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NURSECONTINUED from 2This dedicated nurse told Dolores how she knew of his deep love, and urged Dolores to work hard to help Jim through this difficult healing process, both physically and emotionally. Reluctantly, Jim prepared his letter as well, and the two were sent.When Capt. Linda Sharp had fulfilled her Vietnam commitment, she extended beyond Thanksgiving to be flown back from Cam Ranh Bay in the South China Sea back to Travis Air Force Base in Sacramento, California. On that C-141 plane headed home were six or seven other military men, and a full load of caskets.Capt. Sharp was asked to give up her seat, and instead was placed on a Braniff flight. Normally, in military protocol, Linda should have been attired in a Class A uniform of a suit, jacket and heels. But these were unique times.No tomatoes were thrown at this officer upon arrival, but neither were there accolades, questions or concerns expressed. It took nine months before an interviewer at a hospital in San Francisco even mentioned her service time in Vietnam, as noted on her resume.Utilizing the GI Bill, Linda got a master of science degree in nursing from Rutgers University. She had a career at Schering-Plough, became a clinical specialist in oncology, and remained in the medical field throughout her working years.Linda Sharp Caldwell is now happily married to another who served in the military. Brent Caldwell a graduate of The Citadel, was a captain in the USAF. They met five years after her military service, at the insistence of a friend from high school who introduced them in April of 1971. The friend was right: they married later that very year.Their family includes three daughters, Elizabeth, Amanda and Caitlin, and three grandchildren. Piper, 4-1/2, Aubrey, 5, and Griffin, 2-1/2.Elizabeth is a paralegal for OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network) with a TV producer husband. Amanda is a stay-at-home mom these days while her husband works for Genetech. Caitlin, still single and the youngest, works with solar products in the desert near Los Angeles.One of the favorite TV shows of Linda and Brent in the late 1980s and 1990s was “Unsolved Mysteries,” which featured host Dam Delaney, an actress who is best remembered for her powerful role as a military nurse in “China Beach.” The show being watched this night had a teaser at the end in which the host said the mystery involved a particular Vietnam nurse who had been the key to the survival of a wounded soldier.In 1969, this soldier received two awards for his bravery in Vietnam, but he still faced a personal war with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The nurse’s name? Capt. Linda Sharp. The Caldwells were flabbergasted.Linda’s sister lived in Arizona. They promptly called her in the later time zone, asking that sister to get the 800 number to call the show. By the time Linda called the show’s “tele-center,” they had been given he name by several other callers to this favorite show. Sure enough, after ‘Unsolved Mysteries” asked several questions, they too were convinced Linda was the RN this man was seeking. She was flown, all expenses paid, to his location in Colorado. The reunion was filmed over a several-hour period, with a camera crew in the back of the vehicle Linde had been provided.The reunion was significant, and made for very good TV. Not only had Jim emerged from the agony of his injuries, but he becam a powerful athlete, maneuvering with his prosthetic leg with great skill. Together, Dolores and Jim did have a family, contrary to the initial pronouncement in Vietnam.Jim lost his job as an air traffic controller when, in 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired 11,000 striking ATCs who ignored his order to return to work. (There was some turmoil and flight delays, but not nearly of the magnitude these striking ATCs had predicted, and it was resolved rather uneventful ly, except for those who lost their jobs.) Jim returned to college on the GI Bill, earning a degree which prepared him to counsel and encourage other troubled veterans.Unfortunately, in the state of Colorado at that time, he never achieved the counselor career to which he aspired.Please see NURSE,Page 4
Newspaper Details
Aiken Standard
Aiken, South Carolina, US
Wed, Nov 16, 2016
Page 65
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SC, USA 23 Aug 2023
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