“You Listen, You're Fair, and You Care”: Managing Laboratories In Vietnam

LTC(R) Paricia Sue Sepulveda grew up in east Los Angeles, the oldest of two children, living with a single mother. After high school, she attended both East Los Angeles Junior College and California State College, Los Angeles. She joined the Women’s Army Corps in 1969, due to a strong sense of patriotism and a love of country, and received a direct commission as a Captain due to her civilian medical training. In 1970, she volunteered for service in Vietnam and deployed on April 20, 1970, returning home on April 21, 1971. While in Vietnam, she served in Pleiku with the 27th Surgical Hospital, and in Chu Lai with the 71st Evacuation Hospital. In this interview, she talks about her childhood, her college experience, and her medical training prior to joining the military. She describes her decision to join the WACs, volunteering for service in Vietnam, and arriving in country. She discusses her duties at the various hospitals and laboratories where she worked, and compares the 27th Surgical Hospital with the 71st Evacuation Hospital. During her tour in Vietnam, she worked with Vietnamese medical personnel, and she explains some of the challenges and rewards of working with the ARVN. Finally, she talks about returning home from Vietnam, the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, her career after returning from war, and what she has done since retiring from the military.