She Made The Ultimate Sacrifice
"In the predawn darkness of June 28, 1969, mortar rounds slammed into the 312th Evacuation Hospital in Chu Lai, Vietnam. Explosions tore through buildings, scattering debris and igniting fires amid the chaos of incoming wounded soldiers.
Lt. Sharon Lane, a 25-year-old Army nurse from Ohio, was on duty in the shock ward. As sirens wailed and staff rushed to evacuate, she refused to leave her patients—men immobilized by injuries, unable to move on their own.
Medics urged her to go. She shook her head. "Go without me," she said, turning back to stabilize the bleeding and administer aid under the barrage.
A direct hit struck her ward minutes later. Shrapnel pierced her chest and neck. She died en route to surgery.
Lane became the only U.S. servicewoman killed by enemy fire in Vietnam. Posthumously, she received the Bronze Star with "V" for valor—the only one awarded to an American woman there—and a Purple Heart.
God bless this American hero forever.
#nurses #vietnamwar #neverforget