Ripples of Wartime - Jean Matthews

Interview with Jean Matthews, volunteer Red Cross aid worker.

This is one of a series of short videos presenting some diverse perspectives on impacts of the Vietnam War. Collectively titled Ripples of Wartime, the videos were commissioned by Brink Theatre Company in Adelaide and initially presented in association with a play about the battle of Long Tan.

Original caption from production:
JEAN MATTHEWS, RED CROSS AID WORKER
Jean Matthews (nee Debelle) went to the Vietnam War as a volunteer Red Cross aid worker in 1966, based at Australia’s first military hospital in South Vietnam, known as 2 Field Ambulance, and at the US Hospital in Vung Tàu. She performed valuable non-medical duties, including writing letters home for injured soldiers. Forty years after serving in Vietnam, Jean wrote an acclaimed book entitled Write Home for Me – A Red Cross Woman in Vietnam. She has maintained strong friendships with many of the men she encountered as Australian soldiers in Vietnam.