Transcript
Index
00:00:00 - Introductions. Describes entry into service and all countries where stationed. Recalls service as a combat medic in Panama and vaccinating locals. Describes working with service members and local orphanages. Describes service in Bosnia at NATO hospital in downtown Sarajvo. Describes being sent to Syria. Describes outcome of that conflict and returning to Bosnia as an ambassador to their peace-keeping mission. Recalls service 147th Finance Battalion in Bosnia and compares first and second tours.
00:07:51 - Recalls enlisting and becoming a officer at Fort Lewis, Washington. Describes truck-driving school in New Jersey and completing RN school. Describes military education, cross-training, and moving from being a military nurse to finance operations (44 Charlie). Describes work being a finance officer. Recalls different challenges of this roll in foreign countries, and having to count foreign currencies. Recalls working with private security companies and accounting processes.
00:13:01 - Recalls managing payroll for troops, cash advances and other financial transactions. Recalls soldiers' gambling during downtime. Remembers using the Eagle Card. Recalls financial transactions with local communities. Describes interactions with local citizens. Shares thoughts on returning to Bosnia and impact of that conflict, and divisions based on religion. Recalls mines and bombs in Bosnia. Reflects on mass graves.
00:25:54 - Shares thoughts on good people and bad people, and their common desires (food, shelter, health care, education). Reflects on the politics of the Bosnian War and conflicts in the Middle East. Describes patriotism and democracy. Shares thoughts on electronic warfare and drones.
00:34:29 - Recalls service during Desert Storm as an underground radio operator, dispatching information to commanders. Shares thoughts on efficacy of Desert Storm missions and the influence of U.S. and international politics. Remembers role in casualty communications. Describes time during Desert Shield and compares it to Desert Storm.
00:42:51 - Describes work as a combat medic/nurse in Liberia during the famine. Recalls interactions with rebel guerrilla soldiers and extreme conditions. Describes supporting UNICEF missions and mass starvation. Recalls locals' living conditions in Egypt and Liberia, deprivation and lack of medical care and education.
00:52:41 - Describes time and service in Iran, immediately following 9/11. Recalls mission to set up medical station in Iran to support U.S. military forces in that region. Describes two expeditionary force bases in Iran at that time. Shares thoughts on U.S. education system and lack of world knowledge. Recalls discovering an Iranian palace. Describes encounters with and treating Sunnis and Shiites during Desert Storm.
01:04:22 - Describes transferring between medical and finance roles during time in the service. Reflects on value of military service and career trajectory. Describes cancer diagnoses and retirement from the military. Reflects on "depleted uranium" condition and treatment at the VA hospital. Shares thoughts on physiological side effects of war.
01:20:29 - Describes communications with family and friends while deployed overseas. Describes food and drink overseas.
01:29:11 - Describes the Eagles Nest in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, a veteran's retreat.
01:31:31 - Shares advice on pursuing a career in military service.
Direct segment link:
https://ohms.recollectionwisconsin.org/render.php?cachefile=NEH_BVHC109.xml#segment0
https://ohms.recollectionwisconsin.org/render.php?cachefile=NEH_BVHC109.xml#segment0
