I'm a huge fan of veterans, especially Vietnam vets. I did a lot of work in college to get a POW/MIA stamp with the US Postal Service and I still have my POW/MIA bracelet with Cdr. Joseph P. Dunn, who was killed in action near China.
This is Frankie's story of her time in Vietnam along with the other nurses, who saved the lives of both American GIs and citizens of Vietnam. While they weren't on the front lines with a gun, they were on the receiving end of attacks, mortar shelling, and trauma-inducing experiences. They also lost many of their fellow soldiers.
When Frankie got back to the United States, she wasn't greeted with hugs and parades, she, like many other military members, was greeted with physical and verbal abuse from the citizens that she was protecting. When she went to the Veteran's Administration for help with her flagging mental health, she wasn't welcomed in the counseling groups for Vietnam vets, nor was she offered help, because was told that "there were no women in Vietnam".
The Women is a book that has been waiting to be written for the last fifty years. Not only were the men who fought in Vietnam mistreated by the American people and their own government that they swore to protect, the women who served were doubly mistreated because they were ignored and denied what they had been promised.
Kristin Hannah gets it right: the placing of women on pedestals for being the "weaker sex", the romances, the fighting for what was right, and the relationships of the women, who only had each other for support.
The book must be shared. It must be read. The women of our military mustn't be forgotten for their service.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press free in exchange for my honest review. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.