Each day was another casualty, or numerous casualties, brought to the theatre by helicopter.
“I was in the second group of nurses to go to Vietnam,” Ms McCarthy said.
“There were about seven of us in Vietnam in my time, in my group. We were there for 12 months.
“I went there on my 27th birthday, so I always remembered, and I came back on my birthday. I know exactly when I went and exactly when I came back.”
After years of working as a nurse, in Australia and overseas, Ms McCarthy decided she wanted a change.
Her first posting was in the theatre in Brisbane.
“I don’t think I really minded where I was going to go because you’d go where you were sent. I’d never been to Brisbane, so I enjoyed that, and I’d certainly never been to Vietnam,” Ms McCarthy said.
“It was the first Australian field hospital, and it was quite unique, actually, because it was an over one hundred bed hospital.
“The casualties were brought in by helicopters and the landing pad was not far from my theatre. We’d decide who would be the first ones into surgery, the most urgent ones, and we’d do it in one, two, three, four: whoever needed it more.”
Under her belt, Ms McCarthy had years of experience as a nurse, having previously worked in casualty departments.
While she said her experience was a valuable aid, she couldn’t have predicted what it would be like in Vietnam.
Beneficial for all was the support offered by colleagues, who could approach distressing memories with a sense of empathy.
“What we did, as a group, if we had a bad day, and there were many bad days, was talk about it,” Ms McCarthy said.
“We talked about it, and it helped. It always helped, to get over any anxieties.
“Sometimes the boys were quite badly injured, and once they went from theatre, they went to the wards, so the other nurses had to look after them. We just got on with the job.”
Six days of work and long shifts were common at the hospital.
Sunday was a day off, often spent at a nearby orphanage, which provided a mental break from the perpetual trauma endured daily.
On return, Ms McCarthy and many other nurses were discouraged from wearing their uniforms outside of the barracks, a result of the icy reception for returned nurses and, especially, returned soldiers.
Ms McCarthy remembers a lengthy transition back into society, where things that used to matter no longer had any meaning at all.
“What I did find was, I came back and I went to an army hospital and I’d be relaxing, and people would be talking about something, and I’d think to myself, ‘what are they talking about? There are other, more important things’,” Ms McCarthy said.
“It took you a little while to get back into society. You’d sort of just get up and wander off from conversation.
“It took about 12 months before you came back and became normal again, you weren’t abnormal, but it took you a little while to settle back into society.”
10°C