Journalist and author Nancy Lynch will share wartime letters from women who served in Vietnam during a free presentation at the Seneca Falls Library on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
The talk, “The REAL Women, Veterans of Vietnam,” begins at 6 p.m. at the library, 47 Cayuga St., and will focus on the experiences of nurses and American Red Cross “Donut Dollies” through letters they wrote while serving near the front lines, according to a library release and its event page.
Lynch first published the letters from 1968 to 1972 in “Nancy’s Vietnam Mailbag,” a column for the News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware. She later collected the stories in her 2008 book, “Vietnam Mailbag: Voices From the War: 1968-1972,” fulfilling a promise she made when the newspaper column ended, according to the library.
The presentation is inspired in part by Kristin Hannah’s novel “The Women,” but will draw on the accounts of women who served during the war. Lynch will read from the letters rather than discuss only the fictional story, the library said.
The library's release estimates that roughly 10,000 women served in the military in Vietnam, including in communications, intelligence, administrative and health care roles. It also notes that hundreds of civilian women volunteered with organizations including the Red Cross and USO. Those figures and roles are background supplied by the library, not a count of the letter writers who will be featured at the event.
Lynch has written seven nonfiction books and lives in Bethel, Delaware. The library said she has deep roots in the Finger Lakes and has worked to raise awareness of Vietnam veterans' service.
Admission is free and the presentation is open to the public. The Seneca Falls Library is at 47 Cayuga St.; the program starts at 6 p.m. Oct. 14.
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