Approximately 11,000 women served on the ground in the Vietnam War — 90% of them as volunteer nurses. But their contributions during the 20-year war have long been overlooked.
It wasn’t until 1993, nearly two decades after the war’s end, that a monument to the women who served during Vietnam was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
The war’s unpopularity silenced many Vietnam veterans on their return, and historical accounts tend to focus on male soldiers.
In a new documentary, “To The Women Who Served,” KMBC 9 news anchor Donna Pitman shares the firsthand accounts of the trauma, the return home, and for some, the continuing moral dilemma of the war.
“There's a ticking clock element to this,” Pitman said, as ailments and age take a toll on surviving veterans.
Pitman’s documentary captures a love story that survived the war, the horrors some women still dream of, and the pride women kept tucked away for decades.
“What's amazing is… not the to, but the through,” Pitman said. “Not how they got to what they were doing, but how they got through it, and how they are now.”
“To The Women Who Served,” airs at 7 p.m. on KMBC News 9, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.
- Donna Pitman, news anchor KMBC 9
