Grow Through It: War, Terrorism
Edie McCoy Meeks, Army Nurse Corps, Vietnam, 1968-1969, tells her story of enlisting in the army and serving in Vietnam after her younger brother Tom had been drafted.
She thought she was prepared for war nursing, as she had already worked in intensive care and in the emergency room, and even in a small hospital where she was required to do everything.
Meeks served as a nurse in Saigon and Pleiku. The patient load was something she had never seen before, and that was the most difficult part for her. All of the patients were young men, like her brothers, between the ages of 18 and 23. She could see their humanity, their potential, that they had families. She knew they were people and talked to them while they were in her care.
They had legs missing, arms missing, eyes missing, and other awful wounds.
Meeks became filled with anger and rage toward the army and the government, as it seemed the soldiers were just numbers to them. They were just using them up.
On the positive side, while in Vietnam, she had never seen teamwork the likes of which she experienced there. Everyone was working toward the same goal of getting the wounded soldiers as stable as possible, and saving as many lives as they could.
She transferred to Pleiku where she became ‘hooch mates’ with another nurse, Diane Carlson Evans, who later became the founder of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington, DC. Meeks served on their board for 25 years.
After she finished serving in Vietnam, the incoming nurses warned her about the anti-war sentiment in the United States and advised her to take off her uniform before leaving the airport at home.
Meeks believes that instead of blaming the congressmen, senators, and president for sending them there, people blamed the people serving. Many had been drafted.
She got married and moved to New York. She was afraid to go outside and could not connect with others. Years later she looked back at this time and realized she was in trouble.
Meeks had children, worked, but suffered from symptoms of undiagnosed PTSD for some time.
What started her healing was speaking at her daughter’s class on Vietnam at Mt. Holyoke College. She also started speaking to Diane Carlson Evans about Vietnam years after returning home. And she went to the VA more than once for help. Early on, she worked with a doctor to figure out what PTSD was for a nurse who served in Vietnam. She got the right medications and help for flashbacks when they occurred.
Meeks couldn’t speak about her experience for years. It has become less painful to face it rather than tuck it away. A woman in her 12-step program told Meeks that she never had to get over it, which was a relief to hear because she doesn’t feel she ever will.
Meeks believes that no one can prepare you for being a nurse in war because of what you will see. Her year in Vietnam changed her life 100%, but she would do it again in a heartbeat.
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