Tag Archives: Vietnam

Remembering Lt. Commander Bobbi Hovis

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On this Veterans Day, I want to tell you about Lt. Commander Bobbi Hovis, a remarkable woman who enlisted as a Navy Flight Nurse and volunteered for service in Korea and Vietnam. I learned about her at the Hagen History Center in Erie, Pa. 

Born in 1925, Bobbi grew up in Erie County, PA and graduated from the Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing in 1946. During her service in Korea, she flew the Pacific with the 1453rd Medical Evacuation Squadron that evacuated 16,604 injured without any fatalities. In Vietnam, she witnessed at least four coup d’etats. She was shot at once and kept the bullet that narrowly missed her. 

Exposed to Agent Orange during her service, she suffered its effects until her death in 2024. 

Lt. Commander Bobbi Hovis was tough as nails.

This museum has her flight jacket, her service medals and a Green Beret given to Bobbi by a grateful patient. It was the only thing he had to give and was one of her most prized possessions. They also have a jet helmet that Bobbi wore on a classified mission assisting a flight surgeon on a Douglas F3D Skynight jet. She was the first Navy flight nurse to go on this type of mission. 

She authored a book titled Station Hospital Saigon, A Nurse In Vietnam and they have a copy of that book as well. 

Lt. Commander Hovis retired in 1967 after twenty years of service. In 2019 she was interviewed for a Vietnam War 50th anniversary oral history project. You can watch that video here if you are so inclined. 

I was fascinated by the photo of this pretty lady and did my best to imagine her dodging bullets, wading through blood and muck while she performed whatever heroics earned her all those medals. I could not fathom what that must have been like. She was a pioneer, a hero and one of many women who served who deserve our gratitude. 

History is full of incredible stories about real people like Lt. Commander Bobbi Hovis. If you have a veteran in your life, remember to say thanks for their service. They may not get museum displays or tell you their stories but they deserve our thanks. 

The Women

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Fiction writer Kristen Hannah has somehow transitioned into the writer that everyone either loves or loves to hate. Her name frequently gets bandied about in social media book groups and I’m always shocked at how combative her haters are and how overzealous her supporters can be. 

Personally, I like her more recent works but that’s not a hill I’ll die on. Meanwhile, I despise Stephen King but would never dream of going to a discussion about how great he is to rain on someone’s parade. 

That’s probably bordering on unAmerican these days but, there, I said it. Discouraging others from embracing what they like isn’t my thing. I clearly don’t know how the internet works. 

This has been on my mind since I finished reading Hannah’s new historic fiction book The Women earlier this month.

It’s about a young nurse who enlists in the Army to serve in Vietnam. She serves two tours before coming home a changed person with PTSD. I won’t tell you much because I don’t want to spoil the story for you but I will tell you some things that are general facts about Vietnam.

Her time in country was brutal. The hours and the devastation of endless waves of soldiers and civilians ripped limb from limb are described in this book. The horrifying and utter loss of it all was experienced by soldiers and the doctors, nurses and camp support staff there to help them. 

Then, these veterans returned home to an ungrateful nation that was fighting its own war in the media and in protests across the country. They were spat upon, called unspeakable names and denied basic services. The federal government didn’t even consider these women nurses who served bravely in dangerous conditions to be veterans. 

Yet, we don’t talk about these things enough or very well. We have generations of people living in this country today who know none of this and I have witnessed plenty of them lately showing their ignorance in online conversations about this book. 

They don’t believe a combat nurse would be relegated to changing bedpans and taking temperatures in hospitals back home. They don’t know that women of that era couldn’t get a bank loan without a signature from her husband or dad. They don’t understand any of it or how our activities at the ballot box today can either advance women’s rights or turn back the clock decades at a time. 

They don’t understand how those women were treated or how they suffered because their own government didn’t recognize their service.

I was in a Barnes and Noble recently and found just three books about Vietnam on the shelves. There was another one about President Johnson’s mucking up of the war but it really was about the man and his strategies rather than the people fighting under his leadership. Three books. 

The section on feminism and women’s issues was pretty scrawny too. 

It was downright sad. 

Kristen Hannah has written some good books and some not-so-good books throughout her career. In this book, I found a couple of mistakes that should be attributed to her editors. The book stretches on a little too long. It’s like she got stuck in a loop and got herself lost on the way to the end. The main character isn’t the most likable. 

But I’m happy to recommend this book and am glad that it exists. After all, with her enormous bestselling reputation, she has a platform to reach a breathtaking amount of people. 

This story needs told and it needs heard. We still have plenty of Vietnam veterans living in this country today who deserve our sincere thanks and apologies and who might find some small comfort in knowing that history will judge them differently than their peers did. 

When you read this book, check out the list of recommended reading in the back. Not a fan of fiction writing? Ken Burns did a fantastic documentary about Vietnam you might want to check out. 

Yes, there are more and probably better ways to learn about Vietnam. This is one avenue and a darn good one if you want to learn the human side of war. The Women is available for purchase in hardback and audiobook right now. Your local library probably has a copy too. Give it a chance!

Remembering Private First Class Douglas E. Dickey

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Here’s one more story from the Garst Museum in Greenville, Ohio. If you’ve been following along this week, we’ve talked about Annie Oakley and other interesting exhibits the museum offers.

This is the story of Private First Class Douglas E. Dickey, a regular guy who did something extraordinary. He died on this day in 1967.

It was Easter Sunday when this twenty year old Marine from Darke County found himself faced with a terrible choice on the other side of the world.

The long and short of the story is that Dickey and his battalion found themselves in grave danger. He took one look at his buddies and made an impossible choice. He threw himself on a live grenade, absorbing the blast with his body and saving the others.

PFC Dickey was awarded a Purple Heart for this almost indescribable act of courage.

The exhibit about him includes a video of interviews with people who knew him, including his mother. In this grainy, black and white video, she says that the world is full of people who die for senseless reasons. Her son died bravely to save his friends and she asked how she could be bitter about that.

History comes to life when it’s presented well and when it focuses on individuals and their actions. I can think of no better way to talk about Vietnam and heroism than the Garst has done with this young man’s story.

Look for it in the first room of the museum.

Want more information? Visit the Garst online.