A Minnesota PBS Initiative
One Vietnam Era Story (1971) Morris, MN
The delivery was complete with a healthy mom and baby. I just needed to clean up a few odds and ends in the delivery room before I could go back out onto the inpatient unit and care for my other surgical patients.
Suddenly, one of the staff came in, delighted to tell me there was a very handsome man in military uniform waiting outside the door, and he’d asked to talk to me. My heart sank to my feet.
Whaaaat? It’s 9:30 PM. Visiting hours are long over. Why was someone allowed to wait outside the delivery room door? In military uniform? I don’t want to go out there. A life is just beginning in this room. Will mine end right here if I step out that door? I don’t want to know, don’t tell me.
“What does he look like?,” I asked.
“Oh, just a friendly guy who wants to talk to you,” was the response.
Slowly, I finished up the few urgent items I needed to complete before I left the room, put on my suit of emotional numbness, and walked out the door.
Completed Vietnamese language school, Monterey California June 4, 1971, Married in rural Appleton, MN, June 19, 1971, left for Vietnam July 2, 1971.
I was greeted by a soldier who introduced himself to me as one of my husband’s college friends.
“I just got back from Nam,” he said, “and I unexpectedly ran into your husband there, a couple of weeks ago! Isn’t that a coincidence? Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I saw him, he said to say hello to you, and he looks like he’s doing alright - and, yes, I’m home for good!” he grinned.
That’s it, that’s all.
I finished my shift and drove 17 miles across the prairie to my parent’s home to live for a few more months, ready to hope again that we newlyweds would have a future together.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: Arden Hills, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Saigon, Vietnam 
Story Subject: Family
Story Themes: Home Front, Newlyweds, Relationships, Waiting