Interview of retired U.S. Army Colonel Lola Olsmith on her service in the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm

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Description:

In an oral history interview, Retired U.S. Army Colonel Lola Olsmith talks about choosing to become a nurse, attending nursing school in Little Rock, Arkansas, joining the Army in 1967 and volunteering for duty in Vietnam. She says that after her basic training in San Antonio, she was sent directly to Vietnam and recalls the anxiety she felt as she flew into Saigon at midnight with 13 other nurses. Olsmith talks about her hospital duties in Vietnam, living in Quonset huts, taking care of Viet Cong prisoners, her experiences during the February 1968 Tet Offensive, working in a recovery ward where patients often woke with missing limbs, and making medical visits to Vietnamese villages and orphanages. After her one year tour of duty in Vietnam, Olsmith says that she returned to the U.S., decided to make the Army her career, served in various duty stations around the country, went into the Army Reserves in 1979 as a Major, was reactivated in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm and finally retired from the Army in November of that year. Olsmith says her time in the service gave her a sense of confidence as well as a career. Olsmith is interviewed by Ruth F. Stewart assisted by Carol A. Habgood.

Date Issued:

2004-01-15T00:00:00Z

Data Provider:

Michigan State University. Libraries

Collection:

Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project

Place:

Vietnam

Subject Topic:

Career in military nursing, Military life, Nurses, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, Veterans, Persian Gulf War, 1991, Veterans, Women veterans, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, Persian Gulf War, 1991, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, Participation, Female, Persian Gulf War, 1991, Participation, Female, Tet Offensive, 1968, Military nursing, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, Civilian relief, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, and Medical care

Subject Name:

Olsmith, Lola, Olsmith, Lola, United States, Army Nurse Corps, United States, and Army

Subject Genre:

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews, Interviews, Interviews, Interviews, Personal narratives, American, and Personal narratives, American

Language:

English

Rights:

In Copyright

URL:

https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5m991