DOB/DOD: March 25, 1942 (Wirral, Merseyside, England) – July 8, 1968; 26 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
ENLISTMENT: November 6, 1967
SERVICE NUMBER: N2336041
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0344 = Nurse Corps
TOUR START DATE: April 10, 1968
UNIT: 44th Medical Brigade, 55th Medical Group, 85th Evac Hospital
CASUALTY LOCATION: Gia Dinh Province
DECORATIONS: Awarded the National Defense Service Medal
THE WALL: Panel 53W, Line 43
FAMILY: Born to Edward A. (1919-2013) and Joyce A. Langford Donovan (1921-2001), both born in Ireland. One brother, Anthony E., and one sister, Elizabeth M.
CIRCUMSTANCES: 2d Lt Pamela D. Donovan was a nurse assigned to the 85th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon, Republic of Vietnam. On July 8, 1968, 2d Lt Donovan died at the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon, where it was reported she had taken her own life. Donovan reportedly succumbed to pneumonia secondary to a Doriden overdose from which she lapsed into a coma. Doriden was the brand-name version of glutethimide, a barbiturate used to treat insomnia.
The family was deeply religious, and Pamela had considered becoming a nun before undertaking nursing training. Pamela had graduated from St. Elizabeth’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1965 and became a Registered Nurse. At this time, she was living in Allston, Massachusetts. She graduated from the Newton Country Day School, but also attended schools in Ireland, England, and Canada. Pamela was much affected by battlefield portrayals on the news, and she shared with colleagues her distress that soldiers were in such dreadful circumstances. She had learned that all the nurses were volunteers, and then decided she should become a U.S. citizen and volunteer to serve in South Vietnam.
2nd Lt Pam Donovan joined the Army Reserve Nurse Corps and underwent intensive jungle training prior to departing for her tour in South Vietnam on 10 April 1968, assigned to the 85th Evac Hospital in Qui Nhon. Pamela’s mother, Joyce, wrote a book called Grasping the Nettle, which was a biography of their family life and the influence of their religious beliefs. In that book, Joyce writes that in May of 1968, Pamela had written that she went to the beach and suffered severe sunburn and was hospitalized in Qui Nhon, where she was stationed. During her recovery, Pamela made an audio tape for her parents in which she “sounded happy and in good spirits.” In subsequent letters, she told her parents of her plans to travel to Japan and Australia at the conclusion of her one-year tour of duty in Vietnam. She wrote of the possibility of applying to a number of nursing schools in the USA and furthering her nursing degree. In another letter, Pamela told her parents that she had become aware of the existence of a “heroin ring” within the hospital and had determined that it was her duty to report this. Her parents wrote back, cautioning their daughter to be very careful, as she could be putting herself in extreme danger. Shortly after, in June of 1968, Pamela’s mother, Joyce, was hospitalized. Pamela wrote to her mother daily, giving her great support. On July 4, 1968, Joyce and Ted received a cable from Vietnam stating that Pamela had been placed on the seriously ill list on the 3rd of July, as a result of an overdose of barbiturates, stating that she had been found unconscious in her billet and was hospitalized in Vietnam. Another cable arrived from Vietnam saying that Pamela was still unconscious and was being flown to the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon, where she could receive “more appropriate treatment.” On July 9, a limousine came to her parents’ front door as a high-ranking officer informed them that Pamela had died the previous day, July 8th, and that the cause of her death was pneumonia. Ted telephoned the Army Nursing Recruitment Headquarters in Boston, where Pamela had enlisted, and the Red Cross. Joyce and Ted had many questions, but none received proper answers. They wrote to Pamela’s Commanding Officer and the Chaplain in Vietnam, but received no response. The Senior Army Officer handling the case in the US intimated that if they would stop asking questions, Pamela would be given a full military funeral – the obvious implication being that a military funeral would be refused if they continued their inquiries. For Pamela’s sake, they asked no further questions. On July 12, the post office brought a letter to Pamela’s parents from their dead daughter, dated July 3, five days before her death: “Dearest Mummy and Daddy, I know over the years you have been unhappy, as I have been unfaithful to the Church and to going to Mass and the Sacraments. Well, I want you to know that last night I went to the Chaplain out here to Confession, and this morning I went to Mass and Holy Communion. I feel a new person….. All my love, Pamela.” On July 18, Pamela’s parents received the death certificate: “Died 8 July 1968 in Vietnam from pneumonia secondary to overdose of barbiturates.” In September, the family received a second death certificate with an additional sentence added: “Self-destruction while mentally unsound”. It did not seem possible to them that their daughter, so happy on July 3rd, could have taken her own life five days later. Six months after her death, a nurse friend of Pamela’s from Vietnam called to tell her mother “the truth” about what had happened to Pamela. Reportedly, she said, “No, I can’t tell you. I am too afraid of what might happen to me,” and hung up. A few weeks later, there was allegedly another call from another of Pamela’s friends from Vietnam, who also wanted to tell the truth but was too afraid. All of this left the family with questions.
Buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, 355 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan, Massachusetts; Servicemen’s Lot, Grave #26. Photo from FindAGrave.com and contributor Doug Meyer.
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