In our fifteenth edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Marilyn Schmokel Dent tells how she came to join the SRAO program, how her Donut Dollie unit made over 40 helicopter trips each week to firebases and outposts to do programming for the men, and how on her flight home to the states along with returning soldiers, they were welcomed home on the plane by the pilot, but were met with a much different response in the airport terminal.

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.  You can also share your email address with us at list@donutdollies.com for updates on the upcoming release of the Donut Dollies Documentary (we will not share/sell your email and will only use it for Donut Dollie related updates).

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Marilyn Schmokel Dent…

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

During Christmas break of my senior year at Oregon State University, I watched the Bob Hope Special from Vietnam on TV.  I was so moved I wrote him and asked if I could help in anyway.   He suggested I contact my Congressman, which I did. That led me to the Red Cross.  I flew to San Francisco for my interview (first time ever flying) and signed up.  I told my mom and she said “all my life, I worried about my 4 sons going off to war and the one who goes is my daughter!!”  I left for Washington, DC for training in September, 1967.

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

I served in Xuan Loc with the 11th Armored Calvary from September 1967 – February 1968, in An Khe with the 1st Air Calvary from February 1968 – June 1968, and in Dong Tam with the 9th Infantry Division from June 1968 – October 1968.  No nickname, I was known as Marilyn in Vietnam.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

It was going with one other girl with our big brown game bag and heading to the helicopter pad.  We made 7-9 stops a day, six days a week by helicopter out to firebases and outposts for our programs.

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

I was doing TDY (temporary duty) at Bien Hoa in February, 1968 during the Tet Offensive.  We were completely shut off from the base for several days because our living quarters were in town. Lots of shooting, mortars, and air strikes during that period.

Were you ever injured while in Vietnam?

No

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

It was so moving and so heartbreaking. The GIs were so young for the most part – hurt and scared. I spent many Sundays at the small base hospital – maybe 10 beds. I wrote letters for the guys and visited.

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

In October 1968, our plane landed in San Francisco. The plane was filled with cheering soldiers. The pilot said over the intercom “welcome to the United States of America”. We walked into the terminal filled with protesters carrying hateful signs and yelling at the soldiers. It was horrible. My family didn’t want to hear about the war or my year in Vietnam. Mostly they just wanted me to get on with my life and get a real job.

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

I felt extremely lucky to have spent my year in Vietnam. I loved visiting with the GIs. They were 100% gentlemen, grateful to see me, and polite. I felt nothing but compassion for the soldiers I visited and enjoyed being able to do this work in Vietnam.

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

I think seeing the Donut Dollies gave the GIs a chance to forget the war and their situation for an hour while we did a program for them. The programs were mostly silly, fun, and lifted the spirits of the men. I went to the dedication of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington, DC 24 years ago and received many thank you’s from the veterans and other people along the parade route. I was touched.

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

A soldier showed me a small photo album his wife had sent with pictures of their new baby he’d never seen in person. Each photo showed the baby and dad’s picture together doing activities during the day – waking up, eating, bathing, smiling, and the last one was the baby saying goodnight to daddy’s picture.

A memory every day was seeing the soldiers (no matter how weary and scared) smiling when they saw us arrive.

To this day, I hope I made a difference during my 13 months in country.

During our tours, Donut Dollies had to send in a monthly report to the Red Cross about the number of men we saw every month, which would help us decide which area to visit.  Anyway, after I arrived home and begin looking for a teaching job, I wrote my resume.  I sent it out to many school districts.  Years later, I reread the resume and one of my job descriptions under working in Vietnam as a Donut Dollie was that I “serviced 10,000 men a month”.  I bet all the administrator who read that had a good laugh.

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In our fourteenth edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Susan Baiamonte Conklin tells about going to Vietnam for the adventure like “Brenda Starr, Reporter” from the newspaper comics, and what happened when she and another Donut Dollie were dropped off at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

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.  You can also share your email address with us at list@donutdollies.com for updates on the upcoming release of the Donut Dollies Documentary (we will not share/sell your email and will only use it for Donut Dollie related updates).

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Susan (Suzi) Baiamonte Conklin…

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

I fancied myself as Brenda Starr the newspaper comic reporter and was looking for an adventure. Boy did I get one.

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

In 1968, I was in Cam Ranh Bay, Lai Khe and Da Nang. I went back to all those places in 2015 and was shocked at the change. I was known as “Suzi” in Vietnam, but became Susan again as I aged.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

In Vietnam, it depended on the location. In Cam Ranh we ran two recreation centers plus a traveling clubmobile program (to reach the men on firebases). Center duty meant making coffee and Kool-Aid and socializing with the men with a daily program. In Lai Khe there was no center and was only clubmobile, so we flew everyday with a prop bag of programs. Da Nang was center and clubmobile. Oh! In our free time we had to create and build those programs.

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

I had many, but the most memorable was in Lai Khe, the home of The Big Red One, which was my second assignment as a Donut Dollie in Vietnam. It was summer 1968 and I was training a new Donut Dollie named Linda. The day started with a news team competing for helicopters on the Lai Khe air strip “to get to the action”. While this was our usual run to Quan Loi, Linda and I just boarded the first available ride there. Quan Loi is close to the Cambodia border and had seen a lot of recent action. Once there, our usual Huey to the airstrip was not available, so we were put on a Chinook. Noise is a factor in riding a Chinook and it is hard to hear. The pilot wrote down a message and asked us if we were sure we wanted to go to this airstrip. Of course we wrote back. It was our weekly run to see the soldiers there. We could see the air strip, but the pilot landed (more like hovered) a short distance from the airstrip and let us off quickly, throwing down our program bag.

We walked to the airstrip and I realized there were no soldiers, only Vietnamese. In a quandary, we opened the prop bag and started programming with the Vietnamese on the airstrip playing games and giving out prizes. In retrospect, I will say that they were just as puzzled as we were. Overhead, I heard a Huey, which landed a couple hundred yards from us. I saw the General’s aide running towards us. “What are you doing here?” he asked and I replied “programming, do you want to play?’ I never got an answer, as he started throwing props back into the bag. He had me by one arm and I had Linda by the other. We did a fast trot to the Huey. Apparently, the General saw “two blue dots” on the airstrip and realized the dots were Donut Dollies and in the wrong place at a very wrong time. The General got a medal for saving us and I got a story.

Were you ever injured while in Vietnam?

If you consider a howitzer gun going off in your ear an injury, but it was my own stupid fault for standing so close.

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

Not part of my job, but I often helped the hospital Red Cross people with visits in Cam Ranh and Da Nang. It was sad, but the men appreciated the visits. I felt better for doing them.

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

Smooth. I moved with my girl friend to Hermosa Beach, CA and taught school and yes, kept partying.

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

They were special and we had a unique gene that made us go to war. They are some of my best friends. Lived a year with these women and never had a negative thought about them, has to be a record.

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

Over 50 years of meeting Vietnam veterans and I have heard nothing but praise for us and thank you’s.

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

Christmas 1968 in Da Nang and the Bob Hope show with Ann Margaret and The Gold Diggers and one ton of fruit cake from the good people in Hartford, CT.  A story in itself.

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In our thirteenth edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Lou Breen Rundle talks about how she did programming events for the soldiers to try to take their mind off the war for a little while, experiencing a rocket attack at Cam Ranh Air Base, and flying in a Caribou cargo plane affectionately known as Santabou, to hand out the free goodies to servicemen.

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.  You can also share your email address with us at list@donutdollies.com for updates on the upcoming release of the Donut Dollies Documentary (we will not share/sell your email and will only use it for Donut Dollie related updates).

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Lou Breen Rundle…

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

I went mainly because I was curious about the war. There were just too many people at home doing nothing but complaining. I hoped I could help in this program.

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

I served in Qui Nhon from Aug-Oct ’71 and at Cam Ranh Air Base (CRAB) from Oct ’71-Apr ’72, and I was known as Lou.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

In Qui Nhon it was traveling every day. Get up early; call for a chopper; run to the chopper pad on the beach & hitch a ride; thank our pilots with a grease pencil smiley chopper drawn on their window; then program; visit; listen; laugh; hand out short timer’s calendars; do card, string, or rubber band tricks or learn new ones from the guys; maybe serve lunch; and then head to another fire base.

At CRAB we were both mobile and had a recreation center. Some days we traveled and some days we worked at the center where we had lemon Kool-Aid and snacks, music, card games, pool tables, etc. We also did special events like plays, fashion shows, shave & haircut day, a Halloween carnival, etc. We “Kool-Aided the flight line” and visited patients at the hospital at Cam Ranh handing out care packages with games, crossword puzzles, short timer’s calendars, and a page dedicated to getting to know our Donut Dollie unit.

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

I remember the first time I saw tracer bullets when flying in a Huey, and asked, “What are those pretty things?” The pilots yelled that we were being fired at and took the chopper down to tree level to keep us safe. Another time there were rocket attacks at CRAB (see photo at left), but I slept right through them!

I never had any fear for my safety; these brave men always took extra precautions for us.

Were you ever injured while in Vietnam?

No.

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

I don’t think they sent us to see the badly injured men. We usually visited wards with men who could interact with us and do the silly things we asked of them.

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

My family and friends were happy to see me. We mainly talked about what I did on R & R and about the parties and fun events we had. I was able to get a job and started teaching in August of ’72.

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

We are all Americans who love our country. We wanted to do something to help, were fortunate to get a chance, and hope we made a difference.

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

I hope that when they think of us, they smile! 8-)

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

I will never forget our Santabou Christmas of 1971 where three tactical airlift squadrons from CRAB painted their planes like Santa complete with a red nose & hat. They’d had raffles to raise money for fruit, candy, pretzels, alcohol, etc. and invited us to fly with them to bases and hand out the free goodies to servicemen who had not had things like this for many months. Our plane’s bartender, Joe, was even dressed like Superman! It was one of the best Christmases ever – all giving, sharing, and good will.

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In our twelfth edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Sharon (Vander Ven) Cummings tells about visiting wounded soldiers was hard, yet rewarding, having Christmas dinner with the guys in Vietnam, and her experiences of meeting veterans at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the thank you’s she received while marching in a veterans parade.

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.  You can also share your email address with us at list@donutdollies.com for updates on the upcoming release of the Donut Dollies Documentary (we will not share/sell your email and will only use it for Donut Dollie related updates).

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Sharon (Vander Ven) Cummings…

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

Most of us were recruited from college campuses.  Requirements were for young women, minimum age of 21, single, with a college degree.  In my case, my Mom worked for the Red Cross and told me about the jobs opening up in Vietnam.  I flew to San Francisco and interviewed for the job, they asked me where I would rather go, Korea or Vietnam.  I chose Vietnam – it was 1966 and I figured not many people would volunteer to go there.  Within 6 weeks, I had gotten my shots and was in Washington, DC for two weeks of training.  Our training consisted of learning how to recognize the various branches of the military and their ranks, and how to behave like a lady in all situations.

When I went to Vietnam, I was the youngest girl in-country.  I look back and cannot believe how innocent and naive I was.  I had been raised as an Air Force brat and lived in Germany, the Philippines, and even graduated from high school in Goose Bay, Labrador, but had really lead a very sheltered life.  It was quite an experience! And knowing all I know now, if you’d ask me today, I’d go again.

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

The first six months were at Cam Ranh Bay, Army.  Then with Long Binh II Field Forces (but we lived in Bien Hoa), and finally with the 25th Division in Cu Chi.  I was known as Shari in Vietnam.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

First, it depended on where I was stationed and whether or not our unit had a recreation center or was strictly a clubmobile unit.  For me, as a Donut Dollie, my time was spent focusing on the guys — either playing pinochle, ping pong, or pool at the center; or writing & creating the next mobile program (we were each responsible for writing a program & making all the props); or spending the entire day traveling from site to site by either helicopter or jeep to the various units we’d be presenting a program to (we traveled in pairs when we programmed).  The days were long. It seems to me that we probably worked 6 days a week.  Those days where I’d be “off” were spent resting, maybe going into the village to go shopping or see the sites; at Cam Ranh we’d go to the beach.

We got up early every morning and got to bed late at night.  We also had strict curfews, although I cannot remember what time we got locked in.  And yes, we really were locked in for the night.

On four separate occasions, after arriving at a unit and setting up to do the program for that day, I had to adapt and let someone else do some real “performing.”  That someone was Martha Raye.   She was all over Vietnam, and for a while, it seemed she was following me wherever I went.  To say the least, there was no way I would ever have tried to compete with her!

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

No, I didn’t have any close calls.  I remember listening to “outgoing” rounds – they became part of the regular noise and we just got used to it.

Were you ever injured while in Vietnam?

No.

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

Sometimes it was really hard.  For me, though, this was a very important part of my job and extremely rewarding.  We took hospital books to break the ice.  But mainly, we were there, smiling and being our cheerful selves.  We had to let the guys know that we were not repulsed or shocked at how they looked — for if we could accept them the way they looked, then maybe things would be okay when they got home.  I think it was very important.

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

I was physically and emotionally exhausted.  I really didn’t know how to act.  I would walk down a street and smile at everyone, because that was what was expected in Nam.  Someone pointed out to me that I shouldn’t be smiling at everyone — it wasn’t right and people might get the wrong impression.  I got very angry one day when I was in the grocery store — there was this huge long aisle of cereal boxes.  It seemed like hundreds of different types of cereal.  And it was more important to choose the correct brand of cereal than to think and worry about our guys who were being blown to bits on the news every night.  Nobody seemed to get it that these guys were really dying and that was real blood.  I got so very, very angry – – and this was in 1967.  I felt lost.  I didn’t know what to do next.   Get another job?  Nothing could compare to the excitement and fulfillment I had while working with MY guys in Vietnam. The let down was very, very hard.

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

We were there because we wanted to be there.  We were there to bring some joy and distraction into the lives of the guys… and we did it the best we knew how!  We gave a lot of energy, and when we had no strength for another smile, we smiled anyway.

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

The veterans I have met at the Wall in Washington DC and at other vet events in California have been very appreciative of our work in Vietnam.  The first time I participated in a vet parade, lots of the guys told us “thank you” for all we’d done.  That brought me to tears.   I’d never thought we did anything special, but apparently, for many of the guys, we did.

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

I really miss the people – I really saw the good sides of people while there.  I also miss the intensity of the job and the satisfaction I got out of my job.  Now, when it is time to go home, I leave the job behind and never think about it.  All jobs have paled in comparison to the satisfaction I got while in Nam.   There was excitement and a real challenge to being a Donut Dollie!

On Christmas day, all the girls in our unit went out to different units in the field.  While there, we had Christmas dinner with the guys – when I say “the guys,” I do not mean the officers.  We almost always worked with the enlisted men (boys).  I was out at a forward location, so we ate in mess tents that had been set up.  Later, several helicopters took us to Cu Chi where we got to see the Bob Hope show.   It was quite a day!

I made two lasting female friendships from Vietnam.  The first was with a girl I trained with in Washington DC and then was stationed with during my first 6 months in country.  The second friendship was rekindled at the Vietnam Women’s Memorial dedication in Washington, DC (1993) with a woman who had been my unit director at my first assignment.  The other friendships were more temporary.  Male friendships were also temporary and based on where I was assigned.  Since 1993, I have made new friendships with women who also served.  It has been a wonderful learning and healing experience.

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In our eleventh edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Maggie Connor Dutilly tells about her parent’s Red Cross work being one reason she choose to become a Donut Dollie, being in a fire-fight at Camp Viking, and being called up on stage by Bob Hope as a salute for the work the Donut Dollies did for our soldiers.

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.  You can also share your email address with us at list@donutdollies.com for updates on the upcoming release of the Donut Dollies Documentary (we will not share/sell your email and will only use it for Donut Dollie related updates).

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Maggie Connor Dutilly…

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

Both Parents had been involved with Red Cross work. My Mom (an R.N.) had been a Gray Lady at Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, PA during WW II. My Dad had been a member of the War Production Board, so we (9 kids) grew up knowing service to the Country was a duty. Because of medical issues, none of my brothers could serve, but I had a sister who became a Navy Nurse. I think President Kennedy’s “Ask not…” speech affected my whole generation.

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

I was stationed in Danang from Aug. 1, 1971 until January 6, 1972 (with trips to Quang Tri and TDY to Bien Hoa) and Cam Ranh Army from Jan. 1972 until evacuation during the Easter Offensive in April 1972. I went by Maggie while in Nam.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

A routine day consisted of checking the Run schedule first thing to see whether I was assigned a Run or Recreation Center Duty. If a Run, I would climb into a ¾-ton truck with an assigned driver (Our Danang Run 1 Driver, Ronnie, eventually became my husband when our paths crossed 4 years after our time in Danang!) and another Donut Dollie (we always travelled in pairs) and go to the stops listed on the Run Schedule.

There were base Runs, where we would program in offices, maintenance bays, mess halls… wherever the Brass wanted us to gather with the guys.

There were forward Runs to firebases where we would fly out in a helicopter and would set up on top of bunkers, in artillery and mortar pits (when not in use, of course) and in mess halls if there was one on any particular firebase.

We would involve the GI’s in trivia, quiz games like Jeopardy and Concentration, and activities like water-balloon fights or Barber Call. Anything to get their minds off the war for a few minutes! Barber Call was when we would offer to give the GI’s shaves and hair-cuts (the First Sergeant would require the men to have standard hair-cuts and not show facial hair., even on firebases (I am thinking they would enforce that when things were slow to keep the troops busy.)

When I would participate in Barber-call, I would remove the blade from the razor I was using so I wouldn’t cut the GI!! Some of them didn’t really need a shave…they just wanted to be close to a Round-eye!

Our Programming lasted about 50 minutes, and we would repeat it on the base runs perhaps 8 times in a day at 8 different locations. (The Run Drivers were very important to us, for it was their job to get us to the right ‘next stop’ at the right time) and perhaps 3 or 4 times on each firebase.

If we were on a base at meal time, we would also man the serving line in the chow halls so we could greet the hungry GI’s as they came through for meals.

One day a week, I think it was Friday afternoons in Danang (In Cam Ranh the air base had their own Donut Dollie Unit) two of us would fill a big canteen with about 10 gallons of orange-ade and ICE, (a real treat in the tropics) load it on the tail-gate of an Air Force pick-up truck and head out to the flight-line at the air base. Hanging our feet off the back of the truck we would ride the flight-line, stopping at each hangar to visit with and dispense Short-timers’ Calendars to the mechanics who kept the Air Force planes running.

If we weren’t scheduled to travel, we would be assigned to the Center. There, we would play cards, shoot pool, play ping-pong, do art activities, join GI’s in the music room to play guitars, and, on special days like St. Patrick’s Day, would do program activities.

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

My second week ‘in-country’ my Unit Director, Pat, and I were caught in a fire-fight as we left Camp Viking …very scary…Turned out to be a sniper in the graveyard across from the Camp Gate…. we had to ride through exchange of pot-shots. No shots hit our truck… Lee (last name?) was driving… had a GI riding shotgun with a loaded M-16 in the truck back, as Pat and I rode nose to nose hunkered down on floor in the front seat.

It was that experience that made Lee decide we should learn how to drive the ¾ ton truck, so if that ever happened again, one of us could drive (we were not routinely permitted to drive any vehicle) while he joined the “shotgun” GI in protecting us.

On one firebase run, we landed right ahead of the General’s chopper, and, as was routine when the brass visited, a “practice red-alert” was started… What this usually meant was that, on a signal from the CO, x number of rounds of mortar and artillery were shot off. The problem that day was the when the rounds went out, one of the mortars doubled back and hit a bunker with GI’s in it. So the practice became a real thing! We quickly learned how to duck into the nearest bunker!

When the General’s chopper left with the wounded GI’s, the General called us into the TOC (Tactical Operations Center – a place we were NEVER permitted to enter for security reasons) and explained what had happened and how freaked out the whole firebase was at that “friendly fire” incident.

Then he said “You ladies have your work cut out for you today… Go out there and make those GI’s smile!”

It was one of the most difficult, yet rewarding days on my tour.

In Cam Ranh, our base had a ‘sapper-team’ come in at the start of the Easter Offensive of 1972… blew up some bunkers with GI’s in them… came through wire near the Minicourt we lived in. First time I heard outgoing artillery that wasn’t expected. (Had visited Artillery bases in Quang Tri so knew the sound…but wasn’t expecting it to wake us out of a sound sleep) Ended up we got evacuated to Cam Ranh Air Base… then they got hit… so went to Saigon and they started getting shelled!

Were you ever injured while in Vietnam?

Second week in country, a couple of days after the fire-fight I got a chance to go out to Spanish Beach on a day off with some GI’s from the radio station on Monkey Mountain… to an area known as “THE ROCKS”. As I was climbing down rocks, I slipped and cut my knee… Went to the dispensary on Camp Horn, where the medic dressed the wound… told me to come back the next day, gave me some crutches… went back, for several days, and noticed each time I went in there were more GI’s in “sick-call”… I wondered if they just wanted to see a “round-eye” getting her dressing changed… finally, when the gash wasn’t healing, I stopped into the Gunfighter Hospital on the Air Base and the Flight Surgeon took one look at the wound and said “It’ll never heal if they keep putting all that gunk on it”, so he ordered me into a cast for 10 days to, as he put it, “ keep the Army guys away from it so it would heal!”

Cast came off, and two weeks later I tripped down some steps on an Air Base run, sprained my ankle and had to go back to the same Flight Surgeon and same cast man and have a plaster splint on my other leg for 10 days!

When I went to the O club at XXIV Corps Headquarters, Camp Horn, (where we lived) for dinner that night, having missed chow-hall, I got a standing Ovation for my clumsiness!

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

Before going to Nam, I had been a Gray Lady at Valley Forge Army Hospital like my Mom had been years before, so I was familiar with hospital visits… The strange thing for me was seeing the GI’s straight out of the field… pretty challenging to deal with.

One day as we arrived at 95th Evac. we heard small arms fire. When we got to the door into the Red Cross Office, a stretcher with a body in a body bag was rolled past us to the ER…. Seems a GI had gotten orders back to the field after some weeks in the hospital and didn’t want to face going back out… so he talked a guard into taking a break for a smoke, and while the guard was away from his post, the patient took the guard’s gun and shot himself. THAT was a bad day!

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

My sister, the Navy Nurse, lived in California so when I returned to the states she talked me into staying with her a couple of weeks to ‘adjust’… I see now, having had a son go off to war, that I probably should have gone home to Pennsylvania, to my parents… but I didn’t want them to see the mess I was. I was dealing with a LOT of PTSD… in fact, until the LORD healed me several years later, I was a mess for several years.

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

We were a patriotic group… we saw our classmates, brothers, cousins, neighbors getting drafted, and we wanted to do our part. There weren’t a lot of opportunities for women to show their support for our troops.

The women who were nurses got the worst of the war… Our job was on the other side of the bed… we were blessed that we could make a difference!

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

I have had some very positive interactions with Vets in the past few years… One local group has invited me to be part of their Honor Guard at Memorial Day Ceremonies each year, and a local Vets group invited me to visit them for their monthly meeting… when I was introduced as a DONUT DOLLIE, I got a standing ovation. THAT meant a LOT!!

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

Fondest memories…. The whole tour!

Special:

#1 Being called up onstage at the Bob Hope show so he could salute the work we were doing.

#2 Meeting Sammy Davis Jr. when he performed in Cam Ranh. (For security, the Vietnamese ladies who did the laundry were not allowed on base, so our Unit was asked if we would consider ironing for the performers. Some of the DD’s were insulted, but I thought it would be fun! And it was!)

#3 Meeting my husband… and all the wonderful guys I knew over there.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 10 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)

In our tenth edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Bobbie Lischak Trotter tells about her experiences with close calls, making visits with the First Cav AG to each of his men at the Long Binh hospital, and sharing a truly personal experience.

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.  You can also share your email address with us at list@donutdollies.com for updates on the upcoming release of the Donut Dollies Documentary (we will not share/sell your email and will only use it for Donut Dollie related updates).

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Bobbie Lischak Trotter…

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

I joined to serve my country because that’s what my family did.  I was also looking for adventure and found I way to afford it.

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

I was stationed in Qui Nhon, Bien Hoa and DaNang.  I served for one year from July 1970 – July 1971.   I was known as Bobbie in Vietnam.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

There was no such thing as a typical day in Vietnam.  Anything could happen at any time and often did.  Work days started early and ended late, especially if you got stuck someplace because of “activity in the area.”  Days off could involve anything from water-skiing behind a Boston Whaler, visiting an orphanage or leper colony, to just chillin’ out in the barracks.

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

Close calls were common.  My first one was in Bien Hoa.  I was at the clinic getting stitches taken out of my knee from a cut with an exacta knife I gave myself while making a prop.  Several rockets hit the nearby air base and killed a couple of folks.  I was once trapped at the old Michelin Plantation while it was under attack.  Another time my partner and I were scooted off to places unknown when a Cambodian commander unexpectedly showed up to review his troops in Vietnam.  During my last six months in DaNang rocket attacks were almost a nightly event.

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

Hospitals, next to orphanages, were probably the hardest places to visit.  There, you could not escape the reality of war.  Also, you knew that some of the guys were never going to make it home and it was our job to comfort them and cheer them.  I learned to be a good liar.  I feel very privileged in that I befriended the First Cav AG in Bien Hoa, Col. Thomas Shaylor.  He made a weekly visit to every one of his troops in the Long Binh hospital and he took me along whenever I could go.  It was very special.

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

Coming home was hard.  Unlike the men, we women could hide if we chose to, but most of us did not.  We wanted people to know, but mostly no one wanted to listen.  I lost all my old friends, struggled with my family and sought company with military people.  I was fortunate in that I soon began dating a Vietnam vet and we were very supportive of each other.  I later joined the Air National Guard and was welcomed by a lot of Vietnam vets, which I will admit were surprised by a woman who chose to go to Vietnam.

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

I would like the world to know how brave and selfless we women were.  We truly, truly loved our fellow countrymen who also served, willingly or not.  We wanted them to live; we wanted to comfort them.  We wanted to bring a little peace to an otherwise hellish place and situation.

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

It’s an old joke about what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this.  I did have a couple of bad experiences, an attempted rape and a fellow telling us to “go home and make babies or whatever it is you women do.”  But on the whole the men were most appreciative, most grateful to us for our presence.  Many have told me that we kept them sane.

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

I have many fond memories of fun and friendship, romance and adventure.  It wasn’t all dark.  I think I learned a lot about the human spirit, no matter the gender, race or nationality.  If it weren’t for our leaders stirring up fear of one another, I think most people just want to live and love each other in peace and tolerance.  I love the Vietnamese people, the Koreans, the Germans, the Brits and especially the Aussies!

PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 9 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)

In our ninth edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Ellen Cadden Nagy tells how coming from a military family and wanting to see and experience the war up close led her to becoming a Donut Dollie, details the “close calls” she experienced, and explains the challenges of visiting wounded soldiers at the hospital on Monkey Mountain.

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.  You can also share your email address with us at list@donutdollies.com for updates on the upcoming release of the Donut Dollies Documentary (we will not share/sell your email and will only use it for Donut Dollie related updates).

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Ellen Cadden Nagy…

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

I had been out of college for 2 years and wanted to do something more meaningful with my life. I went to the University of Georgia and majored in Journalism in 1968. I had read extensively about the Vietnam War and wanted to see/experience it up close myself. And, of course, the war was on the nightly news every day, as well as student unrest and protest. I had come from a military family (as many of the Donut Dollies were), my father was an officer in the Army. My dad died when I was 11; he had served in WWII in the European theatre. I felt the Red Cross was a way to serve my country.

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

I was stationed in Vietnam in 1970-1971 at Bien Hoa (1970), Da Nang (1970-71) and Long Binh (1971). I was known as Ellen Cadden at the time.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

My first assignment in July 1970 was in Bien Hoa (Army) with a small center, base runs/programming (Army and Air Force), and forward runs (Army, Navy). The center was open till later at night, can’t remember but maybe till 10:00 PM. There was kool aid, coffee and coffee cake available. This was a small center and had a few game tables and (1 or 2) pool tables. This was a small unit of 6 DD’s and we lived in a Quonset hut. We once programmed to an entire ship from the dock at Vung Tau and then later served lunch from the galley – It was over 100 degrees, but it was a terrific run!

Da Nang Sept 1970 – March 1971, unit of 12 DD’s. This was one of the largest units in country. We programmed to Army, Navy, and Marines (until the Marines went home in December of 1970). Two girls flew to Quang Tri from Monday afternoon till Friday each week – from there we went to forward units close to the DMZ. Some time in 1971, they opened a unit in Quang Tri. The Red Cross Center, a very large building with two game rooms (pool tables and foosball tables), a music room, a library, coffee, kool aid and coffee cake counter was on Freedom HiIl and with Special Services, USO, a post office and PX. The center was only open during the day – Freedom Hill closed at 5:00 PM. We had base runs and flew to fire bases/LZ’s all over the mountain region. We first lived at Camp Baxter in what was once a hospital and nurse’s quarters. In late 1970 or January of 1971 we moved to the headquarters of XXIV Corp and lived in a two story base housing type building.

Long Binh 1971, this was only a forward unit. There had been a center earlier in the war. I actually liked the mix of a center and forward runs better. This unit was only 6 girls and we lived in trailers.

I never served donuts nor did we take coffee and donuts on any runs when I was there (that I remember). But, we did serve meals in mess halls; Thanksgiving 1970 two of us were on a firebase near the DMZ and served a special meal sent from their headquarters.

Many days we were up at the crack of dawn and at the heliport waiting to be picked up for the day. We often did not return until nearly dark – long, hot days. We would be back up the next day, happy and ready to go again!

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

On a firebase on a run out of Da Nang, the firebase took incoming and there was a fire fight. They called in gunships, and we were evacuated immediately. One night in Quang Tri there was incoming and we had to go to a bunker for several hours – it was cold and monsoon. On a jeep run outside of Da Nang we were fired on and got down on the floor of the open jeep.

Were you ever injured while in Vietnam?

No injuries. I felt safe with our military support.

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

The only hospital experience I ever had was at the hospital on Monkey Mountain. The hospital doctors asked for volunteers to come and see the critically injured men after surgery and before shipping out to Japan for extended recovery before going stateside. So on a day off, Sara Porter and I went (I don’t remember who else went that day, but there was just a few of us). The men just out of surgery were so badly injured and we were not equipped to witness these type of injuries. We were told “we could not cry under any circumstances” and that our reaction would set the tone for them in their recovery process and how their families would see them. Men were missing limbs (many hands, arms and legs), eyes, parts of their faces, and brain injuries. They would say they could not feel their hand or arm or leg and ask if they were still there. I felt like my heart was ripped out. We did not cry until we left. Hospital visits were not part of our programming when I was there. I see from other DD’s earlier in the war, that it was a regular occurrence.

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

It was very difficult coming home after being in Vietnam. Vietnam became your world. No one was really interested in hearing about my experience. The only thing people were interested in was ending the war. I married a GI I met when I first came in-country to Bien Hoa. We have been married for 46 years (he now has non-Hodgkins Lymphoma – Mantle Cell Lymphoma associated with Agent Orange). We both still get a familiar feeling/rush when we hear a helicopter or see a C130. In 2013, my husband and I went back to Vietnam. My husband didn’t really care about going, but it was healing for me. The cities are thriving – Saigon, Da Nang is amazing, the beaches have 5 star resorts, but the countryside is little changed with the exception that everyone has a cell phone and so many scooters. It is very interesting that there is a revival of interest in the Vietnam War and the untold story of the 627 Red Cross women that served with our brothers.

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

It was a privilege to be there and contribute in some small way. To bring a smile and talk with the young boys – really mostly 18 and 19 year olds. They shared their stories of home, laughed at our silly games, and looked forward to hopefully seeing us again. They shared their rations of cold sodas on beastly hot days. They were in awe that we came to be with them – “round eyes.” I never regretted a day that I went, just wish I had gone even earlier. The war was beginning to wind down the latter part of 1970. The experience was the same, but different over the years. The bond between DD’s was and is very special. After all these years family is more interested than ever before and want me to talk to them about my experiences. I share two CDs that I have – “A Touch of Home’ and “A.K.A Donut Dollies.” Those give a glimpse of what we did. I just recently showed “A Touch of Home” to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law; they both cried and apologized that they never asked before. I had hundreds of slides that I threw away about 8 years ago because I really felt no one was interested in the DD story or cared, so in a cleaning moment I threw them all out – I regret it now.

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

I am married to a Vietnam Vet and vet friends that experienced programming are very appreciative; however, some never saw a DD and didn’t know we existed.

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

In December 1970 Bob Hope came to Da Nang and my now husband was able to get an in-country R&R and came up. We were able to see it together. I wish I had written all the DD’s names down everywhere I was stationed. I also wish I had journaled my experience because after nearly 50 years I can’t remember things I wish I could.

Another memory was from an Army vs Navy touch football game that was organized by some men for patients at the hospital. DD’s, Special Services and USO gals were cheerleaders. I participated as a cheerleader for the Army who won 32-0. The patients that could come outside were able to be spectators. It was great fun.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 8 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)