(NEXSTAR) — As we near the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Nexstar is highlighting the veterans and families who were affected by the conflict, and finding out how they feel all these years later. A group of veterans we don’t often hear from are the nurses who aided wounded soldiers during that time.
Recently, Nexstar’s Marielena Balouris spoke to three Vietnam War nurses to discuss their experiences and their lives afterwards. Though nurses Elaine Niggemann, Jane Mason and Ruby Scheuing didn’t serve together, they share a history. You can see that discussion in the video player at the top of this page.
All the women tell tales of wanting to join the effort to both serve their country and to see the world. They also share similar memories of aiding gnarly injuries in intense (and sometimes dangerous) environments.
The presence of nurses in the war zone also presents a unique relationship with soldiers, as Balouris pointed out.
“[For them] to see a woman, was such a nice feeling [for the soldiers],” Scheuing recalls. “When they woke up, just to hold their hand — to reassure them, talk to them, tell them everything’s going to be okay. To be their support system.”
The women all eventually made it back to the U.S. and continued serving and living successful lives.
One surprise for the nurses through the years: their community. Though Niggemann, Mason and Schueing weren’t together during the war, they found each other later and have become friends.
“It really was a very fortunate outcome,” says Niggemann, who encountered Schueing on a tour of Vietnam. “Through an organization called the Greatest Generation Foundation, which takes veterans back to where they served, I was invited as a group of nurses returning — Ruby was invited in that same group.”
Niggemann says then, while she was Washington, D.C. for the dedication of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial she had been looking for a Navy nurse. “I knew that we wanted to involve Navy and Air Force and I saw Jane at an elevator.”
The two became quick friends and soon travelled on a tour to Normandy and now, all three veterans are friends.
Niggemann added: “It’s amazing.”
