Episode Details

Laura Kern volunteered to join the U.S. Army's nurse corps in May 1968 at the height of the conflict in Vietnam. 22 years old, she remembers her first day in Vietnam as her most pivotal: "I just jumped off the helicopter with my bags looking for my supervisor...They wheeled a soldier by me missing both legs and one arm. They were blown off." 

Laura talks about what it was like being one of 11,000 women who served in the war. Upon return, many of these women received a hostile reaction from their male counterparts, and suffered after effects from Agent Orange and PTSD. You can read more about Laura and her comrade's experiences in David Yuzuk's book, "Women in War."

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com