Lynda Van Devanter Buckley, an advocate for women veterans, died
November 15, 2002 at her home in Herndon, Virginia, after a long illness. She
was 55.
An Arlington native, she served in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970 as a surgical nurse
with the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku, near the Cambodian border.
Her acclaimed memoir, "Home Before Morning," was the first
widely-published book by a female veteran on the Vietnam War. It described her
experience of the horrors of the war and was among the first to deal with
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), from which she suffered. She wrote that
she and other nurses and doctors took to drinking, drug use and sexual liaisons
to find distraction. The book, co-authored by Christopher Morgan, was
inspiration for the TV drama "China Beach," which ran from 1988 to
1991.
One of her letters was included in the 1988 HBO documentary "Dear America:
Letters Home From Vietnam." In it, she described a Christmas Eve of
amputations and death for wounded GIs.
"This is now the seventh month of death, destruction and misery. I'm tired of going
to sleep listening to outgoing and incoming rockets, mortars and artillery. I'm
sick of facing, every day, a new bunch of children ripped to pieces," she
wrote.
In 1979 she helped launch and became head of the Vietnam Veterans of America
Women's Project. In 1987 the VVA honored her with the Excellence in the Arts
Award and in 2002 she received a VVA Commendation Medal. After retiring in 1984
she continued to write articles, edit volumes of poetry, give speeches and
conduct seminars.
Mrs. Buckley suffered from systemic collagen vascular disease, which she attributed
to wartime exposure to chemical agents and pesticides.
Survivors include her husband and their daughter Molly, a stepdaughter, her mother, and
four sisters.
Lynda Van Devanter Buckley, an advocate for women veterans, died
November 15, 2002 at her home in Herndon, Virginia, after a long illness. She
was 55.
An Arlington native, she served in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970 as a surgical nurse
with the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku, near the Cambodian border.
Her acclaimed memoir, "Home Before Morning," was the first
widely-published book by a female veteran on the Vietnam War. It described her
experience of the horrors of the war and was among the first to deal with
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), from which she suffered. She wrote that
she and other nurses and doctors took to drinking, drug use and sexual liaisons
to find distraction. The book, co-authored by Christopher Morgan, was
inspiration for the TV drama "China Beach," which ran from 1988 to
1991.
One of her letters was included in the 1988 HBO documentary "Dear America:
Letters Home From Vietnam." In it, she described a Christmas Eve of
amputations and death for wounded GIs.
"This is now the seventh month of death, destruction and misery. I'm tired of going
to sleep listening to outgoing and incoming rockets, mortars and artillery. I'm
sick of facing, every day, a new bunch of children ripped to pieces," she
wrote.
In 1979 she helped launch and became head of the Vietnam Veterans of America
Women's Project. In 1987 the VVA honored her with the Excellence in the Arts
Award and in 2002 she received a VVA Commendation Medal. After retiring in 1984
she continued to write articles, edit volumes of poetry, give speeches and
conduct seminars.
Mrs. Buckley suffered from systemic collagen vascular disease, which she attributed
to wartime exposure to chemical agents and pesticides.
Survivors include her husband and their daughter Molly, a stepdaughter, her mother, and
four sisters.
Family Members
See more Buckley or Van Devanter memorials in:
- Chestnut Grove Cemetery Buckley or Van Devanter
- Herndon Buckley or Van Devanter
- Fairfax County Buckley or Van Devanter
- Virginia Buckley or Van Devanter
- USA Buckley or Van Devanter
- Find a Grave Buckley or Van Devanter
