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KN-10517: Purple Hearts awarded to U.S. Navy Nurses, January 1965

KN-10517:   Purple Hearts awarded to U.S. Navy Nurses, January 1965.   Three of the four U.S. Navy Nurses awarded the Purple Heart in Vietnam, receive their awards from Captain Archie Kuntze, Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Support Activity, Saigon.  The nurses (left to right): Lieutenant Barbara J. Wooster; Lieutenant Ruth A. Mason; and Lieutenant Junior Grade D. Reynolds, are the first women to receive the medal in Vietnam.  Another nurse Lieutenant Francis L. Crumpton, was flown to Clark Air Base, Philippines, earlier for treatment.  The nurses, although injured in the Communist bombing of the HQ on Christmas Eve, refused medical treatment for themselves while rendering First Aid to others wounded by the explosion.  Commander Miles D. Turley, Executive Officer of the Naval Support Activity (right), assists his Commanding Officer in the presentation.  Turley was wounded New Year’s Day while investigating reports of sniper fire on water skiers in the Saigon River.  Photograph released January 15, 1965.  Official Department of Defense photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.   (Black and White Only).
Caption: KN-10517: Purple Hearts awarded to U.S. Navy Nurses, January 1965. Three of the four U.S. Navy Nurses awarded the Purple Heart in Vietnam, receive their awards from Captain Archie Kuntze, Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Support Activity, Saigon. The nurses (left to right): Lieutenant Barbara J. Wooster; Lieutenant Ruth A. Mason; and Lieutenant Junior Grade D. Reynolds, are the first women to receive the medal in Vietnam. Another nurse Lieutenant Francis L. Crumpton, was flown to Clark Air Base, Philippines, earlier for treatment. The nurses, although injured in the Communist bombing of the HQ on Christmas Eve, refused medical treatment for themselves while rendering First Aid to others wounded by the explosion. Commander Miles D. Turley, Executive Officer of the Naval Support Activity (right), assists his Commanding Officer in the presentation. Turley was wounded New Year’s Day while investigating reports of sniper fire on water skiers in the Saigon River. Photograph released January 15, 1965. Official Department of Defense photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (Black and White Only).
Related Content
Topic
  • People--Women
Document Type
  • Photograph
Wars & Conflicts
  • Vietnam Conflict 1962-1975
File Formats
  • Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Location of Archival Materials
  • National Museum of the U.S. Navy