Lynda Van Devanter - A True Hero

Home Before Morning was one of the best books I've ever read about a nurse's experiences. I feel her book should be required reading for nursing students. Nurses like her are whom I consider leaders in our profession. What a shame that the war that robbed her of her peace of mind for so long may very well have robbed her of her life.

Quote from OCNRN63Home Before Morning was one of the best books I've ever read about a nurse's experiences. I feel her book should be required reading for nursing students. Nurses like her are whom I consider leaders in our profession. What a shame that the war that robbed her of her peace of mind for so long may very well have robbed her of her life.

I have never heard of her until your article. I remember watching China Beach. I will definitely be reading this book. Thanks for the article!

Quote from Roman1I have never heard of her until your article. I remember watching China Beach. I will definitely be reading this book. Thanks for the article!

Quote from RNIBCLCI wish the people that made China Beach would have given her more exposure. As a huge fan of China Beach, I do not remember anyone saying it was even loosely based on a real nurse. BTW, I just ordered the first season of China Beach on DVD from Amazon.

Quote from RNIBCLCI had never heard of her until I was doing research for school. It truly is an amazing story and really illustrates how human we are as nurses. I truly believe that adversity makes us better nurses. For many of us, to understand the human condition is to live it yourself.

Quote from OCNRN63I wish it wouldn't be so gash darned expensive to get the entire series. You can't buy individual seasons yet, except for the first. I ordered Season One a few months ago and watched it all in one sitting. I really miss that show.

Quote from RNIBCLCOh I did not know that. Oh well, at least I can enjoy the first season. Maybe it will hit Netflix or Amazon sometime. Did you know that China Beach was based on Van DeVanter? I know I didn't when I watched the series.

Quote from OCNRN63I did know that. Many moons ago, I was taking a university course on the American war in VietNam. We had to write a paper for the course, and while everyone else (all kids who were way too young to have known anything about the war) was writing papers about Khe Sanh, General Westmoreland, or the fall of Saigon, I wrote about the experiences of nurses in Nam. I included Linda's story, and I also went to the local VA Hospital which had a support group for nurses who served there. I interviewed the leader of the support group and was allowed to sit in, with the proviso that I kept their stories confidential. They were such strong women who had seen things we couldn't even imagine. My professor told me later that he'd thoroughly enjoyed reading my paper. He said he'd never had a nurse in his class before, and he'd never really known much about what the nurses who served there had been through.

I think I'm going to get the series for my mom for Christmas. The two of us watched it religiously every week. Then I can borrow the DVDs from her!

Quote from Roman1I think I'm going to get the series for my mom for Christmas. The two of us watched it religiously every week. Then I can borrow the DVDs from her!

Hey, @RNIBCLC, I just remembered this. Rated really well on IMDb - Movies, TV and Celebrities. I would swear I saw it, but I just can't quite be sure.Amazon.com: Vietnam Nurses with Dana Delany: Dana Delany, David H. Smith: Movies & TV