Calumet Editions

Off the Record

A Vietnam War Nurse's Journal

Off the Record is an unauthorized, real-time journal of an Army nurse’s year-long tour in Vietnam, written within hours—sometimes minutes—of the events it records. A budding photographer, she includes private images that deepen the immediacy. The diary reveals how combat conditions, weather, cultural divides, and isolation shaped morale and performance, while lives—soldiers, civilians, POWs, and children—were altered or lost. Moving and unflinching, it transports readers to 1967 and the realities of trauma care.

Truly a Pepysian effort!

—Colonel Nickey McCasland, Ret, US Army Nurse Corps

Description

Off the Record is the unauthorized, unfolding, real-time account of an army nurse’s year-long tour in Vietnam. She captured her reflections within a day, or even minutes of the conflicts and encounters, creating a sequentially unfolding and captivating account. Also a budding photographer, she shares her private photographs from that time. This personal journal reveals how combat conditions, weather, cultural differences, and social isolation impacted morale and individual performance. Her life and the lives of so many others-soldiers, civilians, POWs, and children-were forever lost or changed. This gripping and moving journal will transport the reader to a war-torn land in 1967. She grapples with types of injuries, pattern and frequency of casualties, and both patient and care provider responses to these traumas.

Product Details

PublishedJuly 24, 2023
ImprintWisdom Editions
LanguageEnglish
Print length148
ISBN-13978-1960250889
Dimensions6 x 0.37 x 9 inches

I am amazed at the dedication required to maintain an effort like this consistently for this length of time. And as it plainly shows, during a time already filled to the brim with activity, events, and a full life. Truly a Pepysian effort! More than any other writings I have seen, this gives a clear and comprehensive view of the actual experience of Army Nurses in Vietnam, replete with the details like Repl Depot, hootch outfitting, waiting for orders, shortages, memorable patients, coping mechanisms, R&R, ward management, etc. This is a valuable historical resource.

—Colonel Nickey McCasland, Ret, US Army Nurse Corps

Excellent, moving and deeply personal experience of a nurse who volunteered to serve during the Vietnam War. Having had a father who served twice in that conflict and had sustained an injury – I can only thank all the nurses like her who served during that time. Your service was and is greatly appreciated.

—JP, verified review on Amazon

So many people alive today were not even born during the Vietnam war, and many those of us who were around at the time were not there. That’s why this book is so important. Most first person reports from wars are written after the fact. Most are written by men. Most focus on the moments of action. This journal contains her observations as she dealt with loneliness, fear, boredom, and having to face some truly horrific things.

—Lola, verified review on Amazon

Be prepared to be moved as you experience a year of the Vietnam War, seen through the intimacy and honesty of a nurse’s personal journal and her private photographs.

—Mary Ellen, verified review on Amazon

My late wife was an instructor at the now closed Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing (WRAIN). This excellent book vividly shows the true-life experiences of an Army nurse in Vietnam. It gave me insights of what my wife’s graduates faced at the beginning of their nursing careers and vicariously experience the life of a nurse in Vietnam. God bless all of them.

—Ira Walker, verified review on Amazon