Oral History Interview with Linda R. Godfrey

Partial Transcript: I just wanna start off with--uh--some basic information and where you were born and when?

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey was born in 1947 in Mount Sterling, but grew up in Lexington. Godfrey graduated from Henry Clay High School in 1965 and went on to study at the University of Kentucky for a semester before ending her studies to get married. Godfrey re-entered the University of Kentucky in 1970 to study nursing. Godfrey then worked as a nursing assistant at Eastern State Hospital in Lexington. Godfrey earned her Bachelor's in nursing in 1980 and decided to join the Army Reserve in 1984 when her daughter graduated from high school. Godfrey joined several of her nursing friends in the reserves. Godfrey underwent basic training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Constitution Elementary School (Lexington, Ky.); Henry Clay High School (Lexington, Ky.); Kentucky. National Guard; Lexington Junior High School (Lexington, Ky.); Licensed practical nurses; Race Street (Lexington, Ky.); Registered nurses

Subjects: African Americans; Basic training; Blacks; Early life; Eastern State Hospital (Kentucky); Education; Fort Sam Houston (Tex.); Kentuckians; Kentucky; Lexington (Ky.); Marriage; Military; Military nursing; Mount Sterling (Ky.); Nurses; Nursing; Physical fitness; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; University of Kentucky; University of Kentucky. College of Nursing; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: So you were--uh--second lieutenant?

Segment Synopsis: As a second lieutenant, Godfrey was expected to serve once a month from her post in Frankfort. Godfrey states that she had two weeks of annual training during her time in the Army Reserves. Godfrey recalls that she would train out in the field or shadow a counterpart in her same nursing position on active duty in a military hospital. Godfrey explains that she would take on the role of her counterpart at the military hospital while being shadowed by her counterpart. Godfrey had several training exercises at the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Active duty; Kentucky. National Guard; Officers; Second lieutenants; Shadowing

Subjects: African Americans; Aurora (Colo.); Basic training; Blacks; Colorado; Denver (Colo.); Fitzsimons Army Medical Center; Fort Sam Houston (Tex.); Frankfort (Ky.); Military hospitals; Military nursing; Nineteen eighties; Nurses; Nursing; Travel; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: . . . For any reason--was any of the training ever done, I know you said most of it was done here in the United States, did you ever have any reason to go out of the country for anything?

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey participated in an overseas training exercise in Japan for several weeks at Camp Zama. Godfrey worked eight hour shifts with Naval physicians. Godfrey worked the second shift, which allowed her to explore the city of Yokohama in the mornings. Godfrey says that there were additional opportunities to have training experiences overseas in the National Guard, including in Guatemala, Germany, and Belgium.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Active duty; Yokohama (Japan)

Subjects: African Americans; Blacks; Camp Zama (Japan); International travel; Japan; Military hospitals; Military nursing; Nurses; Nursing; Physicians; Tourists; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; United States. Navy; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: But, I had lots of trips around the country . . .

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey says that she participated in a surgery unit program at Fort Knox on the weekends. Godfrey also worked to set up tent hospitals throughout eastern Kentucky, especially in areas with poor access to medical care, such as Floyd County. During tactical training missions in the field, Godfrey would play war games and prepare the supplies needed to take care of wounded soldiers for 72 hours (which is the standard protocol for mobile hospitals before a patient is either released or medically evacuated.) Godfrey explains that MASH units began during the Korean War and ended with the Gulf War, with Godfrey participating in one of the last MASH units in the U.S. Army. Godfrey says that MASH units began to become too cumbersome for military personnel to set up because of the fast moving nature of modern warfare and combat.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Active duty; Chemical weapons training; Convoys, Military; MASH units; Medical evacuations; Supplies; Tent hospitals

Subjects: African Americans; Anesthesiologists; Beds; Blacks; Bunkers (Fortification); Chemical weapons; Denver (Colo.); Floyd County (Ky.); Fort Knox (Ky.); Fort Stewart (Ga.); Kentuckians; Kentucky; Korean War, 1950-1953; Military nursing; Mobile hospitals; Nurses; Nursing; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Soldiers; Surgeons; Surgery; Training; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Vaccines; War games; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: . . . The months prior to Desert Storm or the time before people were committed or--or right at the beginning, were you all given like warnings that you could be--you could--might be going or?

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey was in the Army Reserve for two years before the Gulf War began. Godfrey says that her annual training cycles in the field were helpful in preparing her for her deployment to the Gulf War. Godfrey states that her training consisted of war games and going through all of the steps to implement and maintain a MASH (mobile Army surgical hospital) unit.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Active duty; MASH; Medical evacuations; Tent hospitals

Subjects: African Americans; Blacks; Climate; Communication; Competition; Death; Desert; Fort Knox (Ky.); Medical supplies; Military hospitals; Military nursing; Mobile hospitals; Nurses; Nursing; Patients; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Survival; Tear gas; Training; United States. Army; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; War games; Women in combat; Women veterans; Work

Partial Transcript: Okay now, where did you go . . . what part of Saudi Arabia?

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey says that her MASH unit had to be moved thirty-five times throughout her six month active duty service period. Godfrey arrived in Saudi Arabia at the Port of Dammām. Godfrey stayed at the Khobar Towards before going on to the desert. Godfrey recalls traveling in a large 400-truck convoy with American, British, and Egyptian troops. Godfrey says that she felt as if she was in the twilight zone while traveling to her first destination point in the desert. Godfrey adds that it was helpful throughout her service to know what skills her colleagues had from working with them previously.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Active duty; British Army; Convoys, Military; Egyptian Army; Khobar Towers (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia); MASH; Moving; Tent hospitals; Troosp

Subjects: African Americans; Allies; Americans; Blacks; Dammām (Saudi Arabia); Desert; Logistics; Medical supplies; Military nursing; Mobile hospitals; Nurses; Nursing; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Saudi Arabia; Soldiers; Travel; United States; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Women in combat; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: But, it started the day you mobilized.

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey says that she found out about her deployment to the Gulf War on TV when she came home from work one afternoon. Godfrey recalls frantically calling her friends to see if they had heard the news. Godfrey says that National Guard troops who have been mobilized must call their superiors back by the next morning or be considered not reporting for duty and be arrested by the police. Godfrey spent six weeks preparing for her deployment at Fort Knox and explains that everyone had to be emotionally ready to go into combat and not show their emotions. Godfrey traveled by airplane from Fort Knox to Saudi Arabia with a stopover in Italy to refuel. Godfrey was surprised at the sight of Italian troops surrounding the aircraft during the stop for fuel.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Departures; Husband; Kentucky. National Guard; Operation Desert Storm, 1991; Telephone calls

Subjects: African Americans; Airplanes; Americans; Blacks; Emotions; Families; Fort Knox (Ky.); International travel; Italy; Lexington (Ky.); Machine guns; Military nursing; Nurses; Nursing; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Saudi Arabia; United States; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Women in combat; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: . . . When they dropped you in the desert that time in the morning, pitch black.

Segment Synopsis: When Godfrey arrived in Saudi Arabia and the airplane that had dropped them off left thirty minutes later, the reality that she would be spending six months in an isolated desert sunk in. Godfrey recalls that one soldier on guard duty began to have hallucinations and shot off his machine gun repeatedly, which caused Godfrey to worry for her safety. Godfrey also came to face her own mortality and the nature of combat. Godfrey says that she finds solidarity with other veterans who instantly understand the traumatic events that soldiers go through during combat.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Kentucky. National Guard; MASH; Officers

Subjects: African Americans; Aircraft; Blacks; Danger; Death; Desert; Hallucinations; Machine guns; Medical supplies; Mental health; Military nursing; Mobile hospitals; Mortality; Nurses; Nursing; Post traumatic stress disorder; Protection; Safety; Saudi Arabia; Trauma; Understanding; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Veterans; Women in combat; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: . . . Did you see a lot of wounded soldiers--did a lot of them come through your--your unit or?

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey recalls that she treated one serious injury and death during her service in the Gulf War. A young trooper was struck by a bomb and suffered serious injuries. Godfrey also states that a physician was killed when while riding in a convoy when a bomb exploded. Godfrey says another woman was treated at their MASH unit before being transferred to a military hospital and passed away. Godfrey explains that these situations were very traumatic for the medical personnel at her MASH unit. After the Gulf War ended, Godfrey's MASH unit worked to help Iraqi refugees for three and a half weeks before coming back to the U.S. Godfrey remembers that malnutrition and injuries from land mines were very common in Iraqi children. Godfrey communicated with her family through telephone lines strung by AT&T and waited in line for six hours once she arrived in order to talk to her family.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Convoys, Military; Kentucky. National Guard; MASH; Troops

Subjects: African Americans; Babies; Blacks; Bullets; Children; Communication; Danger; Death; Desert; Dust; Iraq; Iraqis; Land mines; Manners and customs; Military nursing; Mobile hospitals; Nurses; Nursing; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Post traumatic stress disorder; Refugees; Sand; Sandstorms; Saudi Arabia; Soldiers; Surgery; Telephone lines; Trauma; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Women in combat

Partial Transcript: How soon after that were you able to withdraw, to pack up to come back or what was the process to come back?

Segment Synopsis: At the end of the Gulf War, Godfrey had mixed emotions. Godfrey was happy that the war was over but was concerned at the realization that troops would have to come back to the Middle East at some point. Godfrey enjoyed caring for the Iraqi refugees because it gave her an opportunity to use her medical training. After finishing up their MASH unit with the Iraqi refugees, Godfrey and her medical team had to clean and prepare the medical supplies and equipment to be shipped back to the U.S. Upon arrival to Fort Knox, Godfrey recalls that all returning service members had to go through a medical examination. Godfrey says that if medical issues were found during the examination, patients had to stay at Fort Knox instead of going home (which deterred many people from admitting that they had medical issues). Godfrey adds that it would be more difficult to prove that the root cause of medical issues originated from a person's military service if they did not stay at Fort Knox to receive treatment.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Active duty; Healthcare; Kentucky. National Guard; MASH; Medical care; Packing; Paperwork; Physical examinations; Preparations

Subjects: African Americans; Blacks; Cleaning; Dust; Emotions; Food; Fort Knox (Ky.); Health; Home; Housing; Hygiene; Inventories; Iraqis; Kentuckians; Kentucky; Laundry; Medical supplies; Military nursing; Mobile hospitals; Nurses; Nursing; Outhouses; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Refugees; Sand; Saudi Arabia; Shipping; Soap; Tents; United States; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Women in combat; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: Did you return . . . did things pretty much go back to normal . . .

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey took two weeks of federal leave before returning to her federal nursing job. Godfrey adjusted quickly to being home and assisted her husband with taking on the running of the household. Godfrey says that there are different expectations of female service personnel than male service personnel when returning home from combat, with women needing to adjust more quickly and take on domestic roles. Since her Gulf War service, Godfrey has had several opportunities to attend National Guard trainings and conferences abroad. Godfrey was able to present at a medical conference in Ecuador and conduct medical training for doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados. Godfrey and her unit worked with another Kentucky National Guard unit from Ashland (who were engineers by trade) sent to built schools. Godfrey enjoyed her trip to Barbados the most, since she got to be near the ocean and be surrounded by the beautiful scenery of Barbados.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Doctors; Elder care; Family; Husband; Kentucky. National Guard; Medical conferences; Presentations; Queen Elizabeth Hospital Barbados

Subjects: African Americans; Ashland (Ky.); Barbados; Blacks; Business; Children; Chores; Construction projects; Ecuador; Engineering; Engineers; Federal government; Frankfort (Ky.); Hospitals; Housekeeping; International travel; Kentuckians; Kentucky; Lexington (Ky.); Military; Military nursing; Nature; Neighbors; Nurses; Nursing; Ocean; Parents; Patients; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Responsibility; Schools; Training; Type 2 diabetes; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Women; Women veterans; Work

Partial Transcript: No I--um--got out in--2 officially in 2000, I was discharged.

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey decided to leave the National Guard after fifteen years in part because she did not want to engage in weight management practices in order to become a captain. Godfrey was also concerned about her pension, since she was already working a federal job, which would have made her ineligible for retirement if she had two federal pensions at the same time. Overall, Godfrey says that she had fun serving in the National Guard, but regretted going to war and developed the opinion that war is a waste of time and energy.

Keywords: Captains; Majors (Military)

Subjects: African Americans; Age; Blacks; Federal government; Kentuckians; Kentucky; Military discharge; Pensions; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Retirement; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; War; Weight; Women in combat; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: And in the Kentucky National Guard, it has a reputation for being racist.

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey experienced racism quite often as female officer in the Kentucky National Guard, which has a reputation for racism in its ranks. Godfrey recalls that while in combat, some people assumed that she would rather be alone than talk to other service personnel because she put up her mosquito net to prevent bugs from getting on her. Godfrey says that this experience re-confirmed her belief in keeping to herself while in combat. Godfrey also recalls other colleagues' derogatory comments towards the only other Black female officer in their unit. Godfrey explains that she never let her guard down and behaved differently around her colleagues after hours in case they might form a negative opinion of her. Godfrey felt put down by others in her unit, who dismissed her ideas and contributions to the unit, including a book that she wrote about improving line operations. Godfrey also remembers that a white assistant chief nurse got more respect than Godfrey did as an officer. When Godfrey and the only other Black officer in the unit were selected for overseas training in Japan, many of Godfrey's colleagues were upset at that decision. Godfrey says that she was often criticized and disrespected for not doing busy work around her colleagues and was never afraid to stand up for herself, regardless of the military rank of the people she encountered.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Female officers; Kentucky. National Guard; MASH; Medical evacuations

Subjects: African Americans; Behavior; Blacks; Bugs; Desert; Discrimination; Emotions; Federal government; Hierarchy; Interpersonal relations; Japan; Kentuckians; Kentucky; Malaria; Medical supplies; Military; Military nursing; Mosquito nets; Mosquitos; Nurses; Nursing; Perception; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Personality; Prejudice; Racism; Religion; Reputation; Respect; Sexism; Social; Training; United States. Army Reserve; United States. Department of Justice; United States. National Guard; Women in combat; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: . . . Do you think--um--that racism is--is--uh--uh--a major factor or do you think the military has a level playing field when it comes to opportunities?

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey believes that the Military has the most level playing field in terms of Black advancement within its ranks. Godfrey says that many barriers have been broken in the Military and that young people can learn from their failures and become successful through Military service. Godfrey also says that it is difficult for some young Black men to realize that they do not have to engage in negative behaviors in order to be part of a group. Godfrey believes that enlisted personnel may experience more racism than non-enlisted individuals. Godfrey recalls that she was tasked with listening to the racial complaints of enlisted personnel while serving in the Gulf War, with many young people bringing in their preconceived notions of racism from the South into the mix.

Keywords: Black History Month; Kentucky. National Guard; MASH; The South

Subjects: African Americans; Behavior; Blacks; Desert; Discrimination; Hierarchy; Kentucky; Men; Military; Military nursing; Mobile hospitals; Nurses; Nursing; Opportunity; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Prejudice; Race; Racism; Success; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Women; Women veterans; Youth

Partial Transcript: They came to me and they said . . . "Do you think we could have a--um--little chicken fry or something for Black History Month?"

Segment Synopsis: After an enlisted personnel member suggested that the unit have a chicken fry to celebrate Black History Month while in combat in the Saudi Arabian desert, Godfrey responded by insisting that they hold a more formal commemoration of the event. Godfrey and other Black personnel in the unit developed an official commemoration of Black History Month for people in their unit and surrounding units. The celebration included music, food, and trivia focusing on Black contributions to society. After this event, Godfrey observed that there were less racial complaints amongst enlisted personnel and more multi-racial roommates in different tents.

Keywords: 475th Kentucky National Guard Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; Black History Month; Black National Anthem; Black officers; Celebrations; Charles R. Drew; Colonels; Commanders; Commemorations; Doctors; Integration; Kentucky. National Guard; Martin Luther King Jr.; Open-heart surgery; White officers; Whites

Subjects: African Americans; Beds; Blacks; Chaplains; Choirs; Food; Military; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Personality; Race; Rommates; Saudi Arabia; Singing; Songs; Speeches; Teachers; Tents; Trivia; United States. Army Reserve; United States. National Guard; Women in combat; Women veterans

Partial Transcript: Today's military seems to be . . . African Americans make up a certain percentage of the population, it's much higher, racially-wise in the military . . . why do you think that is?

Segment Synopsis: Godfrey believes that many Blacks join the military because it has benefits such as good job opportunities, the ability to travel, and lowers the cost of education through the GI Bill.

Keywords: GI Bill

Subjects: African Americans; Blacks; Careers; Education; Kentuckians; Kentucky; Military; Opportunity; Travel; United States; Women veterans; Work