footage paints a deceptively tran- quil picture that does not capture the mental stress of mili- tary nursing. Every person who ever worked or lived on a medical base became conditioned to feel a rush of adrenaline at the dis- tinctive "whoop, whoop, whoop" sound of an approaching helicopter. The use of helicopters allowed wounded soldiers time to grab a towel. When she reaches out for support herself, it's often to col- leagues who are then lost or transferred. The writers don't tackle the charac- ter's PTSD after discharge, largely because the show was not renewed for a fifth season, but we witness McMurphy attending a wedding years later and can see that she still has difficulty with new relationships. This is a far different McMurphy than the weary but optimistic nurse we first met in the pilot. The Road Not Taken ★ In later interviews, Delany said that before filming started, the entire cast met with real vets, some of whom worked on the show as technical advis- ers. She was so overwhelmed by the tales they told that she made it her mis- sion to tell their story correctly. Delany received a letter from one vet who told her that when her character entered rehab, it gave him the courage to do so as well. He even sent her his Purple Heart, which she said she treasured more than any other award she has received. Not all veterans were happy with the series, which some former Army nurses criticized for its emphasis on sex and romance, but "China Beach" brought important recognition for nurses who served in Vietnam. (The show debuted a few months after Congress authorized the construction of a Vietnam women's memorial, which was completed in 1993.) FOR ME, WATCHING "China Beach" allowed me to understand better what my life might have been had I chosen ROTC as a way to attend nursing school. In 1971, I was repeatedly contacted by Navy recruiters, who offered me a full scholarship and room-and-board money at the nursing school of my choice in return for four years of serv- ice in what would likely have been the South China Sea. When my dad, a disabled World War 2 veteran, learned of their offer, he told me that he would find the money to match it. Now, I know what that really meant for both of us. Although the difficulty and cost of clearing all the songs on the soundtrack kept "China Beach" from being released on home video until 2013, all 62 episodes are now available on DVD, both in sea- son-by-season sets and in a giant 21-disc box set with many extras. _________________________________ Christine Contillo, RN, BSN, PHN, writes the Nursing Book Club column. She is a public health nurse with more than 40 years of experience, ranging from infants to geriatrics. She enjoys volunteering for medical missions. WN or Marines to reach hospitals much faster than in previous wars. Medevac choppers often picked up, unloaded and took off again without ever stopping the rotating blades. Such speedy medical evacuation significantly improved the odds of surviving even severe wounds. The number of American personnel wounded in combat during the Vietnam War outnumbered those killed in action by more than six to one. However, the injuries the nurses saw were if anything more horrible than ever, thanks to widespread use of weapons like assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. Many wounded soldiers became amputees and some were left paralyzed. Improvised weapons and booby traps presented some unique hazards. "The enemy became very crafty," recalls Diane Carlson Evans, an Army Nurse Corps first lieutenant who remained with the Corps for five years after returning from Vietnam and later became a leading advocate for female Vietnam vet- erans. "They would lace punji sticks with human feces. A soldier would step on it: instant injury and certain infection." October 5–November 9, 2020 Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com 21