Another Memorial Day is upon us. We give thanks to the fallen of wars writ recent or of the distant past. All gave some, some gave all, as that expression goes. Memorials to various wars in which U.S. military personnel perished inscribe their names. How, exactly, they died is not inscribed. Only the family and closest friends of those named on the memorial may understand the how, where and when they perished. But each name does have that detail somewhere.
I want to provide such detail for one of the 58,281 names on the Vietnam Memorial. This person was unknown to me but was mentioned in an on-line posting that did provide the how, when and where, and the particulars of this person who “gave all” has a uniqueness that I feel deserves writing about.
This person’s name is on panel 23W, line 112 of the Vietnam Memorial: First Lieutenant Sharon Ann Lane. She was an Army nurse. She is the only American service woman killed as a direct result of enemy fire during that war. She was less than a month away from her 27th birthday.
Nurse Lane died on June 8, 1969. She was part of 312th Evacuation Hospital, located in Chu Lai Province, which came under a barrage of rocket attacks. Sharon’s nursing skills had already been evident during her tour of duty. She had always applied “rare foresight and sound principles of management.” Her determination was to be the best nurse possible, providing excellent medical support in a combat environment. When the rocket attack started, she rushed to her ward in an effort protect more harm coming to her patients (harm that had already brought them to the 312th) — the very definition of “selflessness.” When one of the 122 mm rockets made a direct hit on the hospital, the explosion produced metal fragments that struck and killed nurse Lane.
Her courageous actions in the face of that attack saved other’s lives. She was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroism. There were many other female nurses serving in that war. Their willingness to apply their training and skills in such a context bespeaks an incredible sense of compassionate caring and, sadly, in Sharon Ann Lane’s case, an incredible sacrifice.
Joseph Harrington
Oak Park