...The Bad
In the words of Phoebe Pember, " In the midst of suffering and death, hoping with those almost beyond hope in this world, praying by the bedside of the lonely and heartstricken: closing the eyes of boys hardly old enough to realize men's sorrows, much less suffer by man's fierce hate, a woman must soar beyond the conventional modesty considered correct under different circumstances."
" I can paint no pretty picture of life in the Army...in the loneliness and confusion of a chaotic world, one finds much hard work and sacrifice and little peace...(However) our individual integrity and sense of responsibiliy is the essence of success and survival of democracy" (Tomblin, 1996, p.8)-young nurse, Ruth Parks
"don't ask me to talk about the war and smile at the camera at the same time..."
-anonymous
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-Liz Allen |
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| I am stationed overseas now for 7 months where living conditions are below standard I have no air ventilation and they are definitely not regulation. Where we are stationed there is not enough living quarters for the mass of soldiers so soldiers get crammed 3 in a 2 man room barely enough room to open our wall locker drawers to get dressed. But I have learned something here which is to adapt, overcome, sacrifice, and build friendships that are strengthened by hardships we endure. I would not give that up for a big room, soft bed, better food, lighter training or anything else. By the way I am not an old fashioned soldier. I am a 19 year old female soldier who has not been home in 7 months and I have extended overseas another year. As well my mid-tour leave was cancelled but that's a sacrifice and selfless service. | I have had men die clutching my dress 'til it was almost impossible to release their hold. I have often taken young boys in my arms when they were so tired they could not rest in their beds and held them as I would my own little boys. I never went to the ward with a sad face but always had a smile and a cheery word for all. The doctor said that he knew when I was ahead of him, for the patients had such pleasant countenances. --Lois Dunbar (Our Army Nurses, p.84) |
| "Ladies," he snapped, (I looked around: yup, only women on this detail). "Your job today is to sweep, mop and buff this floor. And remove all the excess paint above the edge of the baseboard." We looked around and wondered "why?" I didn't come into the Air Force for this. | We then had a lecture on the M-16 rifle. Before I left, I confronted the instructor and I told him I couldn't see what he was teaching and would he go over it again. He said, "no problem," he'd talk me through it once I got into the fox hole. So I just waited in front of the fox hole for him to come and show me what to do, but all of a sudden another Army guy came up behind me and started yelling at me to get in the fox hole. I told him of my conversation with the instructor and he didn't want to hear it. He just kept yelling at me to "fire fire fire." He hung over me the whole time yelling at me. He made me so angry and frustrated. I really wanted to just turn around and tell him: "Hey, I don't carry one of these things around with me when I do the housework." I finally finished firing the weapon and all the rounds. I think I did this with both my eyes closed, so needless to say, I never hit the target |