The Role of Nurses

Woman nurses played a huge role during the Vietnam War. Early in 1963, the Army Nurse Corps, the ANC, launched Operation Nightingale, an extreme effort to send nurses to serve in Vietnam. Most of these nurses who volunteered to serve came from primarily working or middle class families with military service in their history. These nurses often had to live in tents under bad conditions due to heat, humidity, bug infestations and noisy. They worked six days a week, expect during emergencies in which everyone worked. During the TET Offensive, of January 1968, nurses described that they slept if and when they could. "Nurses gained respect not only for their technical skills but also for their independent clinical judgements." states West, an Army Nurse Corps historian. I think this gaining of respect stuck with woman for the years to come and motivated them to continue to do jobs that were traditionally considered to be meant for men only. Woman had always been so limited to doing domestic work such as staying home, taking care of the children, cooking, and cleaning.

http://www.vietnamwomensmemorial.org/pdf/iwest.pdf