Bauer was a U.S. Navy Nurse for 35 years. She was one of two women in a forward surgical team of 7 people who worked in a provincial hospital in South Vietnam in 1966.
“The hospital had no running water, no electricity we had a generator in the operating room,” said Bauer in an interview.
It was their job to set up a system to purify rainwater for use, and to set up a recovery room in the hospital. Bauer says they did the best they could do for American wounded soldiers under challenging conditions.
“We triaged, we treated them, and we transported them as fast as possible out of there,” Bauer said. “Because who’s going to take care of them? You know we couldn’t because we weren’t allowed there overnight. The whole hospital closed down at night.”
Kay’s specialty was in pediatrics. She also had a desire to teach. But for one year, the Navy sent her to help in Vietnam.
“Once you’re there you just do what you need to do and you care for the people, and that was the hard part,” she said. “You know in triage, oh.”
Even the walk to work from her quarters became dangerous. At one point she witnessed a U.S. helicopter getting shot down with bullets coming perilously close.
“The bullets went past, whoosh, whoosh. I will move a little bit faster here.”
But it’s the good thing Kay likes to remember. Including christening a boat in a nearby harbor or immunizing local children.
“Those are the kinds of things I try to remember,” she said. “The other things are just too hard.”
Kay and her team received a Humanitarian Medal of Honor from the South Vietnamese government. Shortly after returning home, there was an invitation to lunch at the White House. That’s where President Johnson signed legislation allowing women to reach the ranks of General or Admiral.
Kay retired as a Captain in the Navy Nurse Corps, and still keeps in touch with the “awesome” women who served.
