Interview of Margaret Easterly Canfield on her twenty-four year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and services in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars Ruth Stewart: Margaret E. Canfield is being interviewed today as a member of the WOSL, San Antonio Unit. This is January the 15th, 2004; and we are recording at the Army Residence Community in San Antonio, Texas. Ruth Stewart is doing the interviewing assisted by Carol Habgood. [00:24] Margaret, would you start… Do you prefer being called Margaret or Marge? Margaret Canfield: Margaret is fine. Ruth Stewart: Okay Margaret. [00:33] Would you start by telling us a little about – bit about your very early life which led you into the life that you are going to tell us more about? Margaret Canfield: Well, I was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1930; and, uh, during the Depression, we were on welfare. And my first, uh, experience with nursing was when I went to the hospital, uh, to have my tonsils out; and it was the city hospital. And the nurses were just as kind and gentle as they could be with all the children that there were at that time. And there were a lot of children because all the welfare children were in the same ward. And I think that was my first inkling that I might want to be a nurse when I grew up. Ruth Stewart: [00:20] How old were you at that time? Margaret Canfield: I think I was about, maybe five... Ruth Stewart: Pretty young. Margaret Canfield: …something like that, yeah. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: So… And all I can remember is from then on, uh, everything that had to do with nursing, uh, interested me. And my mother always made costumes for Halloween or something and she always made me a nurse. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And when I started reading books, I started reading all the books I could find that were about nurses. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And then during WWII when they had the, uh, student nurse program – or they had the… Ruth Stewart: [1:59] Cadet nurse? Margaret Canfield: …the cadet nurse program, yeah. I had a cousin, uh, who became a cadet nurse; and I think that's when I thought, well, maybe I'd like to join the army. So, I did go to nursing right out of high school. I was only 17. So, we had to sign a waiver for that. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And I went to a hospital school of nursing in Detroit. Ruth Stewart: [2:22] Which hospital was that? Margaret Canfield: Saint Mary's. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: Uh…but I didn't graduate from that school because the nuns, uh, sold that hospital and transferred us to another hospital – Providence Hospital in Detroit. I graduated from there in 1951; and had it in my mind from the very beginning that I wanted to be an army nurse. But… Ruth Stewart: [2:46] Because of your cousin, you think? Margaret Canfield: Uh…yes and, you know, the war, you know, you saw lot about, uh, medical personnel, nurses, etcetera, during the war. So, uh, I went down to the recruiter in Detroit and found out that I couldn't join yet because I wasn't 21 and I couldn't take state boards. I was only 19 when I graduated. So, I went back to work, uh, in the operating room at, uh, what was then called Detroit Memorial Hospital. It had been Saint Mary's, but, uh, the doctors bought it and renamed it Detroit Memorial. So, in July of that year I was able to take state boards. And then, uh, went right back to the recruiter as soon as I got the results of my state boards and, and signed the papers. So, then it was, uh – that was in October that, uh, everything came through. And I went to basic in November of 1951. And there was another nurse at the hospital that wanted to go in too. So, the recruiter arranged it we could go together to basic. Well, neither one of us had ever heard of Fort Sam Houston but, uh, we got on an airplane to come to Texas; and when we got off, we said, “Well now how do we get to Fort Sam Houston?” And they said, “Well that's in San Antonio, Texas” - but we were in Houston, Texas. So, we had to stay there overnight. And then finally we got sent to San Antonio the next day. Ruth Stewart: [4:30] Fort Sam Houston? Margaret Canfield: Right… Ruth Stewart: [4:32] Sounds like it ought to be in Houston, doesn't it? Margaret Canfield: Right? [chuckle] Ruth Stewart: What a story. [chuckle] Margaret Canfield: At that time, uh, basic training was only five weeks because it was during Kor-, the Korean War and they, they wanted to get everybody out in a hurry. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: But we lived, uh, over in the quadrangle. And, uh, it was my first experience living with so many people. [chuckle] I think there were like 18 of us in one room… Ruth Stewart: Mm. Margaret Canfield: …and we had a little cot and one little locker and, uh, a dresser. And we went through all the inspections just like anybody else did and had to have the beds made just so; and very little room for anything. So, there were a few girls who had cars. So, on Friday night before inspection, we'd unload everything out of our lockers and our dressers and take them down and stack them in the cars until after inspection took place. [chuckle] Ruth Stewart: [chuckle] That's an interesting tidbit. Margaret Canfield: So, after basic I was assigned to then Camp Carson, Colorado. And the first chief nurse I had was a major – [Yaeger 5:54], her name was. And she took me to my first quarters. And I was amazed because the bathtub was dirty and she cleaned that bathtub. The chief nurse cleaned that bathtub. Ruth Stewart: [6:08] She won your respect right off? Margaret Canfield: Yes, she did. She certainly did. And in that assignment, uh, right after I got there, uh, [Tib 6:21] Simmons in Denver, was renovating their TB section. So, they moved their TB patients down to Camp Carson. So, we had to open all these old wards that, uh, hadn't been used for quite a while. And we had probably, oh, I would say maybe eight wards full of TB patients. And I was working in that section. And on night duty, you would do the whole ramp. One nurse would take care of all the wards – could be six wards on a ramp. And, uh, you had one foreman on each ward. And also with that time, you had to do breakfast. Food service sent – well they sent the food down to be cooked but we cooked the breakfast. Ruth Stewart: [7:12] Not just serving it, you cooked it? Margaret Canfield: Not just served it, no. The nurse and the, the foreman on each ward cooked breakfast for the patients in those days. And of course, we had a lot of ambulatory patients; and, uh, they did all the cleaning up of the trays, setting up the trays, serving the trays. That was before food service took over all that work. But the TB patients were, were quite interesting. They were very ingenious in hiding things. Uh…you would find bottles of liquor on a string tied down into the shower drains – tied onto the drain – and the bottle would be down into the drain. And they also found ways to have things brought in, like have a taxi come in and bring them illegal things. In those days, it was mostly liquor. Sometimes it was women. Oh, yeah… [chuckle]. We’d have a few surprises when you were on night duty and find some women visiting in the ward. But, uh, after a few months on that service, uh, I was able to get back into the operating room. I did not have the ORMOS, however. And, uh, about six months later, two nurses with operating room MOS's came in, so I had to leave the operating room. And they needed somebody in OB, which was not my favorite service at that time. But I said, “Okay, I'll go to OB”. And eventually, that became my MOS. I, uh, I really started to love doing obstetrics and – and did that for, uh, the whole time I was at Carson. Then I got assigned to Japan in 1953 up on Hokkaido. And up there, the nurses did everything – uh, you did medical, surgical, uh, what obstetrics we did have and even sometimes, uh, operating room. But it was a fairly small hospital, but we supported the, uh, [8th Cab 9:33]. And, uh, we did get some patients in from Korea but mostly… Ruth Stewart: [9:40] This was what year, then? Margaret Canfield: Uh…1953. Ruth Stewart: Okay. During the Korean – the end of the Korean War. Margaret Canfield: The end of the Korean War. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: Uh…it was quite interesting up there in Hokkaido. It was winter time almost eight months of the year. And we had a commander who was an avid skier; so, he made sure there was transportation almost every day for people to go to the ski slopes, which were close by. So, about everybody there took advantage of that, even though people had not ever skied before; and I was one of those people. So, it wasn't unusual to see people running around with their arms in a cast or legs in a cast. Uh…there were always two or three people in casts or in slings or something from ski accidents; but somehow, we all managed to work. Ruth Stewart: [10:39] But you did learn to ski? Margaret Canfield: I did learn to ski, yes. Ruth Stewart: [10:41] Did you enjoy it? Margaret Canfield: Oh, yes, very much. Um-hm. Ruth Stewart: [10:46] Did you do any when you came back to the states? Margaret Canfield: Yes, I did. Uh…not a lot, but, uh, when I was stationed at Fort Belvoir, I used to go up to Pennsylvania sometimes and ski. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And then when I was stationed in Utah, I did. Uh…when I came back from Japan, I went to Fort Belvoir in Virginia where I continued as an OB nurse; and my first experience living off base. At that time, uh, the quarters were pretty full, so they allowed, uh, some people to live off base and collect quarter’s allowance. So… Ruth Stewart: [11:30] How was that different for you? Margaret Canfield: Well, I was used to living in the quarters with somebody. Usually, you know, you had a roommate and, uh, uh, I, I think I was a little lonely sometimes. Uh…I worked night duty most of the time, so I slept a lot during the day. But then, uh, one of the nurses I worked with on OB had a sister who was a school teacher on the base; and they had lived in an apartment in Washington and they wanted to, uh, move closer to Fort Belvoir, so they asked me if I’d like to live with them. And so, the three of us rented a house and that was – that was very nice, very nice. So, the three of us lived together the whole time we were at Fort Belvoir. From Belvoir, I came down here to Fort Sam, and that was in '57. And I went to the, uh, head nurse, uh, well it was called ward administration and teaching. And it was the 80th [RECAT 12:36] class that they had. It was a 6-month course. And we all lived, uh, together in, uh – oh, what was the name… I can’t even think of the name… One of the new buildings here, which was very nice. And, uh, we had all our classes over in the quadrangle. After that, uh, I got assigned to Tooele, Utah, where it was an ordinance depot up there in Tooele, Utah. There were, uh, civilian nurses running that place up until about, uh, a year before we got assigned there. And they started sending army nurses up there because there was some question of how much work had to be done; and there was a lot of overtime being put in for. Well, when we got up there, we were the second group of army nurses – uh, actually, we didn't have any patients in the hospital for like almost 80 days. So, they closed the hospital and we ran, uh, three dispensaries: One at the hospital; one down in the maintenance area; and one 17 miles away in the desert. And that's where they stored all the gases, mustard gas and things like that. Uh…it wasn't too great an assignment as far as, uh, expanding our experiences, because we didn't do very much except, uh, physicals on civilians and the few military we had. And, uh, occasionally there would be a minor accident down in the industrial area. And, uh, I remember only one incident where we had somebody who was exposed to mustard gas. And, uh, other than that it was merely, uh, being there and, uh, keeping up supplies and things like that. But the interesting thing at that time, uh, one of the other nurses and I took call every other week, every other weekend; and when I was off, I had an opportunity to chaperon children, 8 to 15 years old. The school – the newspaper ran a ski school for children 8 to 15 and they needed chaperones to, uh, ride the buses up to the ski slopes. So, every other weekend I acted as a chaperon and got to go up to, uh, Brighton and Alta in Utah and ski. Ruth Stewart: [15:28] Did you have any experience with the kids or just… Margaret Canfield: Actually, once we got up there, uh, the ski instructors took over. And so, I was free to ski. So, we’re really getting’m on and off the bus and getting on the bus with them, there and back. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: After my… Ruth Stewart: [15:49] What did you do for recreation there? You said there was – it didn't sound like there was a whole lot of professional activity there. You did ski, but was here other… Margaret Canfield: We did have a bowling alley and, uh, we did have a little officer’s club. So, there was socializing. Uh…there weren't really very many military people assigned there. There were, let's see, two doc- – three doctors and three army nurses; and, uh, few military down in the industrial areas; and a few enlisted people. But I can't remember how many were there, but really not very many military. Most of the workers on the base were civilians that lived in the area in Tooele. So… Ruth Stewart: Yeah. [16:45] Well, was the purpose of your being there because of the gases that were being stored out there or… Margaret Canfield: Well, you had to have some – some personnel, some medical personnel there in case of emergencies… Ruth Stewart: Because of that… Margaret Canfield: …because of the gases that was out of the desert, yeah [Deseret 16:59]. Uh…in the main depot itself, they used a lot of trichloroethylene – cleaning engines and things like that. It was an ordinance depot, not uh, ammunition at that point. It was mostly vehicles – maintaining vehicles. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And, and there would be accidents now and then, but nothing serious the whole time I was there. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: So, you know, we did the – we put on band-aids and we, uh, treated, uh, cuts and bruises and things like that. But not much of anything else. Ruth Stewart: [17:43] And how long were you there? Margaret Canfield: Uh…I was there, let's see – I think 18 months. Ruth Stewart: [17:51] And you were ready to go? Margaret Canfield: I was ready to go, yes. [chuckle] I wanted to get back to work, actually. I really did want to get back to work. So, I asked to go to Hawaii; and I did get the assignment to Tripler General Hospital in Hawaii. And I went back to obstetrics when I got there. Ruth Stewart: [18:17] You keep going back to obstetrics, don't you? Margaret Canfield: [chuckle] I guess – I guess really, uh, although that was not my preference when I went into the army. I really – I really loved it. So… It was a happy place to work most of the time – yeah, yeah. While I was at Tripler, I did attend the University of Hawaii, uh, evening courses. Uh…I worked mostly night duty for the first few years in labor and delivery. And then I became, uh, head nurse in labor and delivery. And I was lucky, I was able to stay in Hawaii for, I think it was four years and eight months. Ruth Stewart: Long time. Margaret Canfield: It was a long time, but the Berlin crisis had occurred during that time and they weren't moving people. And I found out that you could stay up to a period of five years in equal six-month increments. So, I quick went down and signed up to stay. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: So… Ruth Stewart: [19:31] And did you finish your degree, then? Margaret Canfield: No, I didn't. Ruth Stewart: [19:33] You didn't? Margaret Canfield: No, uh… And I did not, uh, come back to [Taconas 19:42] the whole time I was there. So, I finally – the last year I was there I took some leave and I took a trip to, uh, India and Thailand and, uh, Hong Kong. And I was able to get transportation on one of the military flights the whole way there and the whole way back. So that, uh… Most of the other times I took leave was to study for exams or something like that. Ruth Stewart: [20:19] You were a dedicated student, weren't you? Margaret Canfield: No. I, I just took one class like, you know – several semesters. I think I went about three or four semesters while I was there. But, uh, I never did finish my degree. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: So, after Hawaii I went to Fort Hood Texas. And again, I was on OB. And we were in the old cantonment-type hospital where you could see in the delivery room. You could look down through the floorboards and see all the bugs crawling on the ground. And we’d find them in the cribs and the nurseries – the crickets in the cribs with the babies. Somehow everybody managed to survive. [chuckle] But we were building a new hospital at that time. So, I was able to have some input as to what was going to be in the labor and delivery – and the whole OB section, actually. And that was interesting. I had a good friend who was, uh, one of the project officers – was the nurse project officer on that. So, I worked with her a lot and learned a lot about, uh, ordering equipment and, uh, setting up the units and, and things like that. And that was interesting. And we did move to the new hospital while I was still there. And shortly after we moved there, we had, uh, a manpower survey. And our chief nurse had just left, and we didn't have a new chief nurse yet. And the assistant chief nurse had a husband and she was not interested in spending a lot of extra time there. So, two sergeants and this friend of mine, who had been the project officer, and I, did the whole manpower survey for nursing service for that hospital without any statistics. Ruth Stewart: [22:22] Now what did this include? Margaret Canfield: Well, uh, it included writing up, uh, what you needed, you know, to run the service. Each ward – for every section – each ward, each clinic, etcetera, as far as the nursing service went... Ruth Stewart: [22:48] The personnel part? Margaret Canfield: What your requirements were… Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: …for that. And you had a narrative and you had to have statistics, you know, to back it all up. Well unfortunately, the four of us had to make it all up because we’d just moved to that hospital and… So, we had no real statistics from [then 23:07]. Ruth Stewart: [23:08] You were doing educated guessing? Margaret Canfield: Educated guessing. Ruth Stewart: Yeah. Margaret Canfield: We did take what we had from the old hospital, but the configuration of the wards and things were – they just weren't the same anymore. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: So, years later this friend of mine was working up in [SBO 23:27] and somebody said to her, “Were you at Fort Hood when that manpower survey was done?” And she just laughed. [chuckle] She had been one of the people who had to do this. Ruth Stewart: Yeah, uh-huh. Margaret Canfield: But, uh, we got a lot of laughs out of that. But we worked very hard and – till midnight some nights trying to write all this stuff as honestly as we could with… Ruth Stewart: Sure. Margaret Canfield: …with the little statistics that we had. But, uh, then we finally – we did get a new chief nurse in and, uh, my friend and I both – and another nurse – decided we all wanted to go to Vietnam. So, we all went down at the same time and signed up to go. Needless to say, the chief nurse was not very happy with us [chuckle] – the three of us doing it. But I'm the only one of the three that went at that time. And that was in February of 1967. I went over with the unit from the 91st Evac with all the nursing – the nurses. The men had already been over there. And when we got there, the, uh, hospital was not open yet. It had been built, but there was still a lot to do to set up the different wards and, uh, open the equipment and get things set up. And, uh, we did a lot of scrounging from the air force too for things like paint to paint things, and, uh… It took us, oh, probably about two to three weeks to setup enough that we can start getting patients in. So… Ruth Stewart: [25:19] What kind of a building were you in? Margaret Canfield: Ah, we were in, uh, permanent-type buildings, like Quonset-type. Um... and at that time, I was head nurse in, uh, surgical intensive care and recovery. And we, we did get a lot of, uh, Vietnam, uh, civilians in at first – more than we did, uh, American casualties. Ruth Stewart: [26:00] What were the conditions in which you would get them? Margaret Canfield: Um…well they were wounded. Uh…they had shrapnel wounds, or they had, uh, actually some bullet wounds. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And we did get some, uh, Vietnam, uh, prisoners. And that was really kind of interesting. Um…I can remember several of them that we really got to know quite well. And you know, they would show us pictures of their families. And it was hard to dislike these people. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: I mean, they were just like anybody else… Ruth Stewart: Yeah. Margaret Canfield: …and they had families who they worried about and were worried about them. And, uh, I think we gave them, you know, care that was as, as good as we would give to anybody. Then we did start getting some, uh, U.S. casualties in; and also, some Korean – from the Korean Forces. But I was only there, uh, until… Ruth Stewart: [27:13] You weren't an OB at that time? Margaret Canfield: No. I was… Ruth Stewart: You finally got out of babies? [chuckle] Margaret Canfield: Uh…I was in, uh, surgical intensive care and recovery. Well, after we were there about, I think, six weeks or so, uh, they decided to start moving people around so that we would not all have the same DEROS. Since we all went over at the same time, they didn't want us to all leave at the same time. So, I was sent to Pleiku as chief nurse of the 18th Surgical Hospital. Ruth Stewart: [27:46] And that's in Vietnam? Margaret Canfield: Yes, in Vietnam. Mm-hm. Ruth Stewart: [27:55] And so you were chief nurse there then? Margaret Canfield: Yes. Uh-huh. Ruth Stewart: [27:59] And that was your first experience as chief nurse? Margaret Canfield: Yes, it was. Ruth Stewart: [28:20] How did that feel? Margaret Canfield: Um…a little bit scary. [chuckle] But we were so busy, you know. Uh…other than some of the paperwork I had to do and, you know, looking after the nurses somewhat, uh, I, I worked just like anybody else did. I worked mostly in, uh, the pre-op and receiving area when we’d get the casualties in, uh... Of course, everybody went to work when we got a bunch of casualties in. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: So, uh… And that, uh… At that time, they were building the 71st Evac up in Pleiku. So, when that hospital was finished, they were planning to close the 18th Surge and move it up north farther. Well, then they decided to make it an all-male unit. So, all the female nurses had to be reassigned. And I had, let's see, that was in October, so I still had until the following February on my tour of duty. And I talked to the chief nurse of Vietnam at that time and said I would be willing to stay another year – an extra year if, uh, I could go to another surgical hospital. So, she agreed that, uh, I could stay; and I would go down to the 3rd Surgical Hospital in Dong Tam in December of that year. In the meantime, I was to stay up and work in the 71st Evac. And that's where several of the nurses who were going to be DEROS-ing in the next few months worked. And we still lived in our quarters at the 18th Surge; and they drove us back and forth in ambulances to 71st and back. So, I was up there several months; and while I was there, uh, they had, uh, the Dak To incident; and there were lots and lots of wounded. In fact, uh, sometimes we would just leave work and get back to our own quarters and get to bed; and they'd call and say, “Come back to work again”, because they were bringing in the wounded by Chinook loads. So, that was my first experience with real severe wounds of, uh, head and, uh, neck and other neurological problems. Because up there at the 71st Evac, they had the neurosurgeon. And I worked as night supervisor up there. So again, I spent most of my time in, uh, in the pre-op triage area working. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. [31:17] How did this affect you to have all these severely wounded coming in during that time? Margaret Canfield: You don't think about it much, uh, at the time. I mean, the whole time I was in Vietnam, uh, I was fine with it. But I did find when I came back, and still, I do not like to watch movies, uh, about the war or, or read books on the Vietnam War. I, I just can't do it. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: But while I was there, I mean, I had a job to do. And I think I was so busy that I, I really – it really didn't bother me too much. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: The only time it did was when we had, uh, a bunch of, uh – well they were DOA that came in and they had been out there in the field for quite a while before they could get to’m. And, uh, they had the bags all laid out on the helicopter pad. And, uh, I caught some of the people over there taking pictures. And that, that upset me a lot… Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: …to think that people would go try to take pictures of these, these poor men laying there. But, uh, other than that, like I said, we were kept so busy most of time that you didn't have time to, to feel really sad. So… Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. [33:02] What was it like for you to live there then during that period? [33:06] Did you have – you were very, very busy. Did you have any time to get away, to relax, to do anything? Margaret Canfield: Well, when I was in up in Pleiku, we, we weren't real busy, uh, when I was at the 18th Surge. I mean, we were always full of patients and we had what we call a “push” every now and then when we’d get a lot of casualties in. But then we'd have times, uh, when it was fairly quiet. Because before the 71st Evac opened up, then we had to evac our patients to like the 65th or the 67th Evac. So, after we would stabilize the patients at the surgical hospital, then we would evac them someplace else. The only patients that we kept were patients who had malaria who might not be there too long, and we could get back to duty; or minor injuries that we could get back to duty. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: So, there were times when we weren't real busy. Uh…and we, we had a little club, so we could go over there and listen to music or, uh, work puzzles or you know, do things like that. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. [34:26] And you lived in barracks, did you? Margaret Canfield: Yes, we did, uh-huh. In fact, uh, the officers’ barracks – the nurses lived downstairs; and the doctors and the, uh, administrative officers lived upstairs. Ruth Stewart: [34:43] Assuming those were all male, then? Margaret Canfield: Yes. Ruth Stewart: The doctors and… [chuckle] Margaret Canfield: Yes, at that time they were all male. Ruth Stewart: [34:51] Were they separating by occupation or gender? [laughter] Margaret Canfield: [chuckle] Gender. It just worked out then. But we did have a few male – I did have a few male nurses and they lived upstairs. [chuckle] But with the men. That's true, yeah. Ruth Stewart: All right. Margaret Canfield: When I left Pleiku in the 71st Evac finally, uh, I went down to Dong Tam to the 3rd Surgical Hospital, which was a MUST unit, one of the inflatable hospitals… Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: …and that was in December of, uh, '67. Ruth Stewart: [35:29] To where was that? Margaret Canfield: Dong Tam. D-O-N-G-T-A-M, Dong Tam. It was down in the delta. That was south of Saigon. And we were very busy – very busy down there. We took care of a lot of marines and, uh, a lot of navy as well as, uh, the 9th Infantry Division. We supported the 9th Infantry Division. And at that time, they were all up – most of them were up at Bearcat – north of us. But we did get in the wounded from them. Later on, the 9th Infantry Division moved down to Dong Tam. But, uh, we, we had a lot of, uh, wounded come in down there. We were busy all the time down there. But during Tet of, uh, '98, excuse me, '68, uh, we were under, uh, mortar fire a lot. In fact, during Tet, I think we had 52 direct hits on our compound. And our hospital was more or less destroyed. Uh…of course, being an inflatable, uh, any little bits of shrapnel could put you almost out of business. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And, uh, we – at that time we had to evac most of our patients, uh, every night. All those that we could evac, we would get out of there because come nighttime we knew that we were going to get mortared. So, any patient that we were able to safely move, we would evac; and other patients that we couldn't evac, but we could move, we would put into, uh, bunkers that we had beside each ward. And some of those were just big connexes that were surrounded by sandbags. And if we couldn’t move them – we had patients on respirators – we would just put’m under the bed and try to keep them as safe as possible. Um…we never slept in our quarters. We slept in a bunker. And it started out we just slept in the dirt on the floor. Um…then the engineers one night – two of them were walking by when the mortar attack started, and they darted into our bunker and saw how we were sleeping. And so, they came over and they suspended litters from the ceiling and they put up cots for us, so we at least weren’t sleeping in the dirt anymore. But, uh, we did have 3 direct hits on our nurses’ quarters in that period. And fortunately, nobody was in there. Ruth Stewart: Mm. Margaret Canfield: Uh…I remember one night, uh, we had evac’d just about all our patients and, uh, I went over to the surgical ward to help the nurses that were there – and the corpsman – clean up so we could be ready the next day – or whenever we got more wounded in – and we started getting mortared. And what we – all we could do was crawl under the beds and wait till it was over with. And I just said, “Everybody get to the bunkers and we’ll worry about cleaning all this stuff up another time.” So, this is a little bit funny: The other two nurses and I went back to where our quarters were. And, uh, of course we had outside latrines at that time; and all three of us were in there when a mortar hit right behind it. And you never saw three people run so fast with their fatigues still down around their ankles. [chuckle] And we ran to the nearest bunker, which was right outside our quarters there and spent the rest of the night – the three of us huddled in that small bunker. Ruth Stewart: Mm. Margaret Canfield: And, uh, I can remember we were shaking so hard. The three of us – our knees were bumping together – all three of us. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And, uh, the bunker was hit just on the edge on the outside. But, uh, everybody was safe. Everybody was safe. And as, as far as I can remember, we had two members of the unit wounded, but they were two lab technicians who did not go to the bunker, who wanted to stay out in the open and take pictures of the mortars coming. But those were the only casualties from our unit. And it was their own fault that they, they got wounded. They had minor shrapnel wounds. Fortunately, it wasn't anything serious. So, after, uh, Vietnam I spent, uh, almost 21 months in Vietnam; and I came back and was assigned to Fort Gordon, Georgia where I went once again back to OB. But I wasn't there too long when I was made afternoon supervisor. And that assignment didn't last very long because, uh, the chief nurse down at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia decided to retire; and they sent me down there as chief nurse. So, I was at Hunter Army Airfield all for, oh, let's see, almost… Ruth Stewart: [41:25] Army Airfield, that was -- Margaret Canfield: Hunter Army Airfield. Ruth Stewart: [41:27] When it was still combined then? I mean, when it was army/air force? Margaret Canfield: No, it was called Army Airfield though. It had been an air force base, but it became an army airfield and it was a helicopter base. Ruth Stewart: I see. [41:41] Okay, it wasn't the Army Air Corps then? That was after that? Margaret Canfield: No, it was just called Hunter Army Airfield. Ruth Stewart: Okay. Margaret Canfield: In Savannah, Georgia. Ruth Stewart: Okay. Margaret Canfield: And we, we, um…we were quite busy there. Fort Stewart was not too far away but they, at that time, had no surgical capability. So, all the troops that they had down there and all the dependents that required surgery and, uh, delivery for pregnant women, they were all sent up to Hunter Army Airfield. So, we were, we were very busy. And the chief nurse down at Stewart, uh, became a good friend of mine. And so, she would send some of her nurses up occasionally for them to get some experience. Uh…particularly in the OB section and, uh, operating room. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: So… And while I was there, they refurbished the whole hospital. So, I had an opportunity to do some nice things in some of the wards there as far as, uh, uh, colorful curtains, drapes and bedside curtains and things like that. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And, uh, uh, so that was, uh, another interesting experience. From there I went to Germany and I was chief nurse at the 2nd General Hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for two years. I had quite a number of opportunities to travel while I was there, uh... And it was very interesting. Uh…when I was down at Fort Sam at the course in 1957, I had met some air force nurses and, uh, turned out that one of them who had been my best friend at that time was the chief nurse at Ramstein Air Force Base, which was right across the road practically from Landstuhl. So, the two of us did, uh, most of our traveling together. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: We were both able to get away because we were in different, different units. So, we renewed our friendship and did a lot of traveling to Greece and to Spain and Austria. Ruth Stewart: Great. Margaret Canfield: Mm-hm. While I was at Landstuhl, uh, they were talking about, uh, getting the, the, uh, prisoners released that were, uh – was it Iran that all those people were prisoners? Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And they thought maybe, uh, they might be coming through our area. So, we had to prepare some of the wards to, to take care of’m. Oh, I'm sorry, that's wrong. Excuse me. These were prisoners from Vietnam. Ruth Stewart: Oh. Margaret Canfield: Not from Iran. They were the POWs. Ruth Stewart: Okay. Margaret Canfield: And so, we had to prepare a lot of wards, uh, to get ready for’m. And, uh, it was sort of a secret thing. I had to get these things ready, but I wasn't able to tell any of the staff – my nurses… Ruth Stewart: Why… Margaret Canfield: …why we were doing all of this stuff. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: But as it turned out, they didn't send’m through there after all. But, uh, that was, that was a different experience. [chuckle] So… Ruth Stewart: You've had a variety of experience for sure. Margaret Canfield: Yeah. Well, when I was due to leave there, uh, I got orders for William Beaumont. I had asked to go back to obstetrics. Uh…my father, uh, had been diagnosed with cancer and I felt that I probably wouldn't be staying in too much longer. So, I decided I'd like to go back to obstetrics, just to finish up what little time I might have left in the service. So, I was chief of maternal and child healthcare at William Beaumont, uh, Army Medical Center. Ruth Stewart: [45:58] And that's El Paso? Margaret Canfield: El Paso, Texas, uh-huh. Ruth Stewart: Okay. [46:07] So you started in Texas and you ended in Texas; and your still in Texas? [chuckle] Margaret Canfield: Yeah, I’m still in Texas, anyway, yeah. So… It was 1975, ’74, and I decided that, uh – was it ’70, no it was ’75 – I decided I had better retire and go home cause my father was terminal and my mother was not well. So, I, I did put in my retirement papers. And in August of that year, I retired. Ruth Stewart: [46:43] And how many years was that then? Margaret Canfield: Uh…24. Ruth Stewart: [46:50] What were the highlights of your military career? Margaret Canfield: Well, my, my experience in Vietnam was the biggest thing. Uh…and one of the things that, that I remember most is how cooperative everybody was. Ruth Stewart: [47:22] Throughout your career? Margaret Canfield: Well, in Vietnam, particularly. Ruth Stewart: Okay. Margaret Canfield: And how everybody worked together; and nobody complained. And then when I came back, and I went to Fort Gordon, I, I had a hard time, I think, at first, because things were so different. I mean, people complained if they had to work any overtime or come back and cover another shift or, uh, go work another ward to help somebody out. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: It was such a drastic change from, from the way things were in Vietnam. Even though, you know, the work situation wasn't the greatest in Vietnam, but the people were – the people were the greatest. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Mm-hm. [48:15] As a nurse then, how did your career – how do you reflect on your career as a nurse in terms of, um, what your nursing did for you, or what you did for nursing? Margaret Canfield: Oh, goodness. That's difficult to, to answer. I'm not sure that I contributed a whole lot to, to any advances in nursing. I think I did a good job at what I was doing. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. [48:56] Sounds to me like you were an excellent role model. You must have done some teaching along the way; and certainly, your behavior reflected that. Margaret Canfield: Well, you know, of course, you always teach the younger ones who are coming up. And, uh, while I was at Tripler, I, I did teach, uh, maternal and child healthcare classes to, you know, the pregnant women, that sort of thing. But I – no real formal classroom-type teaching. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: It was all on-the-job teaching. Ruth Stewart: But teaching is teaching. Margaret Canfield: Yes, yes. Ruth Stewart: [49:33] So then, you feel that you chose the right career? Margaret Canfield: Oh, definitely. Ruth Stewart: [49:36] Both in nursing and in the military? Margaret Canfield: Oh, yes I wouldn't – I wouldn't change any of that, no. Ruth Stewart: [49:43] And since you retired then, '75, that's been quite a while. What's your life been like since then? Margaret Canfield: Well, of course, I retired, and I went back to Michigan and I took care of my father. Uh…he had, uh, lung cancer and I took care of him until he died in '76. And I came back here to San Antonio. Well, my mother wasn't well. So, in 1980, I went back for four years and took care of my mother. And, uh, after she died, I came back to San Antonio again. And, uh, by that time, of course, I was so far behind as far as, uh, nursing that it wouldn't have been safe for me to go back into nursing. So, I, I just did volunteer work. Ruth Stewart: [50:38] What kind of volunteer work? Margaret Canfield: I worked for the Army Medical Museum Foundation. At that time, uh, we were soliciting funds to build the museum. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: So, I’ve worked for them ever since – actually about 1978, I started working. And I was on the board of directors – on the executive board for a couple of years; and I'm still on the board of directors. And I volunteer at the gift shop, Army Medical Museum Foundation gift shop. And for seven years, I drove one of the care mobiles at Bamsey. So, that was another one of my jobs. Then for a while I worked for the American Red Cross as a volunteer. And during the, uh, let’s see, was it 19-, 1985 when they had the, uh – they were afraid of the storms on the coast in Corpus and they evacuated all the people up here? Ruth Stewart: About then. Margaret Canfield: Yeah. I, I worked, uh, 12 hour shifts at night for the Red Cross in some of the shelters. That was an interesting experience. I worked in one, uh, that had air conditioning in the high school; and so, they sent a lot of the sick people there – people who were diabetics, cardiacs – a lot of old people that came up from Corpus, uh, came there and, and uh, we took care of them there. So, I, I did that at that time. Ruth Stewart: Once a nurse, always a nurse. Margaret Canfield: [chuckle] Yeah, but you need to keep up with all the latest trends; and if you're not working, it's very hard to do, you know? Ruth Stewart: Well, the technical things, yes, but there's other – there’s a certain process you go through in working with people that you never lose. Margaret Canfield: Mm-hm. Ruth Stewart: It's always a part of you. Margaret Canfield: Yeah. Ruth Stewart: [52:41] Is there anything else you'd like to finish up with? Margaret Canfield: Uh…well one thing. I think from my time in, in the service, uh, we made a lot of friends who were lifelong lasting friends. I don't think that it's true as much today as it used to be. I mean, when we used to live in the quarters and, and uh, work together all the time, I, I think, you know, you became very close, almost like a family; and now, everybody's married or living off the base and, and uh, they hardly know anybody else that works in the same hospital as they work in. Ruth Stewart: Mm-hm. Margaret Canfield: And, uh, the retiree group here, as a matter of fact, has been known as the White Shoe Mafia. Ruth Stewart: The which? Margaret Canfield: White Shoe Mafia, right. [chuckle] And everybody knows what's going on; and if somebody needs some help, there's somebody there – right there to help them. It's still that way with the older, older people – the older retirees. Ruth Stewart: That’s wonderful. Margaret Canfield: Yeah. Ruth Stewart: Well, thank you very much, Margaret. We really appreciate your taking the time to do this and to record this for the history of our country, uh, the women, and the military and nursing. So, this is an added segment to that history. Thank you very much. /al