# data[].attributes.body
Hospitals with many injured soldiers

# data[].attributes.body
Most nurses were used to smaller hospitals and maybe one or two trauma patients at a time, but in Vietnam they would be getting anywhere from 50-60 patients and it was so much at a time it could become overwhelming.

# data[].attributes.body
Soldiers next to a helicopter

# data[].attributes.body
Nurses had many responsibilities, one which included checking the body bags and try to figure out the soldiers cause of death and write it down. Some said that helicopters would fly in and bring anywhere for 20-25 bags and there would be so many different injuries and even maggots most of the time.

# data[].attributes.body
Vietnam Nurses

# data[].attributes.body
While about 58,000 people died in the Vietnam war only 8 were women who were all nurses. These women died from things such as shrapnel wounds, helicopter crashes, or illnesses.

# data[].attributes.body
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder in which a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. This often happened to the Vietnam soldiers.

# data[].attributes.body
Soldier with injuries on the field

# data[].attributes.body
The Vietnam war was known as a "dirty" war so there were things like assault rifles, rocket propelled grades, and booby traps. This obviously made for some pretty traumatic injuries and these nurses had to be ready for anything.

# data[].attributes.body
Vietnam nurse talking about her experience through it all

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Vietnam nurse: "We didn't just take care of physical wounds"

# data[].attributes.body
The last of the army nurses left the republic of Vietnam on March 29th, 1973, 2 months after the cease fire. The experiences in Vietnam had long lasting impacts on their lives emotionally and spiritually.

# data[].attributes.body
Nurses in Uniform

# data[].attributes.body
Nurses everywhere in the hospital working on their patients

# data[].attributes.body
There were three different hospitals where nurses wore the white duty uniform, these were the 3rd, 8th, and 17th field hospitals. The remainder of the nurses wore a lightweight olive drab fatigue made of cotton poplin. It was hard for nurses to keep their uniforms clean, especially the ones with white uniforms considering that laundry was a vexing problem.

# data[].attributes.body
Vietnam War Nurse speaking about her job as a nurse in the war.

# data[].attributes.body
In this video the women explains how when she was growing up there were two different career options for women, either being a teacher or being a nurse. She says how the decision came easily to her and then decided to enlist.

# data[].attributes.body
These nurses practiced all specialties of nursing. The most common includes, surgical intensive care, recovery room, emergency room, and medical-surgical care. “X” was the most popular formation for hospitals which allowed a view of all the patients from the central core where the nurses station was located.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Local Vietnam War Nurse Shares Her Story

# data[].attributes.body
Nurses with wounded American soldiers as they prepare to depart from Vietnam.

# data[].attributes.body
Nurses volunteering in a village

# data[].attributes.body
Many of the nurses lived in in tents. Until after 1967 most all lived in tropical buildings, many of the Quonset hut variety, and a few stayed in air conditioned trailers. Most had small individual rooms, others shared an open bay.

# data[].attributes.body
Nursing Tent

# data[].attributes.body
Rapid aerial evacuation, readily available whole blood, well established forward hospitals, and advanced surgical techniques were all needed to smoothly run the hospitals in Vietnam.

# data[].attributes.body
Between January 1965 and December 1970, medical treatment facilities admitted 133,447 wounded, 97,659 of whom required hospitalization.

The frequently treated illnesses included malaria, viral hepatitis, diarrheal diseases, skin diseases, venereal diseases, and fevers of unknown origins.

# data[].attributes.body
Nurses with supplies

# data[].attributes.body
Group of Vietnam Nurses

# data[].attributes.body
Nurses trying to save a patient

# data[].attributes.body
Stress impacted their lives because of the amount of patients they had to serve or anger at seeing young men wounded terribly and feeling guilty for not being able to save all of them.

# data[].attributes.body
Around 6,250 nurses served in Vietnam, a lot of which said they wanted a chance to travel and chance to adventure.

# data[].attributes.body
Female Vietnam Nurses

# data[].attributes.body
Time was volunteered by the nurses by going to communities around them such as going to local orphanages or hospitals. They would offer their medical services or to even teach classes on basic hygiene, first aid, or sometimes English.

# data[].attributes.body
Vietnam nurse helicopter

# data[].attributes.body
Medical Unit, Self-Contained, Transportal (MUST)

# data[].attributes.body
Helicopters were first used during the Vietnam War to transport wounded quickly to medical facilities.

# data[].attributes.body
In 1966 the 45th surgical hospital became the first operational MUST (Medical Unit, Self-Contained, Transportal) hospital. MUST hospitals had inflatable rubber shelters with electrical power, air conditioning, heating, hot and cold water, and waste disposal facilities. They were very mobile and could be transported by truck, helicopter or cargo aircraft.

# data[].attributes.body
Army Nurse Corps badge

# data[].attributes.body
The history of the Army Nurse Corps (ANC)
in Vietnam began in April, 1956 when three
Army nurses arrived in Saigon, Republic of
Vietnam.

# data[].attributes.body
Combat nurses worked 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week. When major incidents occurred those 12 hour shifts could easily turn into 24 hours to 36 hour shifts.

# data[].attributes.body
While nurses were predominantly female, 21% were male, and the Vietnam War was the first war in which male nurses served as officers in the Army Nurse Corps. Over 11 years from March, 1962 to March,1973 more than 5,000 Army nurses served in the Vietnam War.Young nurses ages approximately at 23.6 years of age were still new to nursing only 35% had more than 2 years of nursing experience.

# data[].attributes.body
Anna Mae V. Hays, Chief, Army Nurse Corps

# data[].attributes.body
June 11, 1970, Anna Mae V. Hays was an American military officer who served as the 13th chief of the U.S. She became the first female general officer in U.S. history, she was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.