Women Vietnam Veterans
Our Untold Stories
by
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In gathering material for this book, we have relied to a large extent on the extraordinary record keeping that was done by the Vietnam Women Veterans (VWV) organization. Beginning with its database, the search was extended to the Services, Department of Defense (DOD), and archived public records.
Early in the planning stage, the decision was made to limit our stories only to those enlisted women and officers (other than nurses) who were assigned to the Republic of Vietnam, rather than all of Southeast Asia (SEA). There are several reasons for this decision. First, most of my book team served on the staffs of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), United States Army, Vietnam (USARV), 7th Air Force Headquarters (7AF/HQ), and other combat-support organizations; we are most familiar with that dimension of the war. Second, books have been written and films produced about the extraordinary work of our nurses, but there is scant documentation of the some 1,200 of the rest of us. The third, and probably most compelling, reason is that our experiences are quite different from those who were not actually in Vietnam. While women who served in Thailand also put in very long hours and endured extremely harsh living conditions, they were not exposed to the combat environment of daily rocket attacks and the constant threat of Viet Cong (VC) incursions. Their contribution to the war effort was significant and their stories are also worthy of a book. I hope it will be written.
The war in Vietnam became a pivotal event in the history of women in the military. For the first time since World War II, a Women’s Army Corps (WAC) Detachment was activated in a combat zone. General William Westmoreland, Commander of all US forces in Vietnam, recognized the need for administrative help from the WAC, and he needed help NOW. The problem was that after WWII a belief persisted that women did not belong in a combat theater, much less a combat zone. As a consequence, no programs existed for women to prepare for such assignments. In fact, the Director of the WAC, Colonel Elizabeth Hoisington, had actually eliminated Weapons Familiarization in basic training for the WAC. As MG Jeanne Holm stated in her book, Women in the Military—An Unfinished Revolution, “The women in the line had not the training, conditioning, clothing, or equipment to prepare them for deployment to a combat theater.”
So it was! We were deployed in our dress uniforms complete with heels and nylons. Once there, however, we made an impression. It was obvious, even to the skeptics, that we could deal with the combat environment, with the intense heat, with the red, dusty clay and the monsoons – and that we excelled in our jobs. Soon after the WACs’ arrival, Air Force, Marine and Navy women were deployed. Most of the initial requests were for women to fill traditional administrative positions, but as the war extended, military women were assigned to nearly all non-combat positions and to several locations throughout Vietnam.
There were many “firsts” amongst these women in positions no one thought would be or could be performed by women. Opening these assignments to military women in the combat zone paved the way for the true integration of women into the armed forces. We can now be found in nearly every specialty including some designated combat. That pivotal turning point began in Vietnam.
With few exceptions, the stories are in the women's own words. Be ready to cry, to laugh, to be totally amazed by these young, young women and the extraordinary sacrifices they made to serve their country alongside their military brothers. In addition to a chronological sequence of their names, dates served, and duty assignments, the book also includes chapters detailing our “Untold Stories.”
One of these chapters tells about how a quilt came to be which had been inspired by events at our First Homecoming Conference, November 1999, in Olympia, WA. Yet another chapter gives the reader a glimpse into the heart and soul of the women in their time away from work. They share some hysterically funny stories, the importance of supporting and caring for the orphans in a nearby village, many photos of pleasant – some unpleasant – events and sights, and poems that cloud the eyes and create goose bumps.
Our deceased sisters are noted with a heart symbol next to their names and they are included in the virtual cemetery site on Find-a-Grave.com http://goo.gl/yTjo9t
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About the Book
Women Vietnam Veterans: Our Untold Stories, by Donna Lowery, a Vietnam veteran, chronicles the participation of American military women during the Vietnam War. This little-known group of an estimated 1,000 women from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force left its mark in Vietnam from 1962 to 1973. They served in a myriad of duties from intelligence analysts, flight controllers, clerk-typists, translators, physical therapists, dietitians and communications specialists among many others.
Our Untold Stories allows the women to speak for themselves about their experiences, and, for the first time ever, brings names, facts and figures together in one literary work. The purpose of the book is to be historically significant to future researchers.
The history of the military women in Vietnam began in 1962 with Army Major Anne Marie Doering. She was born in what became North Vietnam. Her father was a French officer, her mother a German citizen. When her father died, her mother married an American businessman. Her service in Vietnam as a Combat Intelligence Officer is a compelling story of the US military women in a war zone.
It was not until 1965 that the US Women’s Army Corps (WAC) sent two women as advisors to assist the newly formed Vietnam Women’s Armed Forces Corps. The following year, the Army authorized the establishment of a WAC Detachment in Vietnam. Soon, thereafter, the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy also sent women to serve in various capacities.
In March 1973, under the Paris Peace Accords, the last women left Vietnam along with the remaining men. The impact they had in Vietnam set the stage for the expansion and integration of women into additional roles in the military. Today, women serve in areas of active combat, demonstrating their abilities and dedication to the mission.
About the Author
Sergeant Major Donna A. Lowery is originally from Eugene, Oregon. She began her military career in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in June 1965 at Fort McClellan, Alabama, followed by training in the personnel field at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
While serving at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, to her surprise, young 19-year-old SP4 Donna Lowery was selected as one of the initial group of Army enlisted women to serve in Vietnam, arriving in 1967. She served 19 months in country and counts that time as one of her most interesting assignments.
In her 26 years of service, Lowery was First Sergeant of four units and served four overseas tours. In 1973, she served at Fort McClellan, Alabama as a Senior Drill Sergeant. Lowery attended Class 27 of the Sergeants Major Academy. Lowery’s last assignment before retirement was the Fort Lewis, WA, G5 (Civil Affairs/Psychological Operations) Sergeant Major during Desert Storm. After her retirement from the Army, Lowery worked for the State of Washington Department of Veterans Affairs and in other positions. She retired from the state in 2006.
Since her latest retirement, Lowery has been active in her community. She received one of the Governor’s 50 Volunteer Awards for her work with the homeless in 2010. Lowery received the Washington State Outstanding Woman Veteran award for 2011.
Women Vietnam Veterans: Our Untold Stories is a book project she has worked on for several years. She feels strongly that the world needs to know more about the courageous women who willingly served this country in a combat zone at a time when it was not seen as an appropriate thing to do.