Women In War: In War and Peace

I want to take this opportunity to thank Kim Raseman and Angela Maria Malerba for inviting me to share the some of the works published in “Visions of War: Dreams of Peace” with the Yale Veterans Network.    I hope that the readers of the newsletter have found the writings valuable and helped you to gain insight and understanding into the experiences of some of the women who served in Vietnam.   While most of the writings in “Visions” were written by military nurses, there are a number of other works in the book that were written by Red Cross personnel, civilian humanitarian workers, peace activists and both South and North Vietnamese.  Unfortunately, due to space and time constraints I was unable to share them all here.  However, while the book itself is no longer being published, limited copies of it are available for purchase at Amazon.com.  

 

My final submission is one of my own works, a poem I wrote following the dedication ceremony of the statue of The Three Fighting Men at the Vietnam Memorial in November of 1984.   It is a tribute to the healing power of the Wall and the reunions it sparked.

 

IN WAR AND PEACE

 

flooded with feelings

of peace and love

a sense of completion

shared

with those who know

the pain and fear

of the process 

we’ve gone through

from beginning to

a never ending 

sense of purpose

lost for so long

in confusion and doubt

now gone lifted from me

in the camaraderie of reunion

the laying of a simple wreath

the placement of a small pin

the embrace of an old friend

and the tears of a no longer young man

saying: “Hey Pleiku ’69—Remember March

Thanks for pulling me through”

I love you  all of you

Men and Women

joined together 

in War and Peace

 

Joan A. Furey, 1984