Some of you might think this is an Oprah Book Club review, and I suppose it will sound like one.
I just finished The Women by Kristin Hannah. For those who have not read it and decide you want to, get your hankies to the ready position. Yes, there is a love story (sort of) inside the main theme; however, it is a necessary connection to the coming-of-age plotline of a young woman in the 1960’s Vietnam War era who wants to serve her country, remember her brother killed in that war, and make her parents proud of who she is.
That said, she, Frances (Frankie) becomes an Army nurse stationed in South Vietnam in supposedly “safe” locations. I can assure you the scenes from this book will probably not make it to the Hallmark Channel, as they are graphic descriptions of the types of injuries our troops experienced and the operating conditions under which the nurses worked and lived.
The next major theme throughout the book and to its conclusion, is that of women veterans trying to get their due recognition for their service. Frankie was told over and over, there were no women in Vietnam, and she was even rejected for later treatment by the VA because she was not “in combat.”
This is a story of PTSD, the struggles to maintain some sanity in an insane situation, the political environment of the 60’s and the Johnson/Nixon era, and trying to come to terms with what’s “right” and “wrong.” Do not think this book will be a “MASH” clone; there is no humor in it.
I think one of the reasons the themes in the book hit me so hard was it brought back my own moments of awareness of working with women in the security police field when I was in the Air Force (AF). In 1974 or so, the AF split the security career function into law enforcement (LE) and security. Law enforcement was not considered a combat-related field so women could be LE officers. Also, after Vietnam, all the dog-handlers were transferred over to the LE side.
Now, the dilemma was that in places like Aviano AB, Italy, where I was stationed from 1974 through 1977, the LE officers, including the K-9 units, were the backup responders to our security forces in case we had an attack on the airbase. And, during increased security alerts, the K-9 units actually patrolled OUTSIDE the fence lines as early warning systems. In short, if the enemy were to attack from the ground, the dog-handlers would be the first to get shot at.
The hypocrisy of the system at the time was even though female law enforcement officers were going to be in the thick of any firefights, they did not officially get the same base defense training as male officers for at least another ten years. (While standing guard in my Aviano AB nights, I often thought how I’d really react if my sister were one of those dog-handlers…she was in the AF but not in a security role.)
Without me rambling further, I wrote this observation in deference to and respect for the women veterans I know, I’ve worked with, and for those who still serve. Special Salutes go to DJ, Susan, Marie, Nancy, Vicki, Carol, Kerry, Cindy, Heidi, PollyAnna (Honorary), Barbara, Natasha, and to the past FSOs in the old missile fields of South Dakota.
Read the book, and I think you’ll understand further what I’ve been trying to say with these few paragraphs.
Best regards to all, and let’s be safe out there.
