A nurse who served in the Vietnam War says she will take time out this Anzac Day to reflect on the sacrifices of soldiers and their families, past and present.
“War is something that affects so many people,” Fran Ruddle said.
“It affects the soldiers, the victims of war, their families, the medical staff who see them when they have been badly wounded, the families that have lost a loved one and the children who have grown up without their father.”
Now 70, Ms Ruddle was 26 when she joined the military in 1969.
Within a year, the Hoppers Crossing resident was sent to be a nurse stationed in Vung Tau, Vietnam.
She says what she saw during her time in Vietnam will stay in her heart forever.
The field hospital where she worked was divided into different sections.
A surgical ward was set up for wounded soldiers next to a ward for soldiers who had caught diseases like malaria and typhoid.
There was also a mental health ward, where troops struggling to cope with the brutality of the war were taken when they couldn’t bear it any longer.
Ms Ruddle spent most of her time in the intensive care unit. Nurses sometimes worked six days straight to keep a badly wounded solider alive, only to have them die days later.
“It affected you, it was hard for it not to,” she says.
“You were looking after all these chaps that were young, very fit and healthy people which benefited them when they got pretty badly wounded.
‘‘But they were also at the beginning of their life and many had seen more than a young man should have to in their lifetime.”
After returning to Australia in 1971, Ms Ruddle worked as a nurse for another 30 years.
But she said she learnt more in her year as a war nurse than at any other time of her career.
“It definitely changed you for the better, not just as a nurse but as a person. It made you stronger, more compassionate and accepting of people’s differences.
‘‘It made me more aware of how to think on my feet because every day you would see a different type of injury.”
For many, the experiences of war remain unspoken for years. Ms Ruddle said occasions like Anzac Day are needed to give people the chance to recognise the tragic losses of all wars.
“People would ask when you got home what it was like,” she said.
“But you only tell people what they can handle and you could tell by looking into their eyes sometimes that they couldn’t imagine what had taken place.
‘‘It’s hard to imagine today, but there was no counselling. You just accepted your lot and you got on with life … but some who had been in Vietnam couldn’t.”
Anzac Day in Werribee
Werribee’s Anzac Day march will be held this Sunday, leaving from the Wyndham Cultural Centre at 2.30pm for a 10-minute journey to the Werribee RSL Club in Synnot Street. On April 25, a dawn service will be held at the Werribee cenotaph at 6.30am. A free breakfast will be provided. Contact Werribee RSL for catering.
» 9741 5525
