LTC Aida Nancy Sanchez, AMSC Ret. Oral History Part 1

title:

LTC Aida Nancy Sanchez, AMSC Ret. Oral History Part 1

creator:

Sanchez, Aida Nancy (1932 November 29 - 2020 August 21)

subject:

Army Medical Specialist Corps

description:

Part 1 of 2. Aida Nancy Sanchez was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico on November 29, 1931. She was the oldest of three, and her parents were both incredibly kind. Her father was a wealthy farmer who'd write checks to whoever asked for anything from him, and her mother always did her best to use their family's resources to help everyone in the community, and they taught her to give as much as possible without expecting anything in return. When she was 15, she won a scholarship to St. Mary of the Woods College in Indiana through an essay contest. In 1952, she graduated from college with a Bachelors in biology and chemistry, and while in college she became interested in the Army Physical Therapy program her school had. Although the age requirement for this program was 21 and she graduated and applied at 18, they waived the age requirement and let her in. She went to the Army Physical Therapy School at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas and graduated in 1952. She then completed an internship at Brooke Army Medical Center, and then went to Fitzsimmons General Hospital in Denver, Colorado. While working here, General Dwight D. Eisenhower came to visit and Nancy was among 20 or so people he met in that time, and she was still there when he visited years later, that time as President. On his second visit, he recognized Nancy and remembered that she was from Puerto Rico and was a student at Fort Sam Houston. At one point, President Eisenhower even sent her a pot of stew that he'd made while in Denver, but the Chief of the Clinic claimed the pot for themselves, so Nancy wasn't able to keep it. After working at Fitzsimmons, Nancy left the Army for two years and worked at a VA hospital in Hines, Illinois and as a Director for the Bureau of Crippled Children in Puerto Rico. She returned to active duty due to the high influx of patients coming in from the Korean War. Upon returning to active duty, she was stationed at Brooke Army Medical Center in the Burn Unit. After a stint at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Nancy was sent to Arlington, Virginia with the task of establishing a Physical Therapy Clinic at the Andrew Rader Clinic, which was part of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Although initially establishing the clinic came with some difficulties, it was very successful. After a year and a half working there, Nancy went to graduate school at UNC Chapel Hill, and upon graduating was sent to Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco, California to be in charge of clinical affiliations between the medical center and the PT students of several nearby universities. She then spent a year at Tripler Army Medical Center in Oahu, Hawaii before going to Vietnam in 1970. She was sent to the 95th Evac Hospital near Da Nang to establish the first Physical Therapy Clinic in an Evac Hospital. She got to Vietnam right before Christmas of 1970, and while they were welcomed with Christmas carols and goodies by military families near Vietnam that helped her feel positively, she more fully realized what it would be like in Vietnam when the man on the plane next to her talked about having just gotten married and asked her to reassure him he'd make it back to his wife alive. While in Vietnam, Nancy was sent on a very secretive assignment to provide treatment for Cambodian president Lon Non, who she had provided care for while she'd been stationed in Hawaii. At the time, she was the only American allowed into the Cambodian palace and the surrounding compound, so the US Ambassador to Cambodia met with her personally and asked her to learn to identify everyone in his cabinet for them. While at first she had reservations—she was brought in to provide medical treatment, not to be a spy—she was eventually convinced to assist. Throughout her time at Vietnam, she continued to return to Cambodia to provide treatment for President Lon Non, which she still sees as a highlight of her service. Some of the most common injuries that were treated at the 95th Evac were amputations of single and multiple limbs, and brain and spinal cord injuries. While there, Nancy also worked with civilian and Vietnamese physical therapists to provide care to everyone in Da Nang, from Vietnamese soldiers to children in the town, and as the 95th Evac Hospital's PT clinic grew, it increasingly cared for these populations alongside American soldiers. After returning from Vietnam, Nancy was assigned to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia. While the psychiatrist who treated her there upon her return told her she did not have PTSD or any other "mental problems," Nancy explains how she still has nightmares and flashbacks of some of her experiences in Vietnam. Fort Gordon was her last assignment before retiring, which she did in 1976 after organizing and starting a new Physical Therapy Clinic at the Medical Center. Since retirement, she has stayed in Augusta, Georgia and continued practicing as a physical therapist outside of the Army. For her service, Nancy was awarded the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters, National Defense Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze service star, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Vietnam Gallantry Cross with a bronze palm. She passed away in August 2020. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Scott, Kate M.

date:

2004-06-29

type:

Moving Image

format:

Hi-8

identifier:

817.01; 2004.817

source:

VHP

language:

English

relation:

079553

coverage:

Korean War (1950-1953) | Vietnam War (1964-1975) | 1952-1976

rights:

Unrestricted