Most jobs require some level of expertise, but few ask for the skills needed to become a Donut Dolly. These specialized Red Cross workers weren't simply required to work in dangerous climes where everything could go wrong in an instant-they were required to do so with a smile.
Pieced together from the many letters written home to her parents, A Vietnam Memoir follows young Rosemary Thunder after healing from a broken engagement. She finds friendship, flirtation, and adventure in the basecamps and on firebases in South Vietnam.
The dangerous working conditions aren't the only challenges Rosemary faces. Her job is to take men's minds off being in a war zone, mainly through the use of the recreation programs the Donut Dollies design, produce, and present wherever their schedule takes them by Huey helicopter. They are there to improve the morale of "our guys," and Rosemary takes her 24/7 job seriously. Rocket attacks do not deter her. And she won't get out of Vietnam unscathed. Several frightening incidents and a life-threatening illness present their own challenges.
Rosemary's story offers coming-of-age lessons in a very untraditional climate. Amid the splendors of Vietnam, Rosemary discovers new passions and lives amazing experiences she will never forget.
About the Author: Rosemary Thunder Schwoebel has held a variety of interesting positions throughout her career. She has been a Sweet Adelines singer, an event planner, a volunteer for diverse nonprofit organizations, and a teacher of the Billings Ovulation Method of Natural Family Planning. Additionally, she has been a Mary Kay consultant for 30 years and team manager. Rosemary edited her father's book on Iwo Jima, published in 2012. She has been a jail minister since 2004.
A hiking, cycling, and snowshoeing enthusiast, Schwoebel has lived with her husband in western Colorado for the past twenty years.
