Diane M. Henderson
Henderson
Diane M.
NV
Persian Gulf War, 1991
Army Nurse Corps
Lieutenant Colonel
Fort Ord, California; Fort Monmouth, New Jersey; Bremerhaven, Germany; Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado; Kuwait
Unknown
Veteran
"Nurses are not nice to nurses." (Audio Interview, 7:31)
By the time she reached her field hospital in Bahrain during the Persian Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Diane Henderson had served for nearly 20 years in the Army Nurse Corps. Still, combat nursing offered a new set of hurdles to overcome: a constant lack of supplies, extreme heat and humidity, and crowded living conditions. Despite these constraints, she made sure that her hospital offered treatment comparable to any found in the States. Her interview offers a glimpse into the daily life of a field hospital; as well, she chronicles the challenges of being a mother as well as soldier, particularly during times of conflict.
Diane Henderson in uniform [undated]
Women of Five Wars: Persian Gulf and Iraq/Afghanistan
Diane Henderson and family
Group photo of troops outside of tent for 90th anniversary of Army Nurse Corps
circa 1990
Diane Henderson and friend in tent, first day at compound
circa 1990
Diane Henderson, center, posing with friends
Diane Henderson receiving award, Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center
Receiving a nursing scholarship from the Army Institute of Nursing; summary of how she earned her commission as a First Lieutenant.
Rigors of training at Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing; isolation of program: eating, sleeping, studying in the same building; dealing with difficult instructors; lack of guidance in practical/technical skills; learning on the job from other nurses at Ft. Ord, California; decision to stay in the service even after starting a family.
Returning from vacation and being called up for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm; expecting it to be a drill but instead receiving orders to deploy overseas.
Effect of her deployment overseas on her family.
Arrival in Saudi Arabia; transfer to Bahrain; conditions and daily schedule in Bahrain.
Description of different types of military hospitals and procedure for transfer of patients; conditions in the field hospitals she worked in during the Gulf War; lack of supplies; reaction of other nurses to the “primitive” facilities; having to use outdated equipment.
Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.11706/
DLC-AFC
2023-07-24
loc.natlib.afc2001001.11706