Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:26 | Carol Rosenberg couldn't find boots that fit when she arrived in Vietnam. All the clothing was for male personnel. The young nurse was soon serving in a hospital ward full of extreme malaria cases and drug addicts. Stanley Rosenberg was fortunate to have more experienced doctors show him how to provide care in the extreme trauma cases that are an inescapable part of war.
Keywords : Carol Rosenberg Stanley Rosenberg nurse doctor Vietnam hospital drug addict
Before they met in Vietnam, Carol and Stanley Rosenberg were both drawn to the medical field. She wanted to be a nurse since the eighth grade and he felt the calling to be a doctor. They both also felt that the troops being drafted and sent to Vietnam deserved a little help.
She was in the US Army Nurse Corps and he was in the Medical Corps. They both knew being sent to Vietnam was a strong possibility and, eventually, they both got the call.
Carol Rosenberg was the only female in her group in transit to Vietnam. She was very young, too, and the strange and exotic place was overwhelming. Stanley Rosenberg experienced the same disorientation until a nearby B-52 strike focused his attention.
It was very spartan at the hospital in Phu Bai. The hooches were small and hot and the food was dicey except for midnight breakfast. Carol was a nurse and Stanley was a doctor when they first caught sight of each other in the officers club. She was unimpressed at first but life with the tight knit medical staff meant that they would get to know each other well.
There was a lot of mistrust on both sides. Carol and Stanley Rosenberg recall their interactions with Vietnamese locals during their time there. They also recall, less than fondly, the leadership at their medical unit.
After a particularly brutal firefight, Army doctor Stanley Rosenberg treated a ghastly burn casualty and the memory of that patient haunts him until this day. Carol Rosenberg was a nurse at that same hospital and she was troubled when she saw how a mortally wounded GI was treated when a VIP showed up.
They went to Vietnam separately, served together, and returned separately, but Carol and Stanley Rosenberg were destined to spend more time together. They both ditched their uniforms, first thing, and returned to their homes. It wasn't long before he was driving hundreds of miles for a date.
Carol Rosenberg barely talked about her service in Vietnam outside of her family. The societal baggage was just too much. Stanley Rosenberg had one positive effect from his tour. It gave him the confidence he needed as a doctor, something he was lacking out of medical school and basic training.
It's ancient history, now. That's how Stanley Rosenberg thinks the war is perceived by the public today, with some confusion about who the bad guys were. For him and his wife, Carol, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a fitting monument and their time there is marked by reverence and remembrance.
