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US military nurses who served in Vietnam
Female nurses revolutionary war
US military nurses who served in Vietnam
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The purpose of this essay is to explain and provide information concerning the bravery and trials our Nations World War II Nurses endured. During World War II the need for Army Nurses was so great that the Army Nurse Corps started allowing healthy willing women to join, and the United States Military found many uses for these eager ladies. The change in American society during World War II included more opportunities and a higher status for American Women Nurses with increasing educational advantages provided by the government. Complications with staffing and medical supplies during the bombings of Pearl Harbor, Schofield Hospital, and Hickam Field shows their ability to handle pressure and be useful in crisis situations. A new field training was then developed for all newly commissioned nurses, by Lt. Gen. Brehan B. Somervell the Commanding General of the Army Service Forces. December 1943 the existing and future demand of Army Nurses was decided that their were enough by the United States War Department, and all local volunteer committees were notified to stop recruiting by the Red Cross via telegram.
During World War II, with more than 59,000 nurses serving in the Army Nurse Corps, their were many different nursing practices undertaken by women. The dangerous situations these amazing women were faced with as nurses in field hospitals constantly under fire. “I’m on night duty, twelve hours and it’s really rugged. Were having an air raid again. I have six wards of patients. Some of them are frantic. I’ve given the worst ones all their ordered sedation. I can hear the Germans go overhead time after time. You just keep on doing whatever has to be done. I’m so tired. –June Wandrey, Combat Nurse” (Those Incredib...
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... and that medical units in the European theater were being strained to the braking point.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented that nurses be drafted. The nurse draft bill was passed in the house but was one vote shy of passing in the senate before Germany surrendered. In the meantime over 10,000 Army nurses were enrolled in 1945, making the bill unnecessary.
The purpose of this essay was to inform, and explain the trials and accomplishments our brave Nations United States Army Corps Women Nurses went through. They were amazing women valiant in their duties, training to better help their fellow servicemen. They risked their lives at times, and for the common good of the war effort. “WOMEN WHO STEPPED UP WERE MEASURED AS CITIZENS OF THE NATION, NOT AS WOMEN THIS IS A PEOPLES WAR AND EVERYONE WAS IN IT.”(Quote from the World War II memorial in Hawaii).
An example of one nursing officer’s experience under fire is from Sister Kelly’s diary from the Casualty Clearing Station at the Western Front....
Furthermore, as war led to an increase in the number of injured men, there was a shortage of nurses, and women swarmed into medical universities to receive their educations so they could serve as nurses. In his “Universities, medical education, and women,” Watts states that when it was observed that women could “join the popular and increasing band of professional nurses. women were striving to gain university admission” (Watts 307).
The article was published on February 6, 1943 in the midst of World War II. Women had become an asset to the war effort and were then considered "At Home Soldiers" or "Riveters". They worked in the factories constructing submarines for the Navy, planes for the Air Force, and became medics.
The history of how Surgical Technologists began on the battlefields in World War II, when the Army used medics to work under the direct supervision of the surgeon, nurses were not allowed aboard combat ships at time, this led to a new profession within the military called Operating Room Technicians (ORTs). An accelerated nursing program was form only on operating room technology was set up as an on the job training of nursing assistants who worked in the surgery department, th...
“There was much more to women’s work during World War Two than make, do, and mend. Women built tanks, worked with rescue teams, and operated behind enemy lines” (Carol Harris). Have you ever thought that women could have such an important role during a war? In 1939 to 1945 for many women, World War II brought not only sacrifices, but also a new style of life including more jobs, opportunities and the development of new skills. They were considered as America’s “secret weapon” by the government. Women allowed getting over every challenge that was imposed by a devastating war. It is necessary to recognize that women during this period brought a legacy that produced major changes in social norms and work in America.
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 that served in the Vietnam War, although commonly unrecognized, served as bravely as their soldier counterparts, and some suffered much of the same mental and physical distress.
The Vietnam War was the longest war ever fought by U.S. military forces. U.S. personnel were engaged from 1961 until 1973. Approximately 10,000 U.S. military women served in Vietnam during the war. Most were members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Nurse Corps. All of the Army nurses were volunteers who attended a six-week basic training class, and then were assigned to one-year stunts in Vietnam hospitals and mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) units. Most of these nurses were fresh out of nursing school, some with less than six months of clinical experience. These nurses were not prepared for the physical and emotional wounds that they would have to heal.
When they found out that each side was in need of nurses, women immediately started volunteering to “help the war efforts of their side” (Freemon, 1998). Most of the women focused on helping wounded and sick soldiers (Freeman, 1998). Women of all ages and social classes nursed both Union and Confederate soldiers (Harper, Nurses).... ... middle of paper ...
The images created by propaganda poster had a dramatic effected on convincing many women to choose nursing as a career and dedicate their efforts to serve their country by enlisting in the Red Cross and the United States military. “Over 350,000 American women volunteered to serve in the armed forces during World War II. More than 59,000 of those women were registered nurses, who volunteered to serve in the United States Army Nurse Corps” (Monahan and Greenlee pg.
"From Home Front to Front Line." Women in War. Ed. Cecilia Lee and Paul Edward Strong. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. The Churchill Centre. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
"Red Cross Nursing." American Red Cross. The American Red Cross, 2014. Web. 02 May 2014.
During the Civil War they really worked towards building more hospitals and it drove the nursing profession to grow and have a large demand for nurses, but they were more like volunteers, such as wives or mistresses who were following their soldier men. Being a war nursing at that time was seen as a job for the lower class and no “respectable” woman could be seen in a military hospital. During the Civil War Phoebe Levy Pember, a young widow, went north to the confederate capital of Richmond. She eventually ran the world’s largest hospital, where on an average day she would supervise the treatment of 15,000 patients who were cared for by nearly 300 slave women. The war then led to a greater respect for nurses which was noticed by Congress. They then passed a bill providing pensions to Civil War nurses, but more importantly this led to the profe...
Nursing is more than merely a job, an occupation, or a career; it is a vocation, a calling, a frame of mind and heart. As a nurse, one must value the general good of others over his own. He must devote of himself nobly to ensure the well-being of his patient. However, today’s well-recognized nurses are notably different from nurses of the recent past. Service is the core of the nursing profession, and the essential evolution of the vocation reflects the ever-changing needs of the diverse patient population that it serves. As a profession, nursing has evolved progressively, particularly in its modernization throughout the past two centuries with the influence of Florence Nightingale. The field of nursing continues to grow and diversify even today, as nurses receive greater medical credibility and repute, as its minority representations
During the Civil War, women began to feel like part of the work force, but along with it, was the downfall of being considered "service workers", which is very similar to being a servant. Nurses had to suffer through much conformity, as they had to wait hand and foot on male patients, while at the same time being scrutinized by their male "overseers". These issues that nurses faced in the nineteenth century, continue even to this day, with a little more ease, but we are still driven by a patriarchal society that just isn't ready to let go. Through the works of Louisa May Alcott and Charlotte Perkins Gillman, one can see the hardships that Nineteenth century women were faced with when it came to working. These stories bring to light the fact that, by overcoming oppression, through the strength and desire that leads to resistance, women have been able to achieve self-reliance, which makes their "service work" considered to have with it, an achieved independence. These stories show us the struggles that women faced in the nin...
Many difficulties continued to plague the nursing field throughout the ages. During the Crimean war, in the nineteenth century, a woman by the name of Florence Nightingale became famous for her contributions to nursing (Nies and McEwen, 2011). Nightingale laid down the foundation for all the professional nurses. It was not easy for her to overcome the challenges of that era. At first, her parents opposed her decision to become a nurse (Joel, 2006). That did not stop Nightingale from fulfilling her purpose and goals. Before she could achieve those merits, she went through the Crimean war. Many soldiers died, it must have been devastating for a nurse at the time to endure that amount of soldiers dying daily. Soldiers not only died from gunshots,...