March 2, 2024 WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE

 

I teach AP Art History and this week we studied Global Contemporary. This area concentrates on works created after 1980. One of the works was  the Vietnam Memorial. So strange--I was actually reading a book about this devastating  war.  The memorial was originally dedicated in 1982 and I can remember my first visit to it in 1983 when I was a senior in high school. It's a simple but stunning memorial to the 60,000 plus men and women who lost their lives.  There were approximately 10,000 women in the Vietman War--7,000 of them nurses--literally right out of nursing school. Of those 7,000-- 8 died overseas. Sadly, when those nurses came home, they faced many hardships that were highlighted in Kirstin Hannah's new book The Women. The main character in this incredible story is Frances "Frankie" McGrath. Frankie grew up in a well to do family in Southern California in 1965. After completing nursing school, Frankie decides to join the Army Nurses Corp. After 6 weeks of training, she finds herself in Vietnam facing death and destruction at every turn. Luckily, Frankie meets two other nurses, Barb and Ethel, who teach her the ropes as well as how to survive the grueling hours and horror of Vietnam. After two tours of duty, Frankie finally comes home--to a different kind of Hell. This is the story of the nurses who sacrificed in the war, unsong heroes, who were forgotten. It's also the story of finding a new purpose after being one of the "lucky" ones to survive the war. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. The characters were so well written--real, raw--that they have been hard to let go of. This is a book that will stick with me for  a long time and I highly recommend it.