Free Republic

It took half a century to get a chance to say the words. Just “thank you.” That’s all. For Jim Roberts, this desire had become a fixation, part of a years-long process of coming to terms with the darkness he’d seen as an Army lieutenant in the Vietnam War. The women he wanted to thank were “Donut Dollies,” two among 600 women working with the American Red Cross who traveled to Vietnam to give a few hours of respite to troops longing for home, to play word games or just sit and chat. A forced landing by a helicopter with...

 The Freeper Canteen honors Donut Dollies(Thank you, BIGLOOK!!)  During the Vietnam War, Red Cross workers provide services to U.S. military personnel and assist Vietnamese refugees (1962-1974) In 1962, the American Red Cross sent its first paid field staff to Vietnam to assist the growing number of servicemen at various bases and hospitals. At the height of its involvement in 1968, 480 field directors, hospital personnel, and recreation assistants served throughout Southeast Asia. Red Cross workers, who provided 1.9 million services to U.S. military personnel, shared the hardships and privations of war with the soldiers. Five Red Cross staff members...