How Did Women Leave The Vietnam War Essay

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Soldiers of the Vietnam War “Whether they volunteered or were drafted, 1 out of 10 soldiers were injured or killed during Vietnam.” (“Vietnam War History” n.pag.) The Vietnam war was the longest war in American history. The armed conflicts led to a staggering total of three million fatalities, out of the three million about 58,000 were Americans. 2,709,918 American soldiers served in Vietnam from 1956 to 1975. One third of the soldiers were drafted, and two thirds of the soldiers were volunteers. Approximately 11,000 of the soldiers stationed in Vietnam were women who were mostly serving as army nurses. The soldiers in Vietnam had gear that poorly combated the harsh terrain of Vietnam, women served as nurses and WAC’s, some women came into the war on behalf of organizations, many soldiers didn’t leave the war in Vietnam after it ended, and today memorials exist to honor those who fought in Vietnam. The American soldiers had arrived in Vietnam with equipment that was very poorly adapted to the Vietnam terrain. Soldiers, before being shipped out, received standard gear: steel helmets, cotton uniforms, later nylon uniforms, M16 rifles, anti-personnel fragmentation grenades, claymore anti-personnel mines, canteens, canvas field packs, and standard issue black leather combat boots. Most of the gear wasn’t well equipped to deal with the harsh jungle…show more content…
There was an estimated 11,000 military women stationed in Vietnam alongside their brother soldiers during the war. Almost all of the women were volunteers and ninety percent of them were military nurses. Only five nurses died during the war. Lieutenant Colonel Annie Ruth Graham, one of the nurses who died, suffered a stroke. Another nurse who died, First Lieutenant Sharon Ann Lane, died from shrapnel wounds in an attack on a hospital where she was working. Lane was later awarded the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm and the Bronze Star for
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