https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip en-us 2020-12-07 05:17:41 UTC 2024-07-15 13:26:11 UTC hello@padlet.com 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992888070 "Donut Dolly" was the common term for Red Cross volunteers during the Vietnam War. The volunteers' job was to provide comfort and a sense of normalcy to soldiers at war. 
Donut Dollies risked their lives performing their duties: they were in danger of mortar attacks, and their blue uniforms were easily spotted targets for enemy shooters when they were traveling. In addition, some of the soldiers who they attempted to counsel were a danger to others because of their war experiences, so some Donut Dollies died while trying to help these men. 
In addition to danger, Donut Dollies had to face more tragedy than most Americans, since they met and befriended many soldiers and volunteers who would later die in the war. ]]> 2020-12-07 05:20:45 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992888070 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992888736 Nurses were trained to save injured soldiers in the war, and were introduced to extreme violence and brutality in the process. They had to learn when to save soldiers, and when soldiers were beyond hope and had to be left to die. Some nurses suffered from PTSD after the war because of the horrors they were introduced to. These nurses also risked their lives to do their duty, since they were located near combat zones. 
Despite this, nurses weren't respected by many people, other than the soldiers they saved. Doctors and generals considered them their property, and society thought of them as prostitutes because they worked around so many men. The controversy surrounding the war further hurt the reputations of nurses. ]]> 2020-12-07 05:21:07 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992888736 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992888830 Around 7,500 women served in the Vietnam War. Most were part of the Army. 8 of these enlisted women died in the war. 
At the time of the Vietnam War, however, the Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 was still in place. This act put a limit on the number of women in every role of the military (except nurses), allowing only two percent of the military to be female. Women were also forbidden from becoming admirals or generals under this act. ]]> 2020-12-07 05:21:11 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992888830 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992889168 Women at home during the Vietnam War made advances in workplace equality. One example was the lawsuit assisted by stewardess Marjorie Perry that protected pregnant women in the workforce. (This would make way for the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 that would provide benefits and leave for mothers.) Women at home were also involved in protests regarding the war--for example, singer Nina Simone sang "Backlash Blues" in protest of racism in the US military during the Vietnam War. ]]> 2020-12-07 05:21:22 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992889168 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992889302 The Vietnam War was the first war that women covered in significant numbers. These journalists working in Vietnam faced very dangerous situations: they explored combat areas in their work, and so risked being shot or imprisoned. Despite this, women wanted to cover the war for many reasons: because it was the biggest story of the time, because they had strong opinions favoring or against the war, so they could follow their boyfriends to Vietnam, or so they could write about something other than traditionally female issues. ]]> 2020-12-07 05:21:27 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992889302 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992889593 Women served as stewardesses on airplanes flying into war zones. Officially, their job was to serve as safety officers, but unofficially, they also acted as friends, pen pals, and therapists for the soldiers on the planes. This meant that they lost many friends in the war. 
These women risked sniper attacks and being imprisoned or blown up when they landed. They often served longer than drafted soldiers, since those drafted were only required to serve for 12 months, while some women served for the duration of the war. ]]> 2020-12-07 05:21:38 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992889593 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992904042 2020-12-07 05:30:12 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992904042 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992908495 2020-12-07 05:32:53 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/992908495 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993004465 These volunteers didn't receive the credit they deserved. Instead of being treated as heroes for the danger they faced, they were put on a pedestal as "nonsexual symbols of purity and goodness," (Mithers). They were used to enforce traditional ideas of women as moral creatures who existed to support men. 
In addition, despite this idea of the Donut Dollies as nonsexual, they faced sexual harassment in their work. One volunteer, Emily Strange, recalls many soldiers touching her, and being told by another volunteer that it didn't matter what she did because the soldiers only wanted to stare at her anyway. ]]> 2020-12-07 06:26:19 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993004465 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993078304 Women struggled to obtain permission to cover the Vietnam War, since many thought it wrong to allow them into danger because of their gender. Even when allowed to travel to Vietnam and cover the war, it was difficult for women to obtain permission to access combat zones to cover the war. They were told that it was too dangerous, that there were no bathrooms, and that the men wouldn't be able to control themselves around the women. Male journalists and higher ranking soldiers didn't approve of the presence of women in Vietnam. Commander Westmoreland even tried to ban women from staying in combat zones overnight, which would have prevented them from covering stories there almost entirely. ]]> 2020-12-07 07:05:04 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993078304 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993091496 Westmoreland's rule failed when women banned together to campaign against it. As the war continued, women faced less difficulties, in part because of lawsuits filed by women working at home that applied to equality in Vietnam. By the middle of the war, women were involved in all areas of reporting, and by the end, they were full members of major newspapers, wire services, and TV netowrks. ]]> 2020-12-07 07:11:34 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993091496 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993112923 Despite what they risked, these stewardesses didn't receive hazardous duty pay for flying into war zones, unlike the male pilots of the planes. They were treated more as pretty objects than anything--they got waist and weight checks to ensure that they fit traditional female beauty standards. In addition, at the start of the war, fired if they became pregnant. 
However, one stewardess who was fired for this reason, Marjorie Perry, joined a lawsuit against this sexist rule. The lawsuit passed, and she was able to regain her job, in addition to further equality for women like her.  Patricia Ireland, another stewardess who faced discrimination because of her gender, was inspired to help protest for the Equal Rights Amendment and join the National Organization of Women because of her experiences.]]> 2020-12-07 07:21:44 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993112923 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993276556 2020-12-07 08:39:46 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993276556 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993278151 2020-12-07 08:40:33 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993278151 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993278531 2020-12-07 08:40:46 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993278531 223144 https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993430294 2020-12-07 09:54:12 UTC https://padlet.com/223144/c4mxjmyuwy54z4ip/wish/993430294