Celebrating Emerging Writers - Methodist University

Hendrix currently serves as the Army Nurse Corps Historian, but began her career as a
Navy corpsman. Commissioned into the Army 1986, she has served in Iraq, Germany, and South
Korea, and counts among her awards and decorations the Meritorious Service Medal with three
oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement
Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars,
among many others. As historian, she examines the past to find lessons for future nursing
practices and policies.
Retired Brigadier General Connie Slewitzke, a former Chief of the Army Nurse Corps,
will be attending the luncheon. She served in the 36 th Evac Hospital and the 6 th Convalescent
Center in Vietnam from 1967-1968.
Another nurse who will attend the luncheon is Jeanne Reed Gainey who was with the
U.S. Agency for International Development in Vietnam from 1966-1968. When her clinic was
under attack during the Tet Offensive, she and others were rescued by U.S. Army Special Forces.
Following the rescue she met Army Lt. Col. Ramon Charles Reed in a bunker during another
attack. The two were eventually married in Vietnam. The local province chief stood in for the
bride’s father to give her away.
Vietnam veteran nurses who would like to attend should contact the event organizers to
register for the luncheon. Anyone with an acquaintance or friend who is a Vietnam veteran nurse
should encourage them to register and attend. These veterans will be recognized at the luncheon
as one of the honored guests.
Admission is open to the public, but advance registration is required, and tickets are $25.
Information is available at http://www.methodist.edu/tallycenter/nurseluncheon/index.htm and
also at http://www.heroeshomecoming.com/.
Methodist University launched its Bachelor of Science in Professional Nurse Studies last
year. Currently, over 100 students are enrolled in this new major. The Lura S. Tally Center for
Leadership Development has been an important part of the Methodist University campus since
1995. Nursing and Leadership students are participating in the planning and preparation of the
November 10 th event, and several students will attend.
Methodist University event organizers are Ms. Mary Hall, Director of the Nursing
Program, mahall@methodist.edu and Dr. Andrew Ziegler, Director of the Lura S. Tally
Leadership Center, aziegler@methodist.edu.
- - - End of Main Article - - -
Sidebar:
One nurse who served in Vietnam was Rose Sandecki:
“I went to the 12th Evac Hospital at Cu Chi. My first job was a head nurse, surgical intensive
care unit, recovery room… I said, “No, I don’t want that,” because I’d never set foot in an ICU. I
quickly learned you never said no in the Army; I had this job whether I wanted it or not… I
couldn’t believe the numbers of people coming in, the numbers of beds and the kinds of injuries
that I saw in front of me – I really wasn’t prepared for that… They were all so young. Seeing this
on a daily basis 12 to 14 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week, I think that I became somewhat callous
and bitter… Every one of us has a sense of guilt of leaving the patients behind and the nurses
that we worked with, the docs, the corpsmen… I felt that 12 months over there was probably one