Doughnut Dollys in Vietnam

This Army Medic is Proud to
host this site for
some very special Ladies.

Doc
Found your Dollies site-Thank You
I too was in Vetnam 1967-1968. 25th div. 1/5 Mech.
Maybe you can help me find, some one from Cu- Chi.
She was a Donut Dollie from Washington state from a little town called Camas.
She grew up just down the road from there. We spent about 3 hours talking about old swiming holes,
cruising the D.Q. down town. At the time it made me forget about the war.
I would love to find her and thank her. Joe (red) Burdick

Hello Doughnut Dollies

The recruitment ad circa 1967 asked “Are you creative? Could you develop an interesting program on travel, holidays, sports, music,
or current events? The American Red Cross Needs Qualified Young Women Who Are Willing To Serve One Year Overseas….
” Among the qualifications: “The job requires considerable ingenuity and a capacity for hard work under far less than ideal conditions.
” More than 600 young, college-degreed women took the job.
The Vietnam War Donut Dolllies hopped helicopters and duece-and-a-halfs to combat zones armed only with a smile and a bag of games,
bringing "round eyes" and a touch of home to troops in the field. Three decades after the war, they tell their untold story.

Arrowhead Films, who made the touching movie
“In the Shadow of the Blade”
has created a documentary about the Donut Dollies.

“A TOUCH OF HOME:
THE VIETNAM WAR’S RED CROSS GIRLS”

The World Premiere of this movie was in Dallas, Texas.
April 21, 2007:

For details contact: donutdolliereunion@yahoo.com

View photos and film clips at:
www.arrowheadfilms.com/atouchofhome.html

DOLLIE LOOKING FOR HELP...............
Doc,
This is Jeanne Christie, the Doughnut Dollie from VN in 67/68. I was wondering if you have
any direct contact with Reserve or National Guard women who have served or are currently serving in Iraq?
I need about twenty more ladies to complete my dissertation survey. It is on the relationship between
personal communication and optimism for Reserve and NG women deployed to Iraq. If so would
you please contact them and ask them to participate.
The survey is a short 28 questions, on-line, and totally anonymous.
Here is the link. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=978673078276
The password = Iraq

By any chance do you know any Native American Reserve or National Guard women who might help?
Thus far I have had no respondents who are NA and I would like them included in the sample.
Hope you can help Doc
Thanks.
Jeanne Christie
jeanefred@yahoo.com

Fallen Warriors Memorial
Four Lakes Detachment of the Marine Corps League in Madison, WI.

The women who served in the American Red Cross Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas (SRAO) program
that we refer to as "Donut Dollies" were civilians. We volunteered to go to war and, for the most part, could
choose where we were stationed (not the unit, but the country) and when we left.
Regarding the name, Donut Dolly. We didn't make or serve donuts--too hot! In fact, there were no donut
machines in Vietnam and most of don't recall ever having seen any donuts during our entire tour.

Here's a little history about the name. It was the GIs in Korea (in the 1950's) who gave the Red Cross Recreation workers
the nickname, "Donut Dolly." The women had donut machines and could make up to 20,000 donuts a day when the
troop ships came in. As you can see they earned that name! We just inherited it.

Who is this Dollie in CuChi, Vietnam?
The blonde is Christine Campbell ... Sharon Cummings is on the left.

Donut Dollies: Women in Vietnam
Sharon (Vander Ven) Cummings
ARC SRAO (Donut Dollie)
South Vietnam
April 1966 – April 1967

Washington, DC - Training Classbookmark this member invite this member to be a friend From album Donut Dollies by member 1ltken
.....Submitted by Betty Denney, Red Cross Donut Dollie, Korea 1967/68

ANYONE HAVING PICTURES OR STORY'S OF DOUGHNUT DOLLIES THEY WANT POSTED ON
THIS SITE PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL WITH THE PICTURE AND NAME AND SHORT STORY!
Jeff Doc Dentice
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
CuChi, Vietnam 67/68
Doc's Email

Dec.25,1970
Around or near Hiep Duc Valley
Anyone know these Dollies?
So far, no one on the Donut Dollie list has been able to identify the 2 DDs in the photo.
However, it has brought up an interesting discussion about how the rules changed ......................
or more accurately were ignored ................ between when the first DDs went in country '65-'66 and
when they were pulled out '70-71 ...................... such as the length of uniform skirts and physical contact with the men.
Thanks for the memories.
See you Friday Doc in New Glarus,WI. for Winterfest 2007 January 11-14
Emily

In the Middle of World War I, millions of homesick American "doughboys" were served up countless
doughnuts by women volunteers, trying to give the soldiers a taste of home.

Dollies at FSB bases in Vietnam

'Doughnut Dolly' serving in Iraq
35 years and still going strong

By Spc. Blanka Stratford
CFLCC PAO

CAMP ANACONDA, Iraq (March 19, 2004) - During the Vietnam War, the American Red Cross provided aide to
U.S. servicemembers as well as Vietnamese refugees. At the height of its involvement in 1968, the Red Cross sent approximately 480
field directors, hospital personnel, and recreation assistants to support the growing number of servicemen at various bases and hospitals.
Virginia Wren, now serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, was one of these people.
Wren was a 7th grade teacher in 1968 when she decided to take a leap of chance and go to an employment agency,
asking for public service work and travel. They offered her Girl Scouts or the Red Cross.
While Wren was in Vietnam, the Red Cross also lost one woman named Hannah Crews.
The closure, said Wren, came in 1993, when the Women Veterans Parade Group had the Women Veterans of Vietnam memorial in
Washington D.C. Hannah's father came to meet the Doughnut Dollies, helping them through unshed tears.
Immediately after Vietnam, Wren went to the Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, hospital to take care of fellow veterans. She did hospital service
from the early to mid-70s, then spent most of the 80's working for the Red Cross in Germany. From 1991 to 1993, she served in the
first Persian Gulf War. Following the Gulf War, she arrived in Landstuhl, Germany, six days before the Sarajevo bombing. She stayed in
Germany until 1997, and then served in Korea and Japan until 1999.
"One of the happiest moments in my life occurred right after I arrived in Landstuhl," she said. "I ran into a soldier at the main intersection
who recognized me from the 47th Field Hospital in Bahrain. He came up to me and said, 'you were the one who
gave me my first birth announcement, and this is my son."
Wren said she was absolutely delighted.
Currently, Wren's permanent station is at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, N. Carolina. She is scheduled to stay in Iraq
until June 2004 and will then leave for the Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal, having completed more than 35 years of Red Cross service.
"I plan on staying with the Red Cross as long as it remains fun and I can pass the physical," said Wren.

Photo courtesy of David Bledsoe
Donut Dollies at Firebase Moore-Vietnam

RED CROSS DONUT DOLLIES ENTERTAINING TROOPS AT SKYTROOPERS FIREBASE

"Donut Dollies" (names unknown)
Phu Bai base camp

Photos by Sharon (Vander Ven) Cummings
(Doughnut Dolly)Vietnam

Sharon (Vander Ven) Cummings in her Class A Uniform
in Washington DC before heading off to Vietnam, April 1966

The Sandpipers, performers were (bottom, left to right):
1st Row: Skip Stiles, Sharon (Vander Ven) Cummings, Barry Curtis
2nd Row: Tom Appleby, Bill Bates
3rd Row: Bobbi (Hudson) Crocker, Sara (Yapple) Varney

               Cam Ranh Bay                       Long Binh: Lindsey with soldiers

Alice in our recreation center (Cam Ranh Bay)    Catching our bus after work from Long Binh back to Bien Hoa

Patty at Long Binh                      Jan holding a new puppy

Soldiers arriving for programming by the Red Cross girls in Dau Tieng

Chris saying goodby to the soldiers moving from Tay Ninh to Da Nang

This Dolly named Carolyn visited my Marine squadron at ChuLai in 1969. I hope she can be
found to thank.These women provided a great boost to morale and I will always be grateful to them.
L. Wiseman
USMC RVN '69-'70
San Jose,CA
6yiamlky@sbcglobal.net

THANKS TO PATRIOTIC POSTERS
FOR USE OF THIS PICTURE!

The Vietnam War (1962-1974)
      In 1962, the Red Cross sent its first paid field staff to Vietnam to assist the growing
           number of servicemen at various bases and hospitals. At the height of its involvement in
             Vietnam in 1968, 480 field directors, hospital personnel, and recreation assistants served
         throughout Southeast Asia. Red Cross workers, who provided 1.9 million services to
       U.S. military personnel, shared the hardships and privations of war with the soldiers.
        Five Red Cross staff members gave their lives, and many others were injured as they
           helped servicemen resolve personal problems or get home when emergency leave was
granted due to death or serious illness in the immediate family. Male nurses and
sanitarians sponsored by the Red Cross worked with Indochinese refugees in
            cooperation with the South Vietnam Red Cross and the U.S. Agency for International
Development. When Vietnam veterans returned to the United States, Red Cross
                     volunteers and paid staff concentrated on helping them readjust to civilian life, often
assisting them with paperwork connected with their benefits.
Recreation workers boost morale of
American troops during Vietnam War

Bound by its charter to provide welfare services to the able-bodied troops on duty, the American Red Cross
   engaged in efforts to sustain the morale of the troops in Vietnam, just as it had during the Korean War and previous
         conflicts. In response to a request by the military, the American Red Cross sent teams of young female college
        graduates to Southeast Asia to conduct audience-participation recreation programs for men stationed in isolated section of the region.
For example, the recreation worker pictured above checks a GI's blindfold during a game
           at Fire Base Jamie, one of several front-line areas visited regularly by American Red Cross. A monthly average of
          280,500 servicemen took part in recreation programs at twenty major military commands. Officials estimate that the
clubmobile workers, who traveled by jeep, truck, and helicopter, logged over 2,125,000 miles during the program's
seven-year history. Trained Red Cross personnel also engaged in therapeutic recreation, which was geared to
        patients' individual rehabilitation needs. In 1976, despite protests from commanding officers, the recreation programs was drastically
reduced in a cost-reduction action that removed professional recreation personnel from military hospitals.

Donut Dollies at Cu Chi, Vietnam
Spring 1967, Monsoon Season
Photo by Sharon Cummings

There were three categories of Red Cross Workers in Vietnam

SMH "Service to Military Hospitals"

These women and men worked in the hospitals directly with the
patients, doing a combination of social work and recreatio therapy.

SMI "Service to Military Installations"
These women and men were the Red Cross social workers who
arranged compassionate emergency leaves and received and
passed on communications from the families back home
regarding births, deaths, and emergencies.

SRAO "Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas"

    These women were the Donut Dollies. Their job was to provide
   "a touch of home in a combat zone." They brought games and
    kool-aid and a respite from thinking about the war to men in the field.

Glenna (Sheeran) Terrell was a Donut Dolly in CuChi, Vietnam 66/67
Maybe this Medic talked with her in 67 before she went home?
I was there in 67/68 in CuChi with the 25th Med.Bn.

Dear Doc,
First off, I would like to thank you for your wonderful and informative
Vietnam website. Both of my parents were in the war (they met
in-country in 1967 and were married a year later) so I really appreciate
reading about other's experiences and trials through the war. I grew up
hearing all about my parent's experiences, so I honestly feel very close
to the Vietnam War and its veterans. Thank you for your service. My
reason for this letter is about your "Donut Dolly" section which
discusses the Red Cross girls' work in the war. My mother, Glenna
(Sheeran) Terrell was a Donut Dolly from 1966-67 with the 4th ID, 25th
ID, and finally the 1st ID. As I looked through the site, I was amazed
to find a picture of her serving coffee to some of the troops in Cu Chi,
were she was originally stationed. She had never seen that picture and
I still can't believe I just happened to come across it online. (I've
attached the picture from your site as well). She is very interested in
contacting some of her old "war buddies", so any information you have on
this, we'd really appreciate. Thank you again for your site, I am as
always very appreciative of your and all of the veteran's service to our
nation, especially during such a turbulent time in our history. I hope
that my generation is as committed to service as yours was. Thank you again.
V/R
CDT LT Casey Terrell
AR
Class of 2004
USMA
For Country and Corps

Sue Dixon standing by APC, north of the Imjin, September1967

Liz Drosdick And SSG Ken Parker, in front of Peace Pagoda, JSA- Panmunjom July 1967

WOMEN WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN WAR

WORLD WAR I WOMEN

Sunny Sanow and Betty Denney in ROK cargo plane on travel run to Kwang-ju, Winter 1968. Clubmobile
workers in Taegu had overnight travel runs to Support Command in Pusan, 2 hours south by train; to KMAG units
in Kwang-ju and Suncheon, west over the mountains by ROK cargo plane, Beaver, and once in a Birddog with a
ROK pilot who spoke no English or if no plane, 7-10 hours by jeep; and to KMAG in Kyong-Ju and Pohang,
east to the coast of the East Sea, 5 hours by Scout or Jeep. .....Submitted by B
WORLD WAR II WOMEN

Kathi Neal and Pat Custer in the back of a ¾ ton truck, Winter 1968 .....Submitted by Betty Denney, Red Cross Donut Dollie, Korea 1967/68
WOMEN IN THE KOREAN WAR

Some of our pilots at Camp Page, Spring 1968. Left to right, CWO2 Dennis Rudel, 4th Missile Command;
Mele Sturm, Donut Dollie from California; and WO1 Earle Irwin, 6th Aviation Platoon, standing in front of a
U-6 Beaver. .....Submitted by Betty Denney, Red Cross Donut Dollie, Korea 1967/68

They were in the "Great War" too. Dough Dollies pass out coffee and, you guessed it, doughnuts

I had the privilege on working with the Ladies at the Red Cross Center at the end of 1967.
I was assigned to them as a punishment detail but it was the most rewarding part of my tour.
I built bookcases, paneled & hung parachuts in their rooms and drove them around Camp Radcliff.
They had a Christmas diner for the children of An Khe that would break your heart. I have no idea what happened to
The Red Cross or nurses assigned to the woman compound at Camp Radcliff but I hope and pray they are all well.
Tom Whitfield
TWhitfi156@aol.com

The Red Cross Recreation Center at Cam Ranh Army
Open from 10 am to 10 pm - 7 days a week!

A DOUGHNUT DOLLY'S VOICE

They were in the "Great War" too. Dough Dollies pass out coffee and, you guessed it, doughnuts.

The American Red Cross - "Donut Dollies"
           The Red Cross sent the first of its personnel into
           South Vietnam in 1962. The last of them left 11
           years later in March of 1973. In that time 1,120
           civilian women volunteered for and served in
           Vietnam, fulfilling a variety of missions and rolls
           lending medical and administrative support to
           military hospitals and other installations. 627 of
           these women served in the SRAO program &151;the
           Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas
           program. They were the "Donut Dollies"

At the request of the military, the Red Cross sent
           teams of young women, college graduates all, to
           Vietnam. Their mission was to operate the Red Cross
           Recreation Centers and conduct "audience
           participation recreation programs." For the soldiers,
           the SRAO program provided them with the
           opportunity to "hang-out" with pretty girls from back
           home, play games, do crafts, and for just a moment,
           forget where they were and what they were doing. It
           was as though the Red Cross had sent these young
           women to the other side of the planet to establish a
           summer camp for soldiers. But such seemingly small
           diversions made all the difference in world to the
           men and their morale.

           Based on average figures, 285,000 servicemen took
           part in the Donut Dollies' activities. The Red Cross
           estimates that these women logged 2,125,000 miles
           in all varieties of transport. In all, 28 "Donut Dolly"
           units were in operation throughout the country during
           the war.

           The Donut Dollies shared the same hardships and
           made the same sacrifices as the military personnel
           they served and served with. They also shared in the
           danger. Three Red Cross Donut Dollies died "in
           country." A fourth was lost in 1975 in the tragic plane
           crash of a humanitarian effort to airlift Vietnamese
           orphans to safety before the fall of Saigon.

           Many of the women who served their country in
           Vietnam as Red Cross volunteers, continue their
           volunteer work to this day both for the Red Cross and
           other organizations. Many are active in the Vietnam
           Women's Memorial Project.

"The picture was taken on top of Nui Ba Den in
December of 1968. It shows Donut Dollies singing
Christmas carols for a bunch of us Grunts in the 25th
Infantry Division (Alpha Co. 3/22)."
- Jim Farrell
This number of women was very unusual as Donut
Dollies usually worked in pairs when not at base camps.

Photo Contributed by Emily Strange (Milwaukee,Wi.)
Donut Dollies Emily Strange & Sherry

An American Red Cross Donut Dollie
with the 9th Infantry Division
and Mobile Riverine Force in VIETNAM

Emily's Doughnut Dolly site
Doc & Emily are Friends in Milwaukee
Emily has helped Doc with his VA Xmas show & POW-MIA Balloon Launch

WISCONSIN DOUGHNUT DOLLYS
According to our official list - Nam and Korea:

First Name Maiden Name Last Name
Ann Higgins Kilander
Diane Anderson Hunt
Diane Reddeman Lee
Diane Schmidt Curly
Diane Steinhauser Shufelt
Emily Strange
Jane Happle Drake
Mary DeLaForest Evans
Norma Roska Johnson
Susan Filipszak Rogge
Virginia Close
Kay Ward is living in LaCrosse
List does not have those of us who lived and were raised in WI yet but is a start.
Jeanne Christie

Christmas Photo, Red Cross Clubmobile Unit, Camp Henry, 8th Army Depot Command, Taegu, December 1967.
(standing left) Val Gardner from Phoenix, AZ (standing right) Mary Kennon Barksdale, Danville, VA (seated left to right) Pat Custer, Wauwautosa, WI;
Betty Denney, Amarillo, TX; Cissy Nichol, Griffin, GA; Mazie Scotchmer, St. Louis, MO; Kathi Neal, Atlanta, GA. .....
Submitted by Betty Denney, Red Cross Donut Dollie, Korea 1967/68

I just happened upon your site
http://www.war-veterans.org/Redcross.htm and found my favorite
sister listed as one of the Wisconsin Donut Dollies.
Dianne Elizabeth Roshto Gustafson
had just graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi,
Hattiesburg, Mississippi when she decided to join
the American Red Cross. She was subsequently sent to Taegu, Republic of South Korea.

Sister Dianne was about as Southern Belle as one could have been at the time and was 1st runner up
in the Miss Mississippi Beauty Pagent. Alas, all those years wed to that Swede up in Wisconsin have just about
removed most traces of her drawl - I haven't heard a Y'all in years but lots of Ya's. Now I realize that her time in Korea
was merely a little cold weather training and blood thickening for her upcoming life in the North Woods of Wisconsin.
This is sister Dianne in 1966. It's about time these girls were given more recognition. Good site Doc.Thanks!
Sincerely,
Frank K. Roshto
roshto@gnt.net

Possibly Sue Lewis on the left, Betty Denney on the right-Vietnam 1967
Photo from 1/23 yearbook

Return to Vietnam: A Red Cross Donut Dolly's Trip Back

From album Donut Dollies by member 1ltken
Laurie Robeson and the 2nd Engineers, north of the Imjin, October 1968.

An American Red Cross Donut Dollie with the 9th Infantry Division and Mobile Riverine Force in VIETNAM

Margaret Perham from Alabama, writing a new program in the Red Cross Clubmobile office at Camp Red Cloud.....
Submitted by Betty Denney, Red Cross Donut Dollie, Korea 1967/68

A Donut Dollies Voice

Linda LaScola from New Castle, PA, working on a new program in the Red Cross Clubmobile office at Camp Red Cloud......
Submitted by Betty Denney, Red Cross Donut Dollie, Korea 1967/68

Dollies Boost Morale

Anne Mears (left) and Cissy Nichols exit the gas tent. ...
Submitted By: Sp5 Craig Iansiti HHB I-Corps (Gp) Artillery, Camp St. Barbara, Korea 1968

Donut Dollies

From album Donut Dollies by member 1ltken
Liz Drosdick at the overlook with the Bridge of No Return and North Korea in background, July 1967

Vietnam -- 1 Year + 25

7JeanChapinAndSueDixonRedCrossOffice,CampPelham,October1967
From album Donut Dollies by member 1ltken

Genie - A Donut Dolly at Cam Ranh Bay

Betty Denney 1967 From album Donut Dollies by member 1ltken
Red Cross Clubmobile Office, Camp Pelham, October 1967.

Lt Rick Rogers, 1/15 Arty, and Joanne Printz, from Camp Pelham, in Seoul at Yongsan, October 1967

Official Red Cross History of the Vietnam War

Photo by Phil Adams

"Donut Dolly" Cu Chi Vietnam '66'

"Now we are four.
Your 101st Airborne Red Cross Girls".
Left to right, they are Sheelagh, Kalamazoo Mich; Jiggie, Honolulu HI;
Lynn, Kellogg ID; Betsy, Knoxville TN.
Photo courtesy of former Ltc, John D. Kennedy, Battalion Commander 101st Airborne,
101st Aviation Battalion, Camp Eagle. circa, 1969

An afternoon of fun and games with the "donut dollies".
Left to right are; Lizann Malleson (unit director), Nancy and Kathy Ormond.

An unknown Dollie from 1964 by the name of Jane. This can be read on her shirt ...... Submitted by Sp4 Charles D Townsley, A Btry 2nd BN 19th Arty, 1st Cav Division.

In 1962, the Red Cross sent its first paid field staff to Vietnam
to assist the growing number of servicemen at various bases and hospitals.
At the height of its involvement in Vietnam in 1968, 480 field directors,
hospital personnel, and recreation assistants served throughout Southeast Asia.

Red Cross Recreation Centers
An Khe	Da Nang	Phu Loi
Bearcat	Di An	Phuoc Vinh
Bien Hoa	Dong Ba Thin	Pleiku Army & Air Force
Bin Luy	Dong Tam	Quang Tri
Camp Eagle	Lai Khe	Qui Nhon
Camp Enari	Long Binh	Saigon
Cam Ranh Bay Army & Air Force	Long Gaio	Tuy Hoa
Cu Chi	Nha Trang	Xuan Loc
Chu Lai	Phan Rang Army & Air Force
Black Horse	Phu Bai

Working in the Red Cross office at Camp Pelham, late summer 1967, left to right, Wendy Wendler, Anne Mears,
Judy Hopkins, Jean Chapin (behind stove)......Submitted by Betty Denney, Red Cross Donut Dollie, Korea 1967/68

Holley Watts

Red Cross Clubmobile Unit, Camp Pelham, October 1967, left to right, Claudia Fields, Judy Hopkins, Zella Michael, Helen Krebsbach,
Jean Chapin, Wendy Wendler, Anne Mears, Joanne Printz......Submitted by Betty Denney, Red Cross Donut Dollie, Korea 1967/68

Members of the 127th Signal BN have their spirits lifted by these Donut Dollies who visit them while in the field. .....
Submitted By: Sp4 Jim Towery, A Company 127th signal BN, 1966/67

Holley McAleese & Nancy O’Neill Aug ‘67 Holley November ‘66 Danang

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