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A little background....
In 1966 I entered a program with a proud history. Red Cross first initiated its supplemental recreational program during WWII at
the request of the Secretary of War. In 1950 Red Cross centers in Korea continued the Clubmobile of WWII with programs for the
men and a special portable component....donut machines. Over the course of the next twenty years of operations and almost 3 million
miles Clubmobile would become synonymous with donut distribution and the 899 women who served them, “Donut Dollies.” Surely it
must have been a record that they could turn out 20,000 donuts a day when the troop ships were in.
There were 627 of us who served mostly year-long tours (without donut machines) in Vietnam beginning in 1965. The moniker, "Donut
Dollies," was used with increasing frequency as time went on, probably due in part to its attractive alliteration and the troops'
increased awareness of the presence of Red Cross Recreation workers (see?) in-country. It was (and is still) not universally accepted
by all the women in the recreation program, even as a term of endearment, but no one doubts the tenacity of tradition and sincere
gratitude with which a GI hugs a Donut Dolly for serving because we "didn't have to go." I am aware of no head count of the number of
troops we saw in our year's tour but if mileage is any indicator by the time the last of the twenty-seven units shut its doors at Bien
Hoa in 1972 we’d averaged over 17,000 air miles monthly for a grand total of 2,125,000. If it flew and had room for two "Donuts”
and a program you can bet we took it.
Our job was communicating a touch of home to the troops, but staying in contact with home…well, that was another challenge
altogether. Compared to today’s instant communication technology ours was embryonic. We wrote or typed letters and mailed them in
envelopes. We also recorded messages on small reel-to-reel tapes, eagerly waiting to receive them from family and friends just to
hear their voices....
Living in Vietnam was like living in a fishbowl with nowhere to be entirely alone. Dating was scrutinized, community involvement
discouraged and forbidden in uniform. The appearance of impropriety could result in the immediate transfer to another unit and its
certainty, a one-way ticket home....
I left Vietnam but, truth be told, it hasn’t left me. Triggered occasionally by the most ordinary sound, sight or smell I am instantly
transported there, however briefly, and in this… I’m not alone.
Would I do it all again? Absolutely.
Would I want my daughter to go? Never.
J. Holley McAleese Watts
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