The exhibit, “Vietnam’s Valiant Heroes: A Tribute to Military Nurses,” offers a collection of photographs and personal narratives that tell the stories of nurses who experienced the Vietnam War firsthand.
According to the Veterans Association News, more than 265,000 American women served in the military during the Vietnam War. Of that number, 11,000 served in Vietnam, with 90% working as volunteer nurses. This exhibit highlighted the contributions of nurses who were women.
“It was very dangerous for them,” special collections librarian Kelly Andrade said. “It was really the first time nurses were that close to conflict.”
Andrade said the exhibit dives into the nurses’ commitment to their patients, as well as the sacrifices they had to make amid war.
“There were these men coming in very severely wounded, and [the nurses] basically were holding their hands and [would] have to comfort dying men and be these men’s wives, girlfriends or mothers to bring comfort to them,” Andrade said.
The exhibit highlights these narratives through a variety of photos and words that Andrade said the library gathered with the help of Texas Tech University’s Vietnam Center, the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project Collection and the University of North Carolina Greensboro, among other resources.
“We really tried to show, through their eyes, snapshots of what they did and how it was very dangerous for them.”
-Kelly Andrade, special collections librarian.
“We really tried to show, through their eyes, snapshots of what they did and how it was very dangerous for them,” Andrade said.
Andrade said the impact of the exhibit has already been evident. Andrade said she spoke with a Vietnam veteran who came to see the exhibit.
“When I asked if he had experiences with the nurses, he got a tear to his eye. He didn’t want to speak on it. He didn’t want to cry,” Andrade said.
Bibliography brochures are posted on the walls listing the books that detail nurses’ narratives of their experiences. Some of the books Andrade said they referenced include “Station Hospital Saigon: A Navy Nurse in Vietnam, 1963-1964” by Bobbi Hovis and “Silent Night: 26 Years in the Navy: A Nurse’s Memoir” by Ann Darby Reynolds.
The exhibit is located in the Exhibits Corridor near the reference desk at Coronado Public Library and will be open until April 7.
