Ohio Nurse's Legacy Lives on 50 Years a Er Death in Vietnam
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12 Fort Hood Herald ] BIRTHDAY [ Wednesday, June 12, 2019 Ohio nurse’s legacy lives on 50 years a! er death in Vietnam BY JESSICA HOLBROOK Fitzsimons General Hospital the same respect or recognition as men a simple girl from Canton South who ASSOCIATED PRESS in Denver where she cared who served, Powell said. made a huge impact,” Donnenwirth said. for patients, mainly former “She was just as much a hero as all of The college ensures that new students CANTON, Ohio — A 7-foot-tall monu- soldiers, in the tuberculosis the veterans,” Powell said. know about Lane and her sacrifi ce. ment stands in a courtyard outside of wards and intensive care “She should be honored for her service “Her legacy is alive and we certainly the Aultman School of Nursing. units. Lane several times to America. That she was willing to go honor and respect that here at Aultman,” It’s topped by a life-size bronze statue petitioned to go to Vietnam and serve in the capacity she did: heal- she said. “I hope it goes on a long time. It of a young woman dressed in an Army Lane and in April 1969, the Army ing. She didn’t go into battle, but she certainly will while I’m dean.” uniform. Its base is inscribed with the fi n ally assigned her to the battled for her patients.” Donnenwirth has spoken with Ault- names of 110 Stark County servicemen, hospital in Chu Lai. In the 50 years since Lane’s death, man nursing alumni who went to school and one woman, who died during the Some nurses and doctors didn’t want women have gained more equality in the with Lane. They remember her as being Vietnam War. to tend to the Vietnamese civilians and military. They have opportunities now smart, quiet and introverted. Sharon Lane, a fi rst lieutenant, was prisoners of war in the hospital — they they didn’t have during the Vietnam era, “I haven’t found one person say a nega- killed 50 years ago — June 8, 1969 didn’t want to assist the enemy — but she said. tive word or negative thought about her,” — when a rocket hit the 312th Evacua- Lane volunteered for the job, said Patri- It wasn’t long after Lane’s death that she said. “She just sounds like a sweet tion Hospital’s Vietnamese ward in Chu cia Powell, vice president of the Sharon Canton began plans to honor her. person and looking, at 21 or 22, for a little Lai. She was 25. Lane Memorial Chapter 199 of Vietnam “Fund Drive Set for Memorial to Viet adventure in life.” Lane, a U.S. Army nurse, was the only Veterans of America. Heroine,” read a May 16, 1971, headline “I’d like to have a beer with her,” she American servicewoman killed by direct The Canton-based organization is the in the Canton Repository. Canton City added. enemy fi re during the Vietnam War. only VVA branch named after a woman. Council approved plans for the memo- Museums, including the Wm. McKin- “I think she represents that caring “She was a very loving caring person. rial, which would be inscribed with the ley Presidential Library & Museum in heart. That caring, compassionate side I don’t think she ever looked at what names of all Stark County residents Canton, have gathered artifacts from of nursing,” said Dr. Jo Ann Donnen- nationality people were. She was there to killed in the war, later that month. Lane’s life. This year, the U.S. Army wirth, dean of the Aultman School of help,” Powell said. “She was a very dedi- The drive set a goal of $15,000 for a Medical Department Museum at Joint Nursing. cated nurse. If you needed help, that’s bronze statue. Aultman offered land for Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston “I wish all of our graduates would what she did.” the monument. opened an exhibit about Lane. have the characteristics Sharon Lane Lane was fi nishing up a night shift in The Denver hospital where Lane began Lane’s legacy also isn’t forgotten in exhibited.” the Vietnamese ward when the hospi- her military career had already dedicat- Vietnam. Lane was born July 7, 1943, in Zanes- tal was hit. She was killed instantly by ed the Lane Recovery Suite in her honor. The Sharon Anne Lane Foundation ville. She was raised in Stark County and shrapnel while trying to move patients And a plaque was placed at the evacua- built a hospital in Chu Lai, near where graduated from Canton South High in to safety. tion hospital where she was killed. Lane was killed, in 2002. 1961 and Aultman in 1965. Eight American servicewomen would After months of fundraisers, door-to- Powell, a member of the now-closed or- She took a job in the obstetrics unit die during the Vietnam War; Lane was door campaigning and donations, the ganization, remembers stepping off the at Aultman but didn’t like the work. the only one killed by enemy fi re. statue was fi nished in 1972. plane in Vietnam worried that they’d be So Lane switched to secretarial work, Lane was posthumously awarded the On May 29, 1973, about 250 people gath- greeted with weapons. But the Vietnam- which she found tedious. She returned to Purple Heart, the National Defense Ser- ered in a courtyard at Aultman for the ese people embraced them. nursing and joined the U.S. Army Nurse vice Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, monument’s dedication. The facility is dedicated to women and Corps Reserve in 1968. the National Order of Vietnam Medal, “She has paid the supreme sacrifi ce children in the region. At the time, a Lane was looking for something more and the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross and we join in tribute to someone we pregnant woman who needed a caesar- exciting and challenging, Donnenwirth with Palm. She was the only service- have loved; she was one of our own,” ean section would have to be transported said. woman at the time to receive the Bronze eulogized Canton Mayor Stanley Cmich. by bicycle to a hospital down the moun- “It was a turbulent time,” she said, Star with valor, according to the Purple The memorial was later moved to Ault- tainside. Now, they can receive all the noting the protests and unrest in the Heart Foundation. man’s Seventh Street entrance where it care they need at the clinic, Powell said. U.S. “People were dying in Vietnam but In 2003, she was inducted into the Ohio remains today. The hospital has exhibits The hospital is thriving, Powell said. they were soldiers, not support staff and Military Hall of Fame. dedicated to Lane in its main lobby and A fi tting tribute to someone who’s certainly not health care workers.” Though women served in the military inside the school of nursing. legacy is “her kind compassionate con- Lane was fi rst assigned to the Army’s during Vietnam, they didn’t always get “It’s interesting to me that she was just sideration for all people.” Wednesday, June 12, 2019 ] BIRTHDAY [ Fort Hood Herald 13 Soldier who battled in Fallujah to receive highest military honor BY JOE LACDAN COURTESY OF DAVID ARMY NEWS SERVICE BELLAVIA Staff Sgt. WASHINGTON — Former David Staff Sgt. David Bellavia will Bellavia, be awarded the Medal of le! , in Iraq. Honor for his bravery during Bellavia will some of the deadliest fi ght- be presented ing in Iraq, President Donald The Medal Trump announced Monday. of Honor on Trump will present the June 25 for Medal of Honor to Bellavia on his actions June 25. during the A squad leader during the second second battle of Fallujah, Bel- battle of lavia, now 43, exposed himself Fallujah. to enemy fi re as he defended his soldiers on Nov. 10, 2004. Third Platoon, A Company, Task Force 2-2 was with U.S. Marines facing about 1,500 to 3,000 insurgents who had been using the mostly abandoned city as cover. A Company learned six to eight insurgents were hiding somewhere in a block of 12 buildings, and the company would have to search each one to try and fi nd them. After unsuccessfully searching the fi rst nine buildings, pla- toon members entered the next structure and encountered heavy gunfi re from within. Bellavia used his M249 squad automatic weapon to suppress and counter the insurgent tion and the close combat that inside. He then fought his For his actions during the enamored with the military attack, allowing Third Platoon followed shocked Bellavia, who way up three fl oors, using his fi r efi ght, Bellavia received the life at a young age and at 23, he members to escape the house. had limited experience with rifl e and grenades to kill four Silver Star. His other com- left college and enlisted in the The platoon then began tak- enemy contact at the time. enemy insurgents and mor- mendations include the Bronze Army in July 1999. ing fi re from insurgents on the “Never in my life had I seen tally wound another. The fi rst Star and the New York State Bellavia left active duty in house’s rooftop. Bellavia, real- anything like that,” he said of insurgent Bellavia killed had Conspicuous Service Cross. 2005 and currently hosts his izing the only way to keep his the fi ghting. been loading an RPG launcher The native of Waterport, own radio show in the Buffalo, platoon from taking casualties Bellavia called for an M2 to fi re upon Third Platoon.