- Collection:
- Veterans History Project: Oral History Interviews
- Title:
- Oral history interview of Nancy Young Carter
- Creator:
- Galloway, Joseph L.
Carter, Nancy Young, 1950- - Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center
- Date of Original:
- 2020-02-26
- Subject:
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Participation, Female
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American
Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Medical care
Operation Babylift, 1975
United States. Army. Evacuation Hospital, 121st
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
United States. Army Reserve Medical Command. Army Hospital, 3297th - Location:
- United States, 39.76, -98.5
- Medium:
- oral histories (literary genre)
- Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- In this interview, Nancy Carter recalls her experiences serving as an Army nurse in Korea during the Vietnam War. She describes her schooling, Army training, and early assignments including serving as a surgical nurse and as an obstetrics nurse in Korea. She remembers visiting Uijeongbu and seeing photographs of the cast of the 1970 motion picture M*A*S*H in the hospital there. She recalls delivering babies in Korea when the doctors weren't available and delivering babies by flashlight when the power went out. She describes in detail Operation Babylift, the mass evacuation of children from Vietnamese orphanages after the fall of Saigon in 1975. She remembers that many South Vietnamese army officers knew that their own children were at great risk from the North Vietnamese and surrendered them for adoption as well. She describes the role she played in the receiving end of the evacuation flights at Fort Benning, Georgia, during Operation Benning Babies. She remembers the serious health issues many of the children had and the difficulties they had caring for them. Some of the children became convinced they were to be sold as slaves and removed their identification bracelets, making it difficult for authorities to match the children with their appropriate birth records. She comments on how organized and flexible military medical facilities were compared to their civilian counterparts and how much she was able to do as an Army nurse that she was unable to do as a civilian nurse. She describes her post-military career, including receiving an invitation to return to active duty during Operation Desert Shield in 1990. She reflects on the war in Vietnam and on her military service.
Camp Red Cloud
MPC (Military Payment Certificate)
Operation Benning Babies
Martin Army Community Hospital
MASH (Motion Picture)
Nancy Carter was a United States Army nurse in Korea during the Vietnam War. - External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/VHPohr/id/897
- Holding Institution:
- Atlanta History Center
- Rights:
-
