The Role of Nurses in the Vietnam War Essay - 1422 Words

The Role of Nurses in the Vietnam War On March 15, 1965, large shipments of troops arrived in South Vietnam. These troops occupied the country until 1973. During this time, many men fought and died for the United States of America. The numerous nurses that operated on thousands of soldiers are often forgotten. The soldiers that the nurses operated on were usually blown apart and crippled for life. The nurses worked diligently to save these men. Even by working hard to save these men they were not recognized as army personnel by the public. The Vietnamese citizens and even the male American soldiers looked down upon the nurses. The United States did not acknowledge the nurses that served in the Vietnam War until 1993. The nurses†¦show more content†¦The attitudes of the men were completely different when the women went into a bar. The soldiers and generals would invite the nurses to parties and treat them nice; but, their sole purpose would be to sleep with them (Marshall 252). The officers should have treated the nurses with respect. The most severe instance in which the male officers showed that they did not recognize the nurse as army personnel was in two cases in which nurses were murdered (Marshall 23). This should not have been tolerated. The two soldiers did not even receive severe repercussions, one was court-marshaled and the other had nothing had nothing happen to him. If these soldiers murdered male soldiers they would have been court-marshaled and possibly received the death penalty. Aside from the Vietnamese people and the army personnel, the army as a whole did not consider the nurses important. The Vietcong pounded the airbase with mortars most of the night, and the security at the hospital was not even tightened (Smith 171). This is another case in which the nurses were not considered important enough to protect. Also, there were almost no feminine products for women to buy at the Post Exchange, a military bases department store (Marshall 42). The male of ficers could buy anything from playing cards to clothes, but females had to do with what they had. The nurses were alsoShow MoreRelatedThe Vietnam War Of Vietnam1534 Words   |  7 Pages The Vietnam War began November 1st, 1955 and ended April 30th, 1975. It was a long costly war that involved North Vietnam and their Southern allies, known as Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its main ally the United States. This war was very unpopular at home and would end with the withdrawal of the United States and the unification of Vietnam under communist control. 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