Officer, Nurse, Woman: The Army Nurse Corps in the Vietnam War

War/Society/Culture

by Kara Dixon Vuic

Winner, 2010 Lavinia L. Dock Award, American Association for the History of NursingAn American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year in History and Public Policy “‘I never got a chance to be a girl,’ Kate O’Hare Palmer lamented, thirty-four years after her tour as an army nurse in Vietnam. Although proud of having served, she felt that the war she never understood had robbed her of her innocence and forced her to grow up too quickly. As depicted in a photograph taken late in her tour, long hours in the operating room exhausted her both physically and mentally. Her tired eyes and gaunt face reflected th e weariness she felt after treating countless patients, some dying, some maimed, all, like her, forever changed. Still, she learned to work harder and faster than she thought she could, to trust her nursing skills, and to live independently. She developed a way to balance the dangers and benefits of being a woman in the army and in the war. Only fourteen months long, her tour in Vietnam profoundly affected her life and her beliefs.” Such vivid personal accounts abound in historian Kara Dixon Vuic’s compelling look at the experiences of army nurses in the Vietnam War. Drawing on more than 100 interviews, Vuic allows the nurses to tell their own captivating stories, from their reasons for joining the military to the physical and emotional demands of a horrific war and postwar debates about how to commemorate their service. Vuic also explores the gender issues that arose when a male-dominated army actively recruited and employed the services of 5,000 nurses in the midst of a growing feminist movement and a changing nursing profession. Women drawn to the army’s patriotic promise faced disturbing realities in the virtually all-male hospitals of South Vietnam. Men who joined the nurse corps ran headlong into the army's belief that women should nurse and men should fight. Officer, Nurse, Woman brings to light the nearly forgotten contributions of brave nurses who risked their lives to bring medical care to soldiers during a terrible―and divisive―war.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2009

About the author

Kara Dixon Vuic is the Benjamin W. Schmidt Professor of War, Conflict, and Society at Texas Christian University. She earned her bachelor's degree at Marshall University and her MA and Ph.D. in history from Indiana University.

Reviews

[Jaz Boon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting look into the challenges faced by women during the Vietnam War era. This is a well-written and deeply researched treatment of the military’s desperation for nurses leading to a semblance of greater equality and autonomy for those women. At the same time, the military seems hard pressed to view women outside of the traditional gendered concepts of American society. Not to mention how feminism’s impact on American society did not fully liberate the women who served once they returned home. It’s a lot to unpack, but certainly worth your time!

[Evelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

tough read, a lot of repetition, reads like a textbook, would have been far more interesting if she focused on the nurses stories, that was the best part when she all too briefly told a snipet of what they experienced.

[lakin hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great book, I read it for my thesis/capstone paper I'm writing, but I really enjoyed the information and all the stories that were included!

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kara Vuic is a great writer and an even better historian. She cares about the women who served in Vietnam and uses Officer, Nurse, Woman as a venue to give them a voice within the girl of academic History. I really miss having her at Bridgewater!