MF144 Women in the Military

Document Type

Oral History

Interviewee name

Mary Beth Clayfield-Parks

Interviewer

Sarah Kneeland

Interview date

2-16-2005

Interview location

Corea, Maine

Time

00:14:19

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Abstract

Beth Parks, interviewed by Sarah Kneeland, February 16 and 23, 2005, Corea, Maine. Parks talks her experiences in the Vietnam War and how she dealt with it afterwards: reasons for becoming a nurse; training at D.C. General Hospital; volunteering as an officer in the Army Nurse Corps (ANC); Viet Cong tunnels underlying the base camp at Cu Chi; attacks against their camp; operating rooms in the MASH and evacuation hospitals; it was the peak of her career; army vs. civilian nursing; attending the reunion; Annie Cunningham, Glenna Goodacre and Diane Carlson Evans; her film “A Chunk of My Soul”; coping with memories; leaving nursing; the Iraq War and public opinion; James Davis Nelson’s oil painting of the 12th EVAC Hospital operating room. Also included: summary and index of interviews 1 and 2; articles: “A Chunk of My Soul” and “A Vietnam Nurse’s Thanksgiving,” 12th Evac, Cu Chi, RVN; 5 photos. Text: 29 pp. transcript, index, summary, and index, two articles. Time: 00:55:07. Photographs: p14552-p14557. Restrictions: None.

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Part 1: mfc_na3328_cd0950_01
Part 2: mfc_na3328_cd0950_02

Disciplines

Military History | Oral History | United States History | Women's History

Birth date

December 27, 1941

Location

Glen Falls, Warren County, New York

Nation of origin

United States

Home state/Territory

Maine

Gender

Female

Ethnicity

European-American

Occupation

Registered nurse; Wildlife biologist; Educator; Photographer

Branch of service

U.S. Army

Service Unit

Women's Army Corps.; 7th Surgical Hospital (MASH); 12th Evacuation Hospital

Dates of service

August 1966-December 1969, Vietnam, October 1966-October 1967

Date of entry

August 1966

Service entry

Commissioned

Location of Service

Cu Chi, Vietnam

Wars & Conflicts

Vietnam War

Entry Rank

O-1 2nd Lieutenant

Highest Rank

O-3 Captain

Exit Rank

O-3 Captain

Names

General Wyatt; Bob Hope; Glenny Goodacre; Diane Carlson Evans; Annie Cunningham; Ken Hickman; Dan Rather; James Davis Nelson; Sharon Nelson; Charlie Campbell; Richard Harder

Locations

Washington, D.C.; New York; Saigon, Vietnam; Cambodia; University of Virginia; Texas; Hawaii; Texas Tech University; Saratoga Springs, New York; Albany, New York; San Antonio, Texas; Washington State; Panama; Thailand; Germany; Florida; San Francisco; Oakland, California; Switzerland; Spain; Denmark; Norway; Austria; Greece; Africa

Headings

Women in the Military; Viet Cong (VC); Guerrilla Warfare; Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals

Collection name

Women in the Military

Collection number

MF144

Item number

NA3328

Rights and Access Note

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for non-commercial uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For more information, contact Special Collections.

Beth Parks, interviewed by Sarah Kneeland, Part 2

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