Vietnam War Veteran shares stories from the other side of the battlefield

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Nearly 100 Vietnam and Korean war veterans from Michigan’s upper peninsula flew into DC on Tuesday to visit the National War Monuments.

Honor flights, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to veterans, sponsors the trip for thousands of veterans every year.

“This isn’t our first time to DC but it’s the first time I’ve been able to visit all the monuments like this,” said Jane Frances Peters, a Vietnam War Veteran.

Jane Peters sat with her son, who accompanied her on her Honor Flight.

“My first assignment was Fort Leavenworth, Kansas – then Korea for 13 months,” said Peters. “Then I went to San Francisco Letterman General Hospital.”

Peters shared war stories from a very different point of view.

“I remember November of [19]67; we worked 20 hours and they just kept coming and coming,” said Peters. “We triaged 300 patients which would have been our whole hospital staff. Some of them we air vac’d out and some we kept.”

Peters who’s now 80 years old said she became a nurse to serve her country and those willing to fight for it..

“Our first case was a delivery,” said Peters. “There were soldiers in the Vietnamese army and we took care of them; the wife happened to be pregnant so we took care of her.”

Peters joined dozens of other Vietnam War Veterans in DC to visit the war memorials, some for the first time.

“it’s really nice being here and nice that people share an interest in what we did back then,” said Peters. “Being in the army helped me professionally and also personally. I too those skills into my civilian life.”

Peters told me that serving her country is one of her greatest achievements.

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