The approximately 40 veterans, many community members, Holy Family and Lindsay Academy students who attended the Veteran’s Day program at Holy Family School in Lindsay, on Friday, Nov. 22, had the opportunity to hear from five amazing women. You could have heard a pin drop as they described their service experience and answered questions from moderators Ivy Korus and Bella Gaspers from the Lindsay Academy. The first of the stories was told (via video) by Angie Naiman, who was a nurse in Vietnam. She became a little “teary” as she recalled her time in Vietnam. Ms. Naiman volunteered to go to Vietnam after watching the news one night. Walter Cronkite had announced that they were in need of medical personnel. Ms. Naiman was already a nurse with some years of experience. As soon as she told the recruiters she would like to go to Vietnam to help, they told her she was “in” and a short time later she was headed to Vietnam. Even though it has been 50+ years since she was there, she said it is still hard to talk about the experience.
The next to share her story was American Red Cross Donut Dolly, Dorris Heaston. Dorris, born in Maryland, volunteered with the Red Cross during the Vietnam War. After two weeks of training, she also was on a plane to Vietnam. The Donut Dollies in Vietnam did not hand out any donuts, their job was to bring a little bit of home to the troops. The number one thing they were told to do was smile, smile, smile. They sometimes worked in bases where there were recreation centers. Playing games with the servicemen, visiting with them and just listening to them was part of their job. They also traveled to camps away from the bases. They typically traveled in pairs, and would bring simple games that could easily be packed up and moved from place to place. They tried to give the soldiers a break from the seriousness of their situation. As Dorris put it, the nurses were there to heal their wounds, the Donut Dollies were there to heal their hearts.
Chaplain Jillian Petersen shared her journey with the military. She recalled how a friend was going to enlist and on a whim, she said she would enlist as well. The recruiter lived in the house right behind hers, and she marched across the lawn and told her she wanted to join. The next day she had signed her name on the dotted line and had taken the oath. She started her career as a medic. A defining moment in her military career involved her sister. They were both deployed at the same time. Her sister was supporting a convoy in Baghdad when the convoy got hit. She didn’t find out until the next day that her sister was safe. This incident made her realize the seriousness of her mission. Later she felt a calling to become a chaplain and with much encouragement and prayers from many, has continued to serve while follow this path.
