No Time For Tears

"We never allowed them to die alone," says one of the former nurses who served in Vietnam profiled in this excellent overview of American women in the war, and their recollections and feelings today. Like their male counterparts who fought on the battlefields, many of the women were young, naive, and irrevocably changed by what they experienced. In the case of Sharon Lake, she was in country only a short time before a hospital bombing ended her life. For others (of the 10,000 women who went to Vietnam, most served as nurses), they came back to build families and resume their pursuit of the American Dream only to suffer from devastating flashbacks, children born with defects (possibly attributable to exposure to Agent Orange), and an ongoing struggle with post-traumatic stress. Combining film footage from Vietnam, songs from the period (such as The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son"), and interviews with the women who lived through the horror, No Time for Tears does an excellent job of introducing viewers to the untold story of American women in Vietnam. And, while some of the reminiscences are grim, others are not. Doris "Lucki" Allen joined up on Friday the 13th and chose the Air Force because she "preferred blue over green." Although bearing psychological scars they will carry to their graves, the women interviewed in the program are doing better today, finding solace and help in religion, work, family, and/or therapy. Director Elizabeth Bouiss has crafted a powerful look at a previously unexamined aspect of the Vietnam War. Highly recommended. [Note: a 70-min. version of No Time for Tears is also available for $100.] (R. Pitman)