Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Lone woman at frontline ... 

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Life following service

In 1980 I was appointed syndications manager for the Sydney Morning Herald in their Manhattan office in New York. Soon after I married New York stockbroker Jack Lamensdorf and we lived in Manhattan for 15 years before retiring to southern Pennsylvania. In retirement in 2006 I wrote a personal memoir of my war service in Vietnam. Called Write Home for Me: A Red Cross Woman in Vietnam it was published by Random House Australia and topped the best-seller list in Adelaide after its release. In 2007 the book was awarded first prize by the United States´ National Federation of Press Women. As a Red Cross Field Force officer I was entrusted to the non-medical care of the wounded and sick. This included handing out toiletries, making them comfortable in hospital, sending signals and letters to their loved ones and supporting them however we could. I was thrown into the thick of the war soon after arriving in Vietnam and helped care for the wounded at the 36th Evacuation hospital after the Battle of Long Tan. I was one of only two Australia women who did so.

The Battle of Long Tan is legendary in the annals of Australian war. Eighteen men were killed and 21 were wounded and I describe my memories of seeing the men in my book:

“As I looked along the rows of casualties in the unnatural quiet, the stunned and wounded eyes, as much as the damaged bodied, identified those who had survived the battle in the rubber plantation. There were no friendly smiles, yet I heard no moans or crying. I was mentally prepared for tears from the men. I saw none. Some men avoided meeting my eyes, perhaps scared to reveal their emotions.”

Like most of the soldiers, I served a full year in Vietnam and the experience became part of who I am. Again, I will quote from my book:
“I had gone to Vietnam expecting to have a fascinating experience. What I had got in return was the discovery, beyond naming and knowing, of the depths and heights in the human soul, the richness of love of my fellow man, and the opportunity to witness countless acts of human decency that enriched, ennobled, and enlivened me.”

In 2009 Jack died and I returned to Adelaide a year later.

In 2012 I married Emeritus Professor Dr Colin Matthews AO whose wife had died after a long illness. Colin was awarded the AO for distinguished service to reproductive medicine and we live in Walkerville, South Australia.

Since returning to Australia I march annually on Anzac Day and speak up for veterans and support them where I can. I am proud to have many friends in the veterans community.

Jean Debelle (Lamensdorf/Matthews)
28 December, 2014