MF144 Women in the Military
Document Type
Oral History
Interviewer
Amy L. Stevens
Interview date
5-1-2003
Interview location
Ellsworth, Maine
Files
Download Full Text (25.0 MB)
Abstract
Barbara Beal, interviewed by Amy L. Stevens, May 1, 2003, in Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, Maine. Beal, age 56, talks about her service as an Army nurse in the Vietnam War; her family and friends’ reaction to her deployment; her anxiety prior to deployment; her training experiences; her preconceptions of the war vs. the reality; her emotional experience of the war; her typical day at the medevac hospital; the dangers of the job; her leisure time; socialization between men and women; her most important relationships during the war; her reception upon returning as a veteran; whether the war changed her; continuing her nursing career as a civilian; moving to Maine from Pittsburgh; whether she would do it all over again; her family history; the ethnic and gender makeup of her coworkers during the war; her experience of sexism in the military; her positive memories of the war; male soldiers’ visitation of prostitutes; and wartime pregnancies. Text: 21 pp. transcript. Recording: No recording.
Disciplines
Military History | Oral History | United States History | Women's History
Birth date
August 5, 1946
Location
Sewickley, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Nation of origin
United States
Home state/Territory
Pennsylvania
Gender
Female
Ethnicity
European-American
Occupation
Nurse
Branch of service
U.S. Army
Service Unit
Women's Army Corps.
Dates of service
September 1970-September 1971
Date of entry
September 1, 1970
Service entry
Commissioned
Location of Service
91st Evac Hospital, Chu Lai, Vietnam; 71st Evac Hospital, Pleiku, Vietnam
Wars & Conflicts
Vietnam War
Entry Rank
O-1 2nd Lieutenant
Highest Rank
O-2 1st Lieutenant
Exit Rank
O-2 1st Lieutenant
Names
Anna Kasnic; George Kasnic
Locations
Sewickley, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii; Vietnam; Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Chu Lai, Vietnam; South China Sea; Da Nang, Vietnam; Pleiku, Vietnam; Saigon; Iraq; Guam; Hong Kong; San Francisco; Seattle; Bath, Maine; East Sullivan, Maine; Ellsworth, Maine; Orono, Maine; New Jersey; NOrth Carolina; Bethesda, Maryland; Yugoslavia
Headings
Women in the Military; Mass Casualty Triage; Military casualties; Pacific Exchange Catalog; Sex Workers
Collection name
Women in the Military
Collection number
MF144
Item number
NA4193
Recommended Citation
Kasnic Beal, Barbara Ann, "Barbara Beal, interviewed by Amy L. Stevens" (2023). MF144 Women in the Military. 76.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mf144/76
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