Born: 1972 (circa), United States (assumed)
Died: NA
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Wendy Wamsley
The following is republished from the Library of Congress’s Forever a Soldier: Unforgettable Stories of Wartime Service oral history project. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
War or Conflict: Persian Gulf War, 1991
Branch of Service: Army
Service Unit/Ship: 15th Evacuation Hospital
Location of Service: Fort Dix, New Jersey; San Antonio, Texas; Fort Polk, Louisiana; Saudi Arabia
Highest Rank: Corporal
“That was the first night that my own mortality really hit me. That was the last and only night I cried.” (Audio Interview, 37:07)
In 1989, Wendy Wamsley was a troubled 17-year-old high school student with bad grades and an attitude to match. When her policeman father informed her she was joining the Army-or she was moving out of the house-she agreed to enlist. What she couldn’t have anticipated was a tour of duty as a medic during the Persian Gulf War, an experience which definitely provided her with an attitude adjustment.