In Memorium
Today is Memorial Day, and for most of us, a holiday. For those who have to work, it may be a day to earn time and a half and bulk up the bank account. That was one of the few perks of nursing–working on holidays like this one, where I really didn’t celebrate it (veggies aren’t much into barbecues), and it was an opportunity to be paid extra. Closer to what I was worth, as opposed to the normal pay.
But the real purpose of having this holiday, which was carved out of VE Day (Victory in Europe) and VJ Day (Victory in Japan) at the end of WW II, was to honor our military. In particular, to honor those who died.
I’m not going to give a history lesson here, but as you can see, the photo is of the Vietnam Memorial which sits on the mall in Washington DC. Well, I tried to upload a photo but it didn’t seem to take. Anyway, Vietnam. A controversial war, a dirty war (as though any war is ever clean), and one which threatened to tear this country apart. However, it is notable in the annuals of nursing history as the first war in which MEN were allowed to serve as nurse. That’s right, the first war where nurses of the male persuasion could actually tend the wounded and sick, and not have to pick up a gun.
In previous wars, and in the military in general, a male nurse was a non-entity. If you were a man and a nurse, you were not permitted to serve as such. Granted, there weren’t all that many male nurses in WW II and Korea, but the military was certainly in dire need of them. There were plenty of able bodied men to draft as soldiers, but the supply of nurses was rather scant. And yet, rather than allow these men to nurse, they gave them a gun and sent them to the front. A poor use of personnel and skill, considering the dire need for nurses, especially towards the end of WWII.
So I thought a photo of the Vietnam War Memorial was fitting. Nurses served and died in every war that this country has fought, so here’s a toast to the brave.