In our 48th edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Karen tells how being a teacher right out of college wasn’t exciting enough – so she applied to be a Donut Dollie, that she may have been the only Donut Dollie to have dinner with her father while they were both in Vietnam and how she and her Donut Dollie partner ended up rock & roll dancing for South Vietnamese kids.

Please share the Donut Dollie Detail with family, friends and veterans you may know, and make sure to like/follow us on Facebook to learn when the next edition is posted.  

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Karen Kent…

What prompted you to join the SRAO (Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas) program and want to go to Vietnam?

I was teaching high school math during my first year out of college. I wasn’t enjoying it very much because this was in Atlanta during the civil rights era. I wanted an adventure, so explored living on a kibbutz or joining the Peace Corps. I was the sponsor of the high school Red Cross club and read the monthly magazines. One article described the SRAO program and I knew that was what I wanted to do.  My father was a career military officer and had been in Vietnam already as a MACV infantry adviser in the Delta.  I wanted to better understand both the war and the antiwar movement.  My dad was extremely proud of me going to Vietnam. 

When and where were you stationed in Vietnam?  Did you go by a nickname?

I was in Vietnam from 1970-71 and was stationed in the northern part of the country (I Corps) from June 1970 to early December 1970 at Camp Eagle with the 101st Airborne Division and six months in Chu Lai with the Americal Division from mid-December 1970 to June 1971.  At both places, we lived in trailers with a bunker in the middle of the trailers.  Camp Eagle took their job of protecting us very seriously – there was a fence around the trailers and a guard at the gate 24/7.  At Chu Lai, it was much looser – no fence and no guard, but we were close to the Commanding Generals’ residence, so it seemed safe. 

I had no nickname in Vietnam.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

Most of the work at Chu Lai and Camp Eagle was done on firebases.  Most of the firebases were on mountain tops.  Vietnam is a beautiful country and I loved flying in Huey helicopters with the doors off and seeing the coastline, the rivers and the mountains.  We would do 2-3 programs on a firebase, often setting up our gear on sandbags surrounding the artillery.  Then, if time permitted, we’d walk around and talk to the guys individually or serve them a meal so we could see more men.  Occasionally, we’d attend a memorial service for infantry guys who had died or a church service.  

The helicopters that dropped us off were also taking/picking up guys in the field, so if there was a lot of field activity, we’d be delayed getting off the firebase.  Luckily, I never had to spend the night on a firebase!  The guys were so bored that they loved seeing us arrive and we always got a good turnout.  We also went to very small communication bases where there would only be 2-4 men.  We’d sit and talk, rather than do the activities.  I particularly enjoyed that.  I think this experience led me to becoming a mental health therapist, which I did for 40 years. 

Did you ever have any “close calls” either on base or in any vehicles?

I was standing on the steps of my trailer in Chu Lai watching bombs hit the airfield about a mile away.  Fortunately, being young and naïve, I wasn’t frightened.  When the siren went off telling us to go to the bunkers, we would run a block to the commanding officer’s bunker, because our bunker had rats!  Also, I was on a firebase when explosions started going off.  The guy nearest me threw me to the ground and threw himself on top of me.  Then they found out it was an engineering unit clearing land with explosives and they forgot to warn the guys on the firebase.  But it was very sweet that the guy just automatically acted to protect me. 

Were you ever injured while in Vietnam?

I was sitting in a truck with the door open and my foot in the door area waiting for our helicopter to pick us up.  When it landed, the air from the helicopter slammed the door shut on my foot.  The men helped me into the copter and flew me to the nearest medical hospital.  They were going to put me on a stretcher, but I was too embarrassed (not sure why), so two men carried me between them.  Because the pilot radioed ahead that a Donut Dollie was being brought in, there were a ton of people waiting just to see us.  The old-fashioned type of cast was put on my foot for 6 weeks.  It was too difficult to get in and out of the copters, so I had to do activities on base the whole time.  I really missed the flying and the firebases. 

What was it like to visit the soldiers in the hospitals?

I only visited a hospital maybe three times, since most of our work was on the firebases.  I did spend a couple of weeks myself in a MASH-style hospital when they thought I had malaria.  They debated where to place my bed.  The doctors decided not to put me in a unit where the men were healthy enough to want to talk to me, so they placed me at the end of the room on the recovery unit and surrounded my bed with screens.  Most of the men there had been in surgery and were coming out of anesthesia.  I even heard them interrogating North Vietnamese while they were groggy.  Not a good environment for recovery!!  

My dad had just come into country for his second tour.  They allowed him to come from Saigon to Chu Lai to visit me for two days.  It was really unbelievably good seeing him, but it was also the most homesick I have ever been in my life.  After he left, I told the doctor that if he would release me to the Donut Dollie trailers, I would follow his directions exactly.  I had just been at Chu Lai briefly when this happened, so I wasn’t close to the other women yet.  That’s where I met Terre Deegan Young (see end of paragraph), who visited me every day and helped tremendously when I moved back to the trailer.  I was in bed another two weeks.  Terre and I remain friends to this day.  The diagnosis was changed to “undiagnosed fever”, but they think it was severe food poisoning, because a third of the unit I served Christmas dinner to on a firebase also got the same illness. 

You can read Terre Deegan Young’s own Donut Dollie Detail feature here.

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

My family lived in Hawaii at the time, so that’s where I returned.  My mother picked me up at the airport and took me to a music concert in the crater of Diamond Head.  I spent the day with my younger sister there.  I was absolutely blown away.  It wasn’t a good thing to do my first day home.  I had trouble seeing everyone happy and carefree, when I had been in Vietnam 48 hours earlier with men who might not even return home.  

I can’t tell you the number of friends who said “Someday you’ll have to tell me about your experience”, but none ever followed up.  No one wanted to hear it.  I stayed in Hawaii and worked in a book store for about six months waiting for two friends to get out of Vietnam.  Then five of us met up in Germany, bought a cheap van, and spent six months living in the van and roaming Europe.  All five of us (3 helicopter pilots, Terre, and I) processed our experiences as we traveled.  It was a real healing time and allowed me to move on with life. 

What would you like people to remember and understand most about the women who served?

We weren’t prostitutes!  The men were kind and protective of us.  When I was unit director, a lieutenant propositioned one of the women I worked with.  I called his boss, who had him meet us at the Officers Club and he bought us a bottle of champagne.  He was very embarrassed and contrite and knew he had blown it completely.  Propositions were very, very rare in Vietnam.  If any man even cussed in front of us, another man would say “Hey, there are ladies present!” and there would be an apology. 

I would ache at the end of each day from smiling constantly.  We were always “on”, because that is what the men needed.  I grew up rapidly during my tour.  I started the year as a shy, quiet person and ended the year as an outgoing, confident person.  During all the challenges in my life since then, I’d tell myself “If I could handle Vietnam, I can manage this!” and it worked for me.  Vietnam was a very difficult, but powerful year.  

How do you feel Veterans think of your time having served with them?  Have any Veterans expressed their feelings to you directly?

My experience with Veterans since Vietnam has been powerful.  They are grateful that we were there, because we represented “home” to them.  I’ve had no negative experiences.  My dad would introduce me to his military buddies, as the daughter who went to Nam. 

What are your fondest or most interesting memories of your time serving in Vietnam?

I had been in country for less than a month and a guy on a firebase was walking us to the helicopter.  He turned to me and said “I’m going home next week and I’ve been wanting to do this for a year”.  He dipped me back and passionately kissed me.  Said “thanks” and walked away.  The whole group of men burst into applause as I stood there stunned. 

We accidentally ended up at a ceremony where the Americans were turning over responsibility to the South Vietnamese.  After the ceremony, the South Vietnamese started playing music and asked me and the other Donut Dollie to dance by ourselves.  The only dancing we knew was rock and roll, so we just started dancing.  Soon, kids joined in.  It was a very strange experience, but we knew we couldn’t say no. 

I met my dad for dinner in Saigon when I was going on R&R.  He had his arm around my shoulder as we walked to the Officer’s Club.  I noticed men staring at us and finally asked my dad what was going on.  He grinned and said “They think you’re my girlfriend”.  Of course!  No one would imagine a father/daughter together in Vietnam. 

I got a call late one night from a male friend of mine with another Division.  I could tell he was slightly drunk.  He said “None of the guys here believe I know an American woman in Vietnam”.  Would you tell them it’s true?”  I gladly talked to several guys letting them know that yes, it was true.  

After I left the country, this friend got medevacked to the Philippines.  Years later we met up in Santa Cruz, CA.  He told me that he believed my visit to him in the military hospital in the Philippines saved his life. I had not visited him, but I could never tell him the truth, because what he believed was so powerful. 

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In our 47th edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Joyce tells how she became a Donut Dollie to help boost the men’s morale, that she found a treasure from a soldier amongst her father’s things, and how she met her husband of 51 years in Vietnam.

Please share the Donut Dollie Detail with family, friends and veterans you may know, and make sure to like/follow us on Facebook to learn when the next edition is posted.  

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Joyce MacConnachie Kirk…

What prompted you to join the SRAO (Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas) program and want to go to Vietnam?

My senior year at the University of Minnesota I interviewed with several organizations and companies with overseas programs, as I majored in International Relations and was interested in a job overseas.  The Red Cross SRAO job was just for one year which was appealing.  The thought of helping the morale of our soldiers in Vietnam was very appealing.  Minnesota had anti-war protests everywhere, which was fine, but they were treating the soldiers horribly, very disrespectfully.  Maybe I could help.  My parents were quite proud of the decision.

When and where were you stationed in Vietnam?  Did you go by a nickname?

After graduation in June 1967, my dad drove me to Washington, D.C. for some training.  The main thing I remember about that was watching the floor come up to my face after a Gamma globulin shot.  My first posting was in Bien Hoa from June – October 1967.  My main adjustments were the weather (heat) and the smells.  The size of things astonished me:  the size of shrimp, the butterfly on our outhouse door, the lizards in the bathrooms.  My second assignment was from October 1967 – February 1968 with the 9th Inf Div at Bearcat (southeast of Saigon).  It was here I saw the Bob Hope Christmas show with Rachel Welch and others.  Another time Martha Raye (comedian) was introduced to me at a gathering – and then proceeded to ignore me, pretty deliberately.  But then, I wasn’t a soldier – and she loved the soldiers!!

My last posting was in Danang from February – May 1968.  By this time I had learned to co-exist with the lizards on the ceilings and everywhere.  I remember watching the movie “Dr. Zhivago” at the Recreation Center there and despite the awful heat, I was freezing. No nickname, I was always known as Joyce.

What was a routine day like in Vietnam?

In Bien Hoa we went out daily by jeep to visit different units that had been scheduled.  We were prepared with the board games we’d made.  Sometimes we had Kool-aid and cookies.  We ate in the mess hall with the soldiers.  Several nights a week we helped some soldiers who had set up a school for the Vietnamese to learn English.  The women loved to sit by us and hug us, and the children entertained us always.  At Bearcat we flew out daily in Huey helicopters to visit soldiers – often they would be in a field drying out their feet after tramping around the rice patties.  We always ate with the soldiers often helping to dish out the meals in the chow line.  On Sunday nights we were invited to the General’s mess for a lovely meal and movie – and how we loved Sunday nights!!.  In Danang we worked in the Recreation Center and went out to visit units, including the flight line.  I was a DJ for a radio station once a week.

Did you ever have any “close calls” either on base or in any vehicles?

Bien Hoa had been quite safe, but my first night at Bearcat we were “attacked”.  All I knew was that everyone raced to our bunker, so I followed, wondering why I had been sent to this place (it turned out to be friendly fire – Thai soldiers misfired mortars).  The only other time I was sent to bunkers was in Danang a few times.

Were you ever injured while in Vietnam?

No, I was never injured.  I did have my wisdom teeth extracted.

What was it like to visit the soldiers in the hospitals?

The only time I visited a hospital was after Tet.  We were driven to Long Binh to the hospital.  We had no training to really help, but I guess our job was to be a friendly American face.

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

It was surreal, quite bizarre to think the world was just going about it’s business, not really into what was going on over there.  I could hardly wait to eat mashed potatoes that didn’t run all over the plate.  I was never a huge mashed potato fan before or even a month after returning from Vietnam.

What would you like people to remember and understand most about the women who served?

We tried our hardest to keep the soldier’s morale up, listening endlessly to them talk about their wives, girlfriends, mothers and families.  It was easy to talk to them – just ask them about their DEROS (Date Estimated Return From Overseas), about what they hoped to do afterwards.

How do you feel Veterans think of your time having served with them?  Have any Veterans expressed their feelings to you directly?

I always felt appreciated.  One time a Sergeant asked for my home address to send my parents a note about how he appreciated what the Donut Dollies did.  When my dad died, I found it, amongst his treasures.  Only one time in thousands of conversations with soldiers did one say and suggest inappropriate things.  Through reunions of my husband’s units, I heard positive stories of interactions with Donut Dollies.  They have honored me in several ways.  Along with local Medal of Honor recipients, I was recognized and thanked by the committee organizing the Kansas City Memorial Day activities and concert in 2018. 

What are your fondest or most interesting memories of your time serving in Vietnam?

I think I have covered that here.  Just one more thing – I met my husband of 51 years while I was at Bearcat.  That time in Vietnam obviously changed my life.  I felt I did serve our soldiers.  I matured in many ways, but I do not think it helped me brave another year when my husband went back to Vietnam for a 2^nd time.  People would say that I would understand better than other wives what he would be going through.  Yes, it would and that was terrifying, not reassuring.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 46 PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE DONUT DOLLIE DETAIL THAT CAN BE SEEN HERE, JUST SCROLL DOWN TO READ EACH (AT THE BOTTOM, YOU’LL SEE A LINK TO GO TO THE NEXT PAGE OF DONUT DOLLIE DETAIL FEATURES)

In our 46th edition of the Donut Dollie Detail, Gloria tells that thanks to a Korean baker (Mr. Kim), she was able to bring donuts to the men, how the Donut Dollies would visit the men of the Mobile Riverine Force, and that she and the other women loved their country and serving the men.

Please share the Donut Dollie Detail with family, friends and veterans you may know, and make sure to like/follow us on Facebook to learn when the next edition is posted.  

Please meet Red Cross Donut Dollie Gloria Glover Gates…

What prompted you to join the SRAO (Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas) program and want to go to Korea and then Vietnam?

The offer to go to South Korea and serve with our military.  How exciting and different from anything I could have imagined doing right out of college. 

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When and where were you stationed in Korea and Vietnam?  Did you go by a nickname?

After two weeks of training at the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C., we boarded a flight to Tacoma, Washington.  There we waited for the next military flight to Seoul, Korea.  We arrived in Korea on September 12, 1967. After more training at SRAO headquarters in Seoul we traveled to our assigned units.  I was stationed at Camp Humphreys, home of the 28th Field Support Group from September until the first week of January of 1967.  In early January of 1968 I left Korea for Vietnam and arrived at the Bear Cat base (9th Infantry Division).  I was known as Gloria in both Korea and Vietnam.

What was a routine day like in Korea and Vietnam?

In Korea, we lived on base and worked out of an office provided by the military. We had a truck and driver assigned to us, and a baker, Mr. Kim, who made dozens of donuts every day.  We delivered them to the  men we visited. Our programs were popular, but the men really loved the donuts. We carried boxes with 5 dozen donuts in each box. If we were headed out on a long run we would tie 5 boxes together. We traveled by truck, train or bus that would get us to the village closest to the unit we were visiting. Riding the train or bus gave us opportunity to meet many of the Korean people. Of course the children knew our schedule better than we did. We gave away many of the donuts before we got to the men. That is why we took so many. Our programs provided fun opportunities to give the men time away from their daily routine. They were so glad to have us visit and loved to talk with us about home and family.  

Two of us volunteered to transfer to Vietnam after some of the Donut Dollies had to go home early. We left Korea in early January of ‘68 and stayed in Saigon about a week for training. The TET holiday started about two weeks after I arrived in country.  I was assigned to the unit at Bear Cat, home of the 9th Infantry Division. We lived in a one story wood building called a billet. Each of us had a small room, with barbed wire crisscrossing the ceiling, a single bed, small dresser, but no air conditioning. We shared a bath with showers. Water for the showers was brought in by truck and stored on the roof in 50 gallon barrels. Our Mamasan washed our uniforms and did some light cleaning. Our billet was surrounded by a high fence with barbed wire on the top. A single gate was the only way in or out. An MP was assigned to guard the gate or sit inside the fence, depending on any security threat. We did live inside a big base, but the enemy was right outside the perimeter.

The helicopter base was right next door, so getting a ride to the delta every morning was easy, but the dust, was really bad. Our rooms, clothes, and hair stayed dusty all the time.  The pilots, crew and mechanics were some of our favorite people, so we never complained.

We traveled around Bear Cat to visit units, the hospital or to work on our programs in our office. But most days we flew out by helicopter to visit fire support bases, a cleared area with big guns and lots of bunkers. We usually ended up at Dong Tam or on one of the Navy ships on the Mekong River. The Mobile Riverine Force used these ships for resupply.  We visited and served meals if asked too, and shared goodies that Red Cross units back home sent us for the men.  Socks (any kind) and magazines were their favorite items. We had to be back every night by sundown. We usually caught a Huey back to Bear Cat by listening for a chopper and getting the radio operator to ask if they were going our way. Most were very happy to land and pick us up. 

My next unit was in beautiful Nha Trang, right on the South China Sea. We had a recreation center where men who had come in from the field would come for coffee, Kool-aid, ping pong, checkers, chess, and arts and craft.  The base was huge and every branch of our military was there. We scheduled visits if we were asked and did our programs on truck beds, ship decks, motor pools, and open fields. Our billet was a ‘French’ villa left behind when the French lived in Nha Trang. Walled and with a guard at the gate, we felt safe in our house. But the guard went home at night and we had most of the mortar attacks during the night. 

Did you ever have any “close calls” either on base or in any vehicles?

No close calls, just mortar attacks

Were you ever injured while in Korea or Vietnam?

No injuries. 

What was it like to visit the soldiers in the hospitals?

When visiting the hospitals, I tried only to remember faces, not names. Then when names of those lost were called, it didn’t hurt as much. Hospital visits involved seeing men wounded with terrible injuries. Burns were the worst. 

How was the transition returning home to the United States?

My year ended with a C130 flight back to Saigon. I had spent the most exciting year of my life with some amazing men.  But now I was going home. Real bread and milk on the freedom bird tasted so good. Everyone on this flight was so excited, but had to be reminded to change into civilian clothes once we were in San Francisco. We did make an emergency landing on Adak in the chain of islands off Alaska because a civilian on board being returned to the states became very ill. The pilot dumped fuel and we landed on a very short runway. The man was taken for medical care, the plane was refueled and we were on our way again.  I came home with 5 boxes of slides. When groups found out about where I had been, I was asked to speak and share my slides all over North Mississippi, parts of west Tennessee, and even Arkansas.

What would you like people to remember and understand most about the women who served?

They loved their country, its military, and wanted to be a part of what our country was trying to do for the Korean and Vietnamese people.

How do you feel Veterans think of your time having served with them?  Have any Veterans expressed their feelings to you directly?

They were surprised we were there, but grateful we came. 

What are your fondest or most interesting memories of your time serving in Korea and Vietnam?

The women I worked with loved their country, its military and wanted to do something for the men.  They were smart, talented and kindhearted women who had volunteered to do a very hard job.  The days were very long, danger was always there, but they never failed to do what was asked of them.  Long hours in a bunker at Bear Cat or under the stairwell in Nha Trang were just another part of their job. 

Both countries were so beautiful. Traveling by train in Korea, visiting the Pearl Buck orphanage in Seoul, programming on the Navy ships that resupplied the Mobile Riverine Force, R&R in Australia, early morning helicopter flights into the Delta, and James Brown and Martha Ray coming to BearCat.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 45 PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE DONUT DOLLIE DETAIL THAT CAN BE SEEN HERE, JUST SCROLL DOWN TO READ EACH (AT THE BOTTOM, YOU’LL SEE A LINK TO GO TO THE NEXT PAGE OF DONUT DOLLIE DETAIL FEATURES)