'Angels of mercy' tell tale of war

For nine Vietnam veteran nurses who gathered in Branson this week, it was a time for hugs and "thank-you's" from many a veteran whose wounds, both emotional and physical, were tended by American Army nurses.

"They were angels of mercy," Clyde Rongernon, of Cleveland, Ohio, said of those who took care of him after a mine exploded near him in 1968. "Any time I meet a military nurse or a medic, I thank them for all they did for me and all my buddies."

"Everywhere you go, you feel so appreciated by the veterans," Bernadette Miller, of Springfield, said. Miller served in Vietnam in 1970-71 and now serves on the Missouri Veterans Commission.

She said, for her, the worst part about being a nurse in Vietnam was "the terrible sadness when you lost someone."

Brenda Looper-Jansons, of Greenville, S.C., agreed, adding, "The hardest thing was never being able to get the blood out of the sheets and seeing our young men missing body parts and knowing that their lives were never going to be the same."

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