Nurse

By Samuel Parkins

You met nurse Eileen Hart in the 'Alaska Bush' series.  This continues her life as a nurse in 
Kansas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Samuel Parkins
• Release date: Aug 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201699260

Samuel Parkins

Sam Parkins was born and raised in Minnesota and now lives in Kansas. In between, he moved around for education, jobs, and military service.  His oath has no expiration date and he continues to serve as a life member of the Vietnam Veterans of America.

Book preview

This is a work of fiction, but is based on the lives of several real people who give of their time and skills to help others.

This book is dedicated to the nurses of Angelscare.  They travel to their patients who cannot come in to a clinic or hospital.

And to one great nurse, my sister, Cindy.

Also to the 8 nurses on the wall who joined the military and saved countless lives in Vietnam.

The main character in this book is based on perhaps the greatest military nurse, an inspiration to all nurses,

Lieutenant Colonel Martha Raye.

Copyright 2022, Samuel Parkins

TET

Lieutenant Eileen Hart, US Army Nurse Corps had no real idea what to expect when she got off the plane in Saigon in 1968.  Heat was the first surprise when it slapped her in the face.  This was nothing like Southern Minnesota where she had grown up. 

No one seemed to know what they were doing or supposed to be doing, but her time as an Army nurse had prepared her at least for that, also three years with an accident response team had been the best preparation for being a combat nurse, she thought. 

She would soon find out how close or different these would be.  She followed the crowd off of the plane as they seemed to know where they were going.

By that afternoon she was in a truck with soldiers and Marines headed for a place called Hue.  There was an Embassy there, so maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she had feared.  Being relatively near the beach was nice too.  The countryside was lush and beautiful. 

Between the heat and the rumbling of the truck, she was soon sleeping deeply.  The soldiers who were always on alert admired the calm courage of the Army Nurse who could sleep during a convoy through enemy territory.  That reputation would come to help her patients feel confident and safe under her treatment.  She never really understood why so many highly-trained and experienced warriors would keep looking to her for courage.  She felt less than courageous since they went out to fight while she stayed safe in camp. 

‘Safe’ was always a relative term in a war with no rear area.  None of them realized that the biggest battle, the Tet offensive, was about to begin.

It was sundown when they arrived.  Quartermasters gave out tent assignments and told everyone to grab chow at the mess tent.  The medical people were then to report to their stations.  The enemy moved in the dark and there would be wounded soon. 

Eileen barely had time to get a full canteen before the night lit up with incoming and outgoing ordinance.  She knew that every one of those lights could mean that yet another young man trying to be brave would be bleeding on her OR gown.

The anticipation, waiting for wounded to arrive, seems to take forever.  Then time changes.  The utter chaos that is triage gives way to utter professionalism as training kicks in and medics, nurses, and doctors move quickly from one patient to the next. 

Suddenly everything seems quiet.  Everyone settles into their jobs and begins to treat each wound without thinking, just reacting.

Then it is done and 20 hours have disappeared.  Each person takes a breath, and looks around.  Time starts again and everyone starts cleaning the room, the supplies, their clothing, and themselves, preparing for the next round. 

That next round begins all too quickly.

Over the next 6 weeks it seemed like one long assembly line of patients.  Eileen treated wounds, prepared patients for surgery, and bolstered the other nurses’ emotional strength, then sent them back to treat more young men.  After a breath, she followed them in to the OR to continue.

When there would be a break in the rush of patients, Eileen  found ways to keep her team busy.  She knew that if they stopped to reflect on what they were doing – they might not be able to start again.  In the time it would take to get back up to speed, more could die.  She could not allow that, not on her watch.

Eventually the fighting stopped for a while.  With the quiet everyone paused and that was when the emotions boiled over.  Some tried to sleep, but the dreams would come.  The tears came from every eye.  Soldiers