On National Vietnam War Veterans Day, we recognize and honor the Americans who served during the Vietnam War. But there is a group of Veterans whose contributions have too often gone unrecognized—the women who also served in Vietnam. Your service, sacrifice, and resilience laid the foundation for future generations and shaped history.
A brave act of service
Women who served in critical positions during the Vietnam War helped shape both the military and their legacy as Veterans. From Nov. 1, 1955, to April 30, 1975, more than 265,000 American women volunteered to serve worldwide, with nearly 11,000 directly deployed to Vietnam. Women braved extraordinary challenges, providing critical support in a war zone marked by intense combat and harsh conditions. They helped shatter stereotypes, serving under constant threats and navigating barriers that excluded women from traditional combat roles.
Despite their bravery and loyalty in volunteering their service to our country through critical and life-saving positions, women were often not seen as Veterans by their peers. Many women who served also didn’t identify themselves as Veterans—but their courage and dedication laid the foundation for significant policy changes, expanded military roles, and improved health care for women Veterans.
The critical contributions of women
While many may think women served only as nurses, it is true that women in Vietnam served in many critical positions.
- Medical staff: About 90% of women served in life-saving positions as nurses for the Army, Navy and Air Force Nurse Corps. They provided critical medical care in field hospitals, aboard hospital ships, within evacuation facilities and aboard medevac helicopters, including locations within combat zones under dangerous conditions.
- Intelligence and communications specialists: Women served in jobs requiring high levels of security clearance, including decoding messages and gathering reconnaissance data.
- Administrative and clerical staff: Women in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) supported the war effort through administrative, logistical and clerical work, ensuring efficient operations in command centers and managing critical communications.
- Air traffic controllers: Women in the U.S. Air Force (WAF) directed the flow of aircraft in and out of war zones, a responsibility that was crucial to the logistics of the war effort. These women worked in air traffic control towers, ensuring the safe and efficient movement of military planes, including those involved in combat and transport operations.
- Commanders and leaders: As the war progressed, women gained new opportunities to lead. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson opened promotions for women to general and flag ranks. In 1972, regulations changed to allow women to command units, even those comprising hundreds of men.
- Trailblazers: Rear Adm. Frances Shea Buckley was a pioneering figure in the Navy Nurse Corps and the first Navy nurse corps officer to achieve a two-star rank. During the Vietnam War, she supervised the operating room on the USS Repose, caring for many wounded soldiers. After retiring in 1983, she continued to advocate for Veterans, serving on the board of the Veterans Medical Research Foundation and as chair of the then-named Veterans Administration Women’s Advisory Committee. Buckley also taught at the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Nursing, significantly impacting military medicine and Veteran health care.
Your lasting legacy
Vietnam women Veterans: You redefined service, pushing boundaries and affirming your capabilities in high-stake environments. Your contributions and advocacy made a lasting impact on our nation, by:
- Challenging norms. You served in life-threatening situations despite not being permitted to carry weapons or officially take on combat roles. Your presence and success challenged traditional norms, paving the way for expanded positions for women in the military, including the 2013 lifting of the military’s official combat ban on women.
- Health care innovations. You pioneered trauma care advancements, such as improved triage techniques. These innovations not only saved countless lives during the war but also influenced emergency medical practices in civilian health care.
- Advocacy and policy reform. After your service, many of you became fierce advocates. Your efforts led to specialized VA health care programs, including services tailored to women’s needs, such as reproductive and gynecological care, mental health support and initiatives addressing military sexual trauma.
- Recognition and representation. By the 1970s, your advocacy secured greater recognition and representation. Vietnam Veteran leaders like the first director of the VA Center for Women Veterans, Joan A. Furey and Linda Spoonster Schwartz, who championed change, shaping policies that better serve all women Veterans today.
VA honors you
We thank you for your courage, dedication and lasting impact on our nation’s history and future generations. You have left a legacy of courage, advocacy and progress.
VA celebrates your contributions and continues to ensure your stories are heard. We are proud to serve you with health care you can trust. For more information on your earned benefits and services, follow us on follow us on Facebook and X at @VAWomenVets and on Pinterest @DeptVetAffairs. We share information on benefits and services, events, stories, research and more. Thank you for your service!
Topics in this story
More Stories
Having a maternity care coordinator at your side means you’ve got an advocate to ensure you and your baby receive the best care.
Have you recently transitioned from military service, or are you looking to better understand the benefits and services available to you or a Veteran in your life? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can apply for your earned benefits and services.
Fewer female Veterans were homeless in 2024 than in 2023, but VA is committed to reducing that number to zero.
I’ve been asked more than once what happened to all the women who served in Vietnam. I honestly don’t have an answer. I don’t see them at my V.A. to get care. Didn’t they try to get care at the V.A. or did they automatically think because they were women they weren’t eligible? Maybe they didn’t know they were eligible?
two of my roommates during this period of time were Marines. There were 38 women Marines who served in country. Mostly in logistics. Both of them are now deceased from heart attachs. There was a small pamphlet that was put out by the Marine Corps, i believe,
that Donna has showed me.
Please update this article to give them the recognition they deserve.
I was in the Army from May 1974 thru June 2015. EVERYONE in the military during the Vietnam War was critical. As a retired SGM & former CSM (Sergeant Major / Command Sergeant Major [E-9]) I live by the words: If you’re not on the front lines, you’re training & educating ALL servicemembers for that possibility. Put another way… I’m a leader in the camp that Every servicemember is a coach & mentor because you might not always know when you’ve affected and how much you’ve affected those around you.
Flying C-130s in Viet Nam from early 1968 through mid 1969, we flew many “Med Evac” missions. The USAF did not allow female nurses to fly on our missions, however, the US Army Nurses would come with us on their days off. What an outstanding group of human beings. As an aside, there were Pan Am Flight Attendants at Danang that would come over to our aircraft and visit with the wounded on board. Great morale boost!!
I knew the women were there serving just like I was. However, I never saw them. Danang air base and Marble mountain were at opposite ends from Camp Tien Sha and Monkey mountain. Nevertheless. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. ?
Sending my thanks and love to Marie Broy, Bartlett,Tennessee, for her service in Vietnam.
In these historic times when the Military Command DEI initiatives are dismissing and erasing women’s contribution throughout the military, I applaud your continued courage to support the actions/efforts exemplified by the committed, dedicated, and hard working women outlined above. However, I would also like to take this opportunity to point out a group of us often not recognized/remembered who at the end of the Vietnam Era/War were military trailblazers, breaking through the testosterone barrier by serving as aircraft/ground crew maintenance and flyers. In 1973, I was one of the first women to go through aircraft maintenance training and become a flightline crew chief for C-5s and 141s. 1973 was also the time women were finally allowed to fly in the Navy. But of course we “delicate females” were not allowed combat duty. I would like to see today’s leaders tell the nurses mentioned above they were too delicate to experience combat. Thank you for the article
Like you, I joined the USAF in September of 1973 and was one of the first females that went into aircraft maintenance. I was the first female in the OMS squadron as a maintainer / crew chief at my first duty station and there was another lady that was in the FMS squadron. I joined to serve following in the footsteps of other family members and am so proud to have served with other female maintainers. I did not make a career out of it but my husband served 30 years and is now retired. We are both proud to say our granddaughter is currently serving in the USAF at Ramstein Germany. Thank you for your service!
Civilian women also volunteered:/ accepted service assignment in Vietnam. These brave and patriotic women have never been recognized; also shunned with no health care available: USO, Red Cross, USAID,
My dearest friend was USO.
Thank you! I was a Red Cross volunteer at a MASH UNIT, Augsburg Germany in ‘70’s
Thank you to all you brave women. As a female Army veteran myself, I salute you. I served 1970 thru 1976 but was never sent to Nam.
Yes it’s about time that any woman no matter whether you served in military or civilian if you was “IN COUNTRY “ as we would say back then , which is what we called “VIET-NAM” your life was every second in GOD’S HANDS so please tap your shoulders your sacrifices was extremely appreciated by myself and all the others who were there I was an INFANTRYMAN with The FIRST AIR CALVARY DIVISION AIR MOBILE C 1/5 served 1967 – 1969 DMZ, 1 CORP, 11 CORP, And 111 Corp and I want to recognize all you women again you are the reason I am 77 years old and still alive today I call it my HAWAIIAN ALOHA and all YOUR WOMEN’S ALOHA when I was there IN COUNTY
ALOHA AND MAHALO
Buddie Da Surfing Hawaiian Pineapple
It took over fifty years to finally recognize these brave woman. Shameful and unacceptable. Rodney Babin.Combat Veteran 1967-68-69.
Thank you to the VA for acknowledging all the women that served in Vietnam. As an in-country veteran I salute you! Stand up and take a bow!
It is good to see Vietnam women’s veteran’s get acknowledgement. I am 78 years old, I was in during Vietnam era. So I say very good.