Women at War: The Story of Fifty Military Nurses Who Served in Vietnam

by Elizabeth M. Norman

Norman tells the dramatic story of fifty women—members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Nurse Corps—who went to war, working in military hospitals, aboard ships, and with air evacuation squadrons during the Vietnam War. Here, in a moving narrative, the women talk about why they went to war, the experiences they had while they were there, and how war affected them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Nursing, Medical, Biography, War, Historical

238 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1990

About the author

Elizabeth M. Norman, R.N., Ph.D., is a professor at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She is the author of Women at War: The Story of Fifty Military Nurses Who Served in Vietnam, and co-author with Michael Norman of Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath, which made The New York Times list of top ten nonfiction books in 2009 and was named a 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Her awards include an official commendation for Military Nursing Research from the U.S. Department of the Army. She and her co-author are working on a no-fiction book about Bellevue Hospital Center in New York to be published by Henry Holt/ Macmillan.

Reviews

[John Fulcoly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a phd project I believe and while interesting and enlightening it read like a research paper at times. Compared to ‘We Band of Angels’ by the same author which I could t out down, this one was a bit dry.

[Douglas A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. Yes, it was once a PhD research project, and yes, it has fewer "war stories" about the women, but it has a lot more information about the nurses in general. It is so very different from other books about Vietnam War vets, most of which are merely "My Year in the 'Nam."

But then again, both my wife and I are Vietnam vets, she an Army nurse and me an infantry officer. We met there in 1969, and still going strong 55 years later. Much of the book is about circumstances similar to my wife's experience, but not all.

Towards the end of the book, it mentions some of the nurses being married to Vietnam vets. It has been our belief over the years that being married to another vet helps each make adjustments. While she doesn't know what it was like out in the weeds, and I never had to watch men die from spinal cord injuries, we both know the extreme difficulties that arise with any war experience. If we have a disagreement, and one of says "Get out of my AO", we both know what that means.

Highly recommended.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written in the late 1980s, while the fifty nurses were about twenty years or so out of Vietnam. It is interesting, but scholarly at times. I liked the book and read it all the way through, which I don't always do. If a book doesn't connect with me, I stop reading.

If you have any relationship or connection with the military or nursing, I think that you will find this book interesting.

[Luanne Cali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well. This was not at all what I expected and hoped for. I was looking for the personal stories of each of the 50 women. This books was a result of studies. Information about the experiences were sort of bundled into categories. No names of the nurses so not at all personal. I misunderstood what the book was about having only read the title and we all know you can’t just a book by its cover (which is where the title was).
So by what the intention of the book was it was very well done.

[BJ Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad to have read it, for the insights into the evolution of nursing as a profession and to the experience of women who served in and around Vietnam during that war. I would have like more personal narrative and less academic summary -- to have been able to follow the narratives of particular women's experiences. Nonetheless, a very worthwhile read.

Recommended by Pam Rohr and Irene Donahue.

[Lewis Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative and well written book. If not already there, it'll put military combat nurses in a special place in your heart and mind!!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a Master's Thesis. This was available from the University Press that published it. This book was written before the We Band of Angels book and is about nurses in the Vietnam War. Another excellent work but drier in tone.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written and informative book about the sacrifices of young, RN's who served our country brilliantly, only to be virtually ignored once their job was completed.