We have been learning about Sharon McCully, a 1957 Russell High School graduate who trained as a nurse and volunteered for the Air Force in 1968. She deployed to Vietnam in May 1970, serving with the 903rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (903rd Evac) at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base.

Sharon spent her year-long tour as a flight nurse on multiple medevac flights each week throughout South Vietnam and on some Sunday medevac flights to the Philippines. After a couple months in-country, she received more responsibilities.

“You had the opportunity to become either a trainer on one or more plane type to train newcomers or you would be an examiner. I became both of those on the different aircraft that we had. When new people came in you were responsible for that person’s learning.”

Sharon saw that medevac crews frequently encountered language challenges with non-American patients. She resolved to do something about that.

“You were trying to communicate with them like, ‘Does you head hurt?’ It’s amazing what you do trying to communicate to determine what they want. When you go through every other thing and you don’t know what is left, maybe it’s just that this gentleman wants to use the urinal. (Sharon laughed) Here I’ve gone through the whole medical dictionary. (Sharon laughed again) That was why I felt I needed something to help with my communication.

She described her project to help medevac crews address this problem.

“I made a flip-board chart of common complaints, like it would say in English, ‘I have a pain in’ and then there would be ‘stomach,’ ‘back,’ ‘head,’ or ‘hand.’ It included ‘I want a drink of water’ or ‘I want something else.’ Then it was translated into Korean, Vietnamese, and (a language common to the Philippines). We copied these flip things so people could use them to communicate on the flights. I think that was one of the best things I was able to accomplish.”

Sharon worked hard, often under challenging circumstances, but realized her service was easy relative to other troops serving in Vietnam.

“My job was pretty cushy compared to the men in the field. I could go to the BX (military shopping center) and buy something, whereas these guys would come in grungy. I could go to my bed every night, either at Cam Ranh or wherever I was doing temporary duty.”

Sharon reached her 365th day in May 1971 and remembered her last day with the 903rd Evac at Cam Ranh Bay.

“It was a Saturday. You left what civilian clothes you had because they were so stained from the rusty water. You finished putting your stuff in your suitcase; went to meet with the others; and caught a bus to the flight line. We were wearing fatigues, of course. You didn’t breathe much until you were well up in the air and out because they always said there were more deaths or injuries in the last week or two in-country. But I got out of the country.”

Sharon had mixed feelings about leaving Vietnam.

“I guess I was glad it was over and things were kind of quieting down, yet I felt like I hadn’t done enough. I could see why people would sign up for another tour.”

Her return to the United States did not go well.

“We left Cam Ranh on Saturday night and got back (McChord Air Force Base in Washington) on Saturday night. So, by this time, you didn’t know if you were afoot or horseback. I was flying Northwest Orient (from Seattle/Tacoma Airport) to the Twin Cities and on to Sioux Falls. This was about midnight. A woman behind the counter said, ‘You can’t fly looking like that. You look terrible.’ I said, ‘I just came from Vietnam.’ She said, ‘I don’t care where you came from, you can’t fly looking like that.’ I said, ‘I don’t have a proper uniform to wear.’ She replied, ‘Do you want to go home, or don’t you?’ I said, ‘You’ve already taken my luggage.’ She reversed the thing, my luggage came back, and I went into a bathroom. I had the dress blues pants and a shirt, but didn’t have shoes, cap, or the sweater with the shirt. Fortunately, we got into Minneapolis at night, so nobody saw I wasn’t in uniform. I took the flight to Sioux Falls and my parents were there to pick me up. That was my welcome home.”

Sharon took leave at home, but had a short service period remaining.

“I was stationed at the Los Angeles Air Force Station. I had chosen to get out of the service because I met a fella in Vietnam, and even though they say you don’t fall in love in a war zone, I thought, ‘Oh, that doesn’t apply to me.’ Yes, it does. We were going to be married, so I got out in July. But in the meantime I was stationed at Los Angeles, just a fancy clinic compared to what I had come from.”

Sharon ended her Vietnam marriage a few years later, returned to nursing in South Dakota and Wyoming, and remarried. Her steady spouse passed away years later and she moved back to southwest Minnesota. Sharon left us in October 2022, but not before we met and she shared her service experiences. She reflected on her satisfactions from her Vietnam service, saying, “I learned I could be successful at whatever I wanted to do. I could serve my country. I didn’t do much, but I did it for my country.”

Thank you for your Vietnam service, Sharon! Welcome home.

©2024 William D. Palmer.