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 completed flight nurse training before deploying to Vietnam in May 1970, serving with the 903rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (903rd Evac) at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base.

Sharon described one mission the medevac flight nurses and crews out of Cam Ranh Bay hoped to see on their assignment roster.

“Each Sunday we had missions to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. We wore our fatigues and carried our same equipment, but we were in the C-118s, so those flights were different, a little spiffier than in the C-130s. The 118s were not as noisy and more like the (medevac aircraft) they used stateside. We were taking patients from different parts of the country; Filipinos, sometimes Koreans, and sometimes some of our people to Clark Air Base. The flight took several hours. We’d get into Clark Air Base and there were ambulances waiting for us. They moved the patients from the aircraft to the local hospital at Clark.”

Once the medevac crew helped off-load their patients at Clark Air Base, they turned to activities that were unavailable at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base.

“We always tried to get into Clark Air Base late in the afternoon so we wouldn’t have to turn around and come back. The flight crew as well as our crew liked staying overnight in the Philippines because you could eat good food and there were things you could purchase off base like things made of monkey pod wood and a beer popular in the Philippines that you couldn’t get in Cam Ranh Bay. We women could go to the beauty shop and have our hair or nails done for 25 cents. It was always special to stay overnight at Clark Air Base because you could act like a normal human being and could see American children and cars because there were families at that base. It was kind of a home away from home.”

Sharon recalled those medevac flights returned to Cam Ranh Bay Air Base with more than her medevac crew.

“The only cargo carried from the Philippines back to Cam Ranh Bay included the monkey pod wood things that people bought to send to friends and relatives and the Filipino beer. There would be cases of beer strapped down on the back ramp. (Sharon laughed) So, that was the only cargo.”

Sharon had another, much more adventurous, experience in the Philippines.

“After you had been in-country a few weeks, you were sent to the Philippines to Clark Air Base for Jungle Survival School, in case you ever went down in the jungle. I don’t remember how long we were out in the jungle for that school. It was during the monsoon season because you had to wear your raingear. You made your meals of things from the jungle and they were cooked in tubes from some sort of plant. They gave you a deck of cards to carry to show things you could eat so you could survive in the jungle. You shoved rice and everything you picked — sweet potato and whatever else — in these empty tubes and put banana leaves on the ends. You cooked them over the fire and that became your meal. That was quite a harrowing experience, being out there with the Filipinos.”

Like so many other experiences of her Vietnam service, Sharon was one of only two women in her class at the Jungle Survival Course. She had a different kind of adventure on Labor Day 1970.

“I was doing temporary duty in Danang at the time. Things were quiet, so some of us decided to go out to the USS Sanctuary (Navy hospital ship) off the coast. We were forbidden to ride in helicopters, but how else do you get out there? A chopper picked up a bunch of us. (Sharon laughed) I got sick. I was green the whole time I was on the ship. They gave us a tour of the Sanctuary. They were treating a lot of wounded Vietnamese and they were doing plastic surgeries and repair. We toured the quarters where the fellas stayed and then they brought in real ice cream and cake. I wolfed down the cake and ice cream. (Sharon chuckled) Well, that didn’t stay down long.”

Returning to Danang became a problem for the 903rd Evac team.

“Later there was gunfire up in the hills, so all the choppers were in use. Finally, a chopper came and picked us up, but only took us to the outskirts of Danang and dropped us off. The guys signaled a big truck that had (high) walls that stretched to heaven. You climbed up these walls; jumped over; and climbed down the other side. You’d ride until that truck had to go someplace else and then you’d climb back up to get out, hoping another truck would come along. We were finally able to get back to base. That was heart-wrenching (Sharon laughed) because I was short and had to climb up the walls of these trucks in combat boots without being seen because (Danang) was off-limits. We got on the radio and it was, “Where have you been?” It all smoothed out, (Sharon chuckled) but it was kind of hectic for a while.

Sharon learned about herself and others during her tour and found opportunities to grow and contribute. Her medevac flights continued right up to her DEROS. (Date of Estimated Return from Overseas)

©2024 William D. Palmer.