Pamela Dorothy Donovan was born in March 1942 in Merseyside, England, as the daughter of Irish parents. Donovan and her family immigrated to the United States in 1956, settling in Brighton, Massachusetts.
Donovan was educated as a nurse and nun in Canada, Ireland, England and the United States, graduating from St. Elizabeth’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1965. Her strong sense of mission and distress over the brutal circumstances faced by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam fueled her desire to join the war effort. In 1967, she became a U.S. citizen in order to join the Army Nurse Corps.
After completing intensive jungle training in 1968, she was assigned to the 85th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon at the rank of second lieutenant. Four months later, Donovan contracted a rare strain of pneumonia while on duty. She died in July 1968 in Gia Dinh province at the age of 26.
Donovan was one of eight women nurses who died during the Vietnam War. She was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Boston, and her name can be found on Panel 53W, Line 45 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.
We honor her service.
TogetherWeServed
This ‘Honoring Veterans’ story was prepared with the assistance of Togetherweserved.com, an online community. At TWS, Veterans can reconnect with those they served with and preserve the memories and photographs of their military service so that this may live on for their family and future generations. Find out more at https://togetherweserved.com.
Nominate a Veteran for Honoring Veterans
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s Honoring Veterans social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.
Writer: William Beterbide
Editors: Ethan Oleson, Kinsey Spratt
Researcher: Raphael Romea
Graphic Designer: William Vega
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I believe I was at that hospital and think she was one of my nurses , I to this day hold all the nurses that served there in the highest regard. Like many who served I dont think I would be here today if not for them. Not a day goes by I don’t think of them and those I served with in the herd .
Conrad joined the Army in May 1970. He served in the Finance Corps and became the finance expert in each unit he was assigned. During this period, he completed his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and Master’s degree from the University of Central Texas. He was awarded 3 Army Commendation Medals and 3 Army Achievement Medals and retired as a First Sergeant in May 1992.
Conrad attended basic training at Ft Dix, NJ, AIT at Ft Jackson, SC, Finance School at Ft Benjamin Harrison, IN and was then sent to Vietnam. He later served at Ft Ord, CA, and then 3 years at Ludwigsburg, GY where he was promoted to SSG and graduated NCO Academy. He then spent the next 47 months at Ft Hood, TX and returned to Ft Ben to graduate NCOES. This was followed by a year with the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea where he was promoted to SFC shortly after arrival. He then returned for another 46 months at Ft Hood with the 1st Cavalry Division and went to the National Training Center at Ft Irwin, CA to support his troops. He then went to Fuerth, GY where he was promoted to MSG and spent over half his two years there in the top enlisted position. While there he was awarded the German Armed Forces Marksmanship Badge in Gold. A final 46 months at Ft Hood led him to be appointed First Sergeant. On Mar 2, 1991, he and four other members of his unit successfully finished the Bataan Memorial Death March held at Las Cruces, NM.
Conrad and his family relocated to Austin,TX where he worked in a variety of jobs including as a tax examiner for the Internal Revenue Service, and as an auditor for Wholesale Petroleum Inc. He eventually obtained a position of City Carrier for the US Postal Service. He completed the last 9 years on one of the largest routes in Austin, and retired after serving another 20 years of federal service. After 23 months, Conrad went back to work part-time as the payroll specialist for Enterprise Professional Services, Inc., a non-profit organization which provides meaningful employment for people with disabilities. He took on additional responsibilities by verifying employment eligibility and he personally remade all the payroll files.
Conrad was selected to participate in an Honor Flight with other Vietnam veterans to fly to Washington, DC in April and visit the memorials there. Soon after his return, he was scheduled to undergo cancer surgery. He was fortunate that a high PSA level was detected by the VA when he went there for his annual physical exam. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which is a presumptive disease for those who served in Vietnam and were exposed to Agent Orange. We wish him a complete and speedy recovery.