Vietnam War Nurse Elizabeth Jane McCarthy: Special Presentation - In-person

at the Olney Library

In honor of Veterans Day, Olney Library welcomes U.S. Army Captain Elizabeth Jane McCarthy, who served in Vietnam in 1971, for a special lecture/presentation.

Olney Library is honored to welcome U.S. Army Captain Elizabeth Jane McCarthy (retired), who served in Vietnam in 1971. Many have read Kristin Hannah's The Women. Now learn about one nurse's real-life experience as a young woman in the midst of war.

"Elizabeth Jane McCarthy joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1968 while she was attending Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing. After the six weeks of basic training in Texas, she was stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for ten months in the Recovery Room/Intensive Care Unit. Then, at age 22, with that minimal experience under her belt, she was sent to the 95th Evacuation Hospital in DaNang, South Vietnam where she worked in the pre-operative and receiving area as a triage nurse, prioritizing patients based on severity of injuries and what medical treatments were needed. Sometimes, all she could do was hold a soldier’s hand as he breathed his last breath.

... Captain McCarthy came home and joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War in college. Looking back, she realizes now that her difficulty adjusting back to civilian life and subsequent depression at the time were symptoms of undiagnosed PTSD. She has remained active as a Veteran and returns to her home town in Cohasset, Massachusetts, every year to march in the Memorial Day Parade to remember the high cost of war."  --Montgomery County, MD

BIO
Upon returning from the war in Vietnam, U.S. ARMY LIEUTENANT JANE MCCARTHY went to college and nurse anesthesia school using the GI Bill to help pay for her education. She joined the Army Reserves in Denver in 1972 and was in the reserves until 1986. She worked as a nurse anesthetist for several years. In 1980, she returned to school and received her PhD in Physiology (1985) from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda. After completing a fellowship at Navy Medical Research Institute, Lieutenant McCarthy joined the U.S. Public Health Service as a Commissioned Corps officer, where she worked for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a regulatory scientist reviewing data for the approval of FDA regulated products such as medical devices and drugs.

Lieutenant McCarthy retired from the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps in 2006. She continues to work in academia as a professor at the University of North Florida's Brooks College of Health. She served as the first woman Veteran on the Montgomery County Commission on Veterans Affairs. Her primary goal on the Commission was to improve care for Veterans in Montgomery County, especially those returning from war experiencing the difficulties of posttraumatic stress. Lieutenant McCarthy currently resides in Olney, Maryland.

Q&A and light refreshments to follow. 

NO REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED BUT SEATING IS LIMITED. Hope you can join us!

Questions about this program? Contact Olney Library at 240-773-9545.

Sponsored by Friends of the Library, Montgomery County, MD, Inc.

Accommodation Requests

To request an accommodation, contact the library branch where you want the accommodation. If they are unable to help, or if you need an accommodation for an online resource or event, complete our Accommodation Request Form online or call Library Administration at 240-777-0002.

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