June 9, 2017 Hello ,
My Pure Grit Angels of Bataan and Corregidor, have a sister in courage! The Angel of Dien Bien Phu.
French Air Force Nurse Genevieve De Galard spent two months under siege in one of the most significant battles of the modern era,
after which she was captured prisoner by Ho Chi Minh's forces in Vietnam.
Another Nurse Who is Pure Grit |
Like the American soldier's in the Philippines in WWII, French soldiers in Vietnam were running
short on water, food, medical supplies and ammunition.
Genevieve was a flight nurse helping transport the battle wounded from Dien Bien Phu to Hanoi, often landing and taking off under artillery fire.
In March,1954, the Viet Minh bombarded the French, who fought back while hoping in vain for reinforcements.
One morning at dawn,
an enemy shell destroyed the plane that
was Genevieve's only flight out, stranding her in the battle zone, the only French female among more than 10-thousand
soldiers.
Below right, Geneviève de Galard takes care of a wounded man at Diên Biên Phu. As the assault intensified, Genevieve volunteered to assist in surgery, 250 operations a day
in an underground combat hospital. Later, she was put in charge of a 40-bed ward, caring for the most severely wounded soldiers.
During a break in the battle, the garrison commander awarded Genevieve one of France's highest honors, the Legion of Honor for courage and devotion to duty.
Then she went back to
work, comforting
the dying and symbolizing hope for living.
Below French forces dig in between counter attacks at Dein Bein Phu, 1945. BBC photo.
When the end came May 7, some 2300 French troops and 4000 Vietnamese soldiers had perished in the 55-day bombardment of Dien Bien Phu, after which more than 11,000 men and one woman, Genevieve, were captured by Viet
Minh forces.
Just as the nurses featured in my book, this French heroine continued to care for her wounded patients in captivity. When the Viet Minh started confiscating medical supplies, she hid bandages under the stretcher where she slept.
In peace talks, France agreed to withdraw its forces from Indochina, the beginning of the end of it's
colonial ambitions. Vietnam was partitioned into the communist North, and the Republic of South Vietnam, setting the stage for a war in which 55,000 Americans would die over the next twenty years.
After 41 days of battle and 18 days as a POW, Genevieve De Galard was forced to leave her patients, evacuated to safety to Hanoi, May 24, 1954. Her story inspired the world.
Below U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower awards Genevieve De Galard the Medal of Freedom. "Her service to her comrades, marked by the courage of a woman in battle and by the devotion of a nurse to her sworn duty, has been unsurpassed in this century....Her service at Dien Bien Phu reflects great credit upon herself and
her country and the cause of freedom around the world," said President Eisenhower before pinning the medal upon Genevieve.
Genevieve received accolades around the world with these words: "I do not deserve this honor... I have only done what any nurse would do."
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