A Time Remembered: American Women in the Vietnam War [Hardcover]

Olga Gruzit-Hoyt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 1999

A Time Remebered is a fitting tribute to the women who gave so much.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The experiences endured by young American men during the Vietnam War have reached mass audiences. But the 10,000 young women who served alongside them have, for the most part, been ignored. In digest form, Gruzhit-Hoyt presents snapshots of women who served, in one capacity or another, during the war. Like many college students of the era, Linda Sullivan Schulte opposed U.S. participation in the war and was active in campus protests. But when challenged by a visiting military officer to go there and see the truth for herself, she joined the Red Cross. Air Force Corps nurse Eileen G. Gebhart's skills were vital, but didn't insulate her and her colleagues from repeated sexual harassment, the uncertainty of life in a war zone and other indignities and dangers. Karen Offut's ex-husband blamed her for their children's medical problems, citing her probable exposure to chemicals during her tour of duty with the Women's Army Corps. Two subsequent marriages also ended in divorce for Offut, who went on to suffer from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Others, like Schulte, who became a successful businesswoman and local politician, emerged relatively unscathed and arguably strengthened. The profiles are similar in format, detailing each woman's reasons for going to Vietnam and what happened once she arrived. Although the book is informative and some of the individual stories moving, Gruzhit-Hoyt's prose is dry, keeping readers at arm's length from the events and feelings the women experienced. But nearly every one of these individual profiles will shed new light on readers' understanding of the daily life of the war. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Presidio Press (August 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891416692
• ISBN-13: 978-0891416692
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Add this book to your collection about our women who served!, February 2, 2001

By 

Noonie Fortin (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Time Remembered: American Women in the Vietnam War (Hardcover)

Having already had a copy of Olga Gruhzit-Hoyt's book about the women who served during World War II, I was anxious to read her latest book A Time Remembered: American Women in the Vietnam War (Presidio Press, ISBN 0891416692, 272 pages). What made it even more interesting for me was that I knew some of the women mentioned in her new book. Knowing how hard of a time I have had getting some women Veterans to open up, I was interested to see how the author collected her information and put it together. I quickly realized that she laid out her book by branches of the military and then the civilians who also served. She started quickly by stating, "Estimates of the number of women who served in Vietnam vary, ranging from 7,500 to 11,000 military women, with the greatest number being nurses. Add to this arbitrary figure the hundreds and hundreds of women sponsored by civilian organizations, and the figure could be near thirty thousand." As I opened the front cover I soon realized that I have already met or been in touch with some of the women the author interviewed. That helped to make this book even more interesting to me. Each chapter was about another woman and what she did during the Vietnam War. Each was powerful in its own right. The first eleven chapters were about the women who served as nurses in Vietnam. The author had five members of the Army Nurse Corps (ANC), two who were in the Navy Nurse Corps (NNC) and four women from the Air Force Nurse Corps (AFNC).

Naturally having served in the Army myself I was more familiar with the terminology used by the five women who were in the ANC as well as the three women who were in the Women's Army Corps (WAC). The nurses had been with the 36th Evacuation (EVAC) Hospital, 67th EVAC, 91st EVAC, and 24th EVAC. They were in Vung Tau, Qui Nhon, Tuy Hoa, and Long Binh respectively. The events they described were amazing. The WACs had been in Saigon and Long Binh. Other chapters included stories from civilians. Those women were in Vietnam with the Special Services, United Service Organization (USO), American Red Cross (ARC), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Some of the chapters were actually written by the women themselves. Others were put together following interviews and emails between the author and the women. Regardless of how they were done-they showed the various aspects of how these women's lives were affected both in-country and since returning to The World. This book is a tribute to the women who volunteered to put themselves in harm's way. It should be required reading for students, as well as military members and families of those who have served. This book will help many others to understand that it is not just the male Veterans who suffer from various maladies of war. Our women's history is very important and sadly there is not enough books written about what our women have done to serve our country. I was glad to see this one on the book shelf at my local bookstore.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book!, March 29, 2000

By 

Leah Barhorst (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Time Remembered: American Women in the Vietnam War (Hardcover)

This book deplicts women of the Vietnam War. It has stories written by the women who were actually there, telling what they experienced. It tells about the bomb raids, soliers, and everything they've seen and what they will never forget. I recomend this book to everyone, especially if you are interested in women's roles in history, or the Vietnam War in general.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It was an honor to have my story told in this book., February 1, 2006

By 

Karen "Karen" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Time Remembered: American Women in the Vietnam War (Hardcover)

I thank Olga for allowing me to write my own chapter for this book. After many years of not being "allowed" to talk about my experience in Vietnam, it was truly a relief to put it into words. I am forever changed by my tour in Vietnam but I am proud of my service. My children suffered because of my Agent Orange exposure and also because of my PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). They realize, however, that I knew nothing about either when I volunteered to go to Vietnam. I am proud to have been included in this book with so many brave women. I am honored that my memories will be here, in print, long after I am gone. Thank you, Olga and thank all of you who take the time to read this book.

Karen Offutt

Vietnam 1969 - 1970