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Home > 2017 > December
Published December 25, 2017 by Jim

2017 Year End Donut Dollies Documentary Update Video

Happy Holidays and please enjoy our year end Donut Dollies Documentary update video and learn the latest news on our upcoming film.  We send our grateful thank you’s to all of the Donut Dollies, veterans, our generous donors and to the friends, family and fans that make up the Donut Dollie community.  Please share this video, like us on Facebook, visit DonutDollies.com and join us for an exciting 2018.

Please click link to view – 2017 Year End Donut Dollies Documentary Update Video

In The News

American Legion American Legion Auxiliary AMERICAN RED CROSS OVERSEAS ASSOCIATION ARCOA Documentary Donut Dollie Donut Dollie Detail Donut Dollies DONUT DOLLY donutdollies.com donutdollys.com HELICOPTER Huey RED CROSS SRAO Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas thedonutdollies.com veterans Veterans of Foreign Wars Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Vets VFW VFW Auxiliary vietnam Vietnam Vet Vietnam Veteran Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vietnam War VVMF

Thank you to the 35 Donut Dollies who shared their stories of service in Korea and Vietnam
Published December 19, 2017 by Jim

Thank you to the 35 Donut Dollies who shared their stories of service in Korea and Vietnam

As 2017 draws to a close, we would like to thank the 35 Red Cross Donut Dollies who shared their stories of their service in Korea and Vietnam through our Donut Dollie Detail feature.  For many, this was the first time that they shared the experiences that shaped the rest of their lives, and for a few, they shared deeply personal events that even those closest to them didn’t know.

Our deepest thanks go out to the 35 women listed below for their service and willingness to share their experiences (read their stories at the link above).  We look forward to posting more editions of the Donut Dollie Detail in 2018.  If you are a Donut Dollie who would like to share your story through this feature, please contact us at memories@donutdollies.com

Here are the women, whose stories we had the honor to share…

Dorset Hoogland Anderson – Served in Vietnam from 1968-69 at Nha Trang, Cu Chi and Tuy Hoa

Penni Evans – Served in Vietnam from 1970-71 at Cam Rahn Air Base, Long Binh, Cu Chi and Quang Tri

Mary Blanchard Bowe – Served in Vietnam from 1968-69 at Dong Ba Thien, Pleiku, Tuy Hoa and Qui Nhon

Linnie Stone – Served in Vietnam from 1966-67 at Pleiku, Long Binh and Lai Khe

Susan Heinzelman Ladnier – Served in Korea and Vietnam from 1967-68 at Camp Humphries (Korea), Danang, Qui Nhon, Lai Khe and Pleiku.

Cecelia Burgess Grandison – Served in Vietnam in 1968 at Phu Loi

Mary de la Forest-Evans – Served in Vietnam from 1968-69 at Cam Ranh Bay

Diane Schmidt Curley – Served in Vietnam from 1968-69 at Chu Lai and Pleiku

Ellen Cadden Nagy – Served in Vietnam from 1970-71 at Bien Hoa, Da Nang and Long Binh

Bobbie Lischak Trotter – Served in Vietnam from 1970-71 at Qui Nhon, Bien Hoa and DaNang

Maggie Connor Dutilly – Served in Vietnam from 1971-72 at Danang, Quang Tri, Bien Hoa and Cam Ranh Army

Sharon (Vander Ven) Cummings – Served in Vietnam from 1966-67 at Cam Ranh Army, Long Binh and Cu Chi

Lou Breen Rundle – Served in Vietnam from 1971-72 at Qui Nhon and Cam Ranh Air Base

Susan Baiamonte Conklin – Served in Vietnam from 1968 at Cam Ranh Bay, Lai Khe and Da Nang

Marilyn Schmokel Dent – Served in Vietnam from 1968 at Xuan Loc, An Khe and Dong Tam

Terre Deegan-Young – Served in Vietnam from 1970-71 at Chu Lai, Bien Hoa and Camp Eagle

Linda Meinders Webb – Served in Vietnam from 1969-70 at Danang, Cam Ranh Air, Cam Ranh Army, and Pleiku

Marrilee Shannon – Served in Vietnam from 1969-70 at Cu Chi, Cam Rahn AFB and Phan Rang AFB

Agnes Fortune – Served in Vietnam from 1968-69 at Blackhorse in Long Kahn Province, Cu Chi and Long Binh

Eileen O’Neill – Served in Vietnam from 1971-72 at Danang, Phan Rang Air Base, Bien Hoa and Binh Thuy

Barbara McDaniel Stephens – Served in Vietnam from 1969-70 at Bien Hoa, Danang and Cam Ranh Army

Nancy Olsen Hewitt – Served in Vietnam from 1970-71 at Phan Rang Air Force Base, Bien Hoa Army, Cam Ranh Army and Cam Ranh Air Base

René Johnson – Served in Vietnam from 1969-70 at Chu Lai and Cu Chi

Diane Johnson Tucker – Served in Vietnam from 1970-71 at Qui Nhon, Camp Eagle and at Cam Ranh Bay

Jeanne “Sam” Bokina Christie – Served in Vietnam from 1967-68 at Nha Trang, Danang and Phan Rang

Judy Harper – Served in Vietnam from 1970-71 at Qui Nhon, Cu Chi, Danang and Binh Thuy

Karel Dierks Robertson – Served in Vietnam from 1971-72 at Camp Eagle, Cam Ranh Air Base and Bien Hoa

Teri Fisk Hermans – Served in Vietnam from 1969-70 at Camp Eagle, Cam Ranh Air Base and Cu Chi

Linda Sullivan Schulte – Served in Vietnam from 1969-70 at Lai Khe, Dong Ba Thin, Tuy Hoa and Phu Bai

Roseann Krikston Johnson – Served in Vietnam from 1969-70 at Danang and Bien Hoa

Sara Porter Smith – Served in Vietnam from 1970-71 at Tuy Hoa, Danang and Phan Rang

Sherry Giles Cozzalio Taylor – Served in Vietnam from 1968-69 at Long Binh, Phan Rang, Bien Hoa and Dong Tam

Terry Lee Harmon – Served in Vietnam from 1970-71 at Cam Ranh Air Base and Danang

Rose Karlo Gantner – Served in Vietnam from 1966-67 at Nha Trang, & 1969-70 at Saigon

Sheila Otto Rosenberg – Served in Vietnam from 1966-67 at Long Bin, Phan Rang and Cu Chi

PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 35 EDITIONS OF THE DONUT DOLLIE DETAIL THAT CAN BE SEEN HERE, JUST SCROLL DOWN TO READ EACH (AT THE BOTTOM, YOU’LL SEE A LINK TO GO TO THE NEXT PAGE OF DONUT DOLLIE DETAIL FEATURES)

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air base American Legion American Legion Auxiliary AMERICAN RED CROSS OVERSEAS ASSOCIATION An Khe ARCOA BERKSHIRE BERKSHIRE COUNTY Bien Hoa Binh Thuy Cam Ranh Camp Eagle Camp Enari Chu Lai Cu Chi CUMMINGTON Da Nang Danang Di An Dian Documentary Dong Ba Thin Dong Tam Donut Dollie Donut Dollie Detail Donut Dollies DONUT DOLLY donutdollies.com donutdollys.com HAMPSHIRE COUNTY HELICOPTER Ho Chi Minh City Huey Korea Korean War Lai Khe Long Binh memories Nha Trang Phan Rang Phu Bai Phu Loi Pleiku Quang Tri Quy Nhon RED CROSS Saigon Schertz SRAO Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas thedonutdollies.com Tuy Hoa veterans Veterans of Foreign Wars Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Vets VFW VFW Auxiliary vietnam Vietnam Vet Vietnam Veteran Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vietnam War VVMF Xuan Loc

Meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Sheila Otto Rosenberg
Published December 1, 2017 by Jim

Meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Sheila Otto Rosenberg

In our thirty fifth edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Sheila tells how after serving in South Korea, the Red Cross asked her to go to Vietnam to set up new units, that the Donut Dollies were so well taken care of by the troops, and how her experiences changed her life forever.

Please share the Donut Dollie Detail with family, friends and veterans you may know, and make sure to like/follow us on Facebook to learn when the next edition is posted.

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Sheila Otto Rosenberg…

What prompted you to join the SRAO (Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas) program and want to go to Vietnam?

The year before I served in Vietnam, I had been recruited out of college for the SRAO program in South Korea.  Upon returning home from that tour I signed up to work in American Red Cross (ARC) Hospital Services and was sent to Ft. Sam Houston, Brook Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas.  I had been there about 6 months when the DC office called and offered me the task of going to Vietnam to set up SRAO units there.  The program was getting setup in Vietnam and few units were already were open.  It was 1966 and LBJ initiated the big troop buildup, sending 100,000 men that year alone!

When and where were you stationed in Vietnam?  Did you go by a nickname?

I was sent TDY (temporary duty) to Long Bin for a couple of weeks until I could go to Phan Rang to set up the unit there.  I was at Phan Rang for about 6 months and then sent to Cu Chi to set up that unit until I returned home.  I was known as Sheila in Vietnam.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

We spent most every day in Hueys traveling out to forward areas to do our programming for troops who were on stand down for few days.  One day a week at Cu Chi we were assigned to go to 121 Evac Hospital to visit with the troops there.  Friday was for our staff meeting and for working on upcoming clubmobile programs that we would take out to the troops.  At Phan Rang we opened a recreation center where troops could come any time during the day for cards, games, coffee, etc. – like a canteen.

Did you ever have any “close calls” either on base or in any vehicles?

No, I was very lucky.  And when I think back about it, it was a very dangerous time there because so many areas were not secured, because it was at the beginning of the conflict and we never knew where the enemy was.  There were mostly expeditionary forces when I got there.  When I was TDY at Long Bin for that two weeks, we were mortared every night!  My introduction to Vietnam.  It was in the distance from our hooch and headquarters, but I can still remember the noise and the sky lighting up, especially when you had to go to the outdoor privy and you really don’t want to just then.  Same thing at Cu Chi sometimes.  We didn’t know it at the time, but that was such a strange place.  We had mamasans who were carrying grenades, etc. coming in.  They got rid of them of course.  It was tumultuous there the whole time and the reason being is we found out later we were living over the infamous underground tunnel system that the VC had built.  There were a few times when we were at Tuy Hoa for the day (it was just a staging area or forward area base at that time and we had to be out of there before dusk) and our pick up transportation did not arrive.  The CO was really nervous, but they always got us out.

Were you ever injured while in Vietnam?

No, I was not.  We were always so protected and well taken care of by the military.  I have never been treated better by men in my life than there! Love them for that alone!!

What was it like to visit the soldiers in the hospitals?

Of course it was tough.  We saw just about everything you can see.  But we generally saw them after they were patched up and healing.  I really saw much worse when I worked at BAMC (Ft. Sam Houston) before going to Vietnam.  There I worked the burn and trauma ward.  These were the worst of the worst who were medevaced home as soon as possible from Vietnam.  They were napalm burned.  Nothing worse than fire on the human body.  I still have images of a few of the men.  I wished for them to die.  It had to be better.

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

I hibernated at my parents home for about 6 months.  I was happy to sit there and do nothing.  I saw a few friends who came to visit me there.  Then I went looking for a new job, as I had gotten out of ARC after Vietnam!  I was fine.  I went on to grad school and marriage, children, and the usual lives we lead.

What would you like people to remember and understand most about the women who served?

We were not your average American girl, but girls who were part of a new generation of women who wanted adventure, more freedom, recognition, and authority!  Those experiences changed me forever.  I am a much better woman, mother and citizen because of them.

How do you feel Veterans think of your time having served with them?  Have any Veterans expressed their feelings to you directly?

When I first came home, none of us who had been there admitted to being there because America was not friendly to returning vets.  Awful for them!  But we would have been submitted to the disdain as well, but no one expected women to have served there – especially in our capacity.  So I didn’t share it with many people.  But through the years as all that changed, the vets loved us and are so grateful for us being there.  They know we we were volunteers – like some of them were, but most were drafted.  I love them dearly and we have a special bond.

What are your fondest or most interesting memories of your time serving in Vietnam?

The men and what they went through and what they sacrificed for a civil war that we had no business being a part of!!  That’s all I can think of, really.  I am forever a Pacifist.  War is not ever the answer!!

 

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 34 PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE DONUT DOLLIE DETAIL THAT CAN BE SEEN HERE, JUST SCROLL DOWN TO READ EACH (AT THE BOTTOM, YOU’LL SEE A LINK TO GO TO THE NEXT PAGE OF DONUT DOLLIE DETAIL FEATURES)

The Donut Dollie Detail

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