REUNION WITH BABY

LZ Atlanta 7 Oct 2002 - Vietnam veteran nurse Donna Rowe sat in old 091 and shared a photo album of her "tour of duty" with all of us for our documentary. The cameras captured her story about a baby that was saved. She went on to tell us this amazing story of how members of The 1st Infantry Division  found the orphan baby girl among the all  dead. She was wrapped tightly in her dead mother's arms. They called for a DUSTOFF and took her and her dead mother to the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon.  At the hospital they had to remove the baby from the tightly wrapped and protective arms of her mother. They then called for a priest, and had the baby girl baptized as the injured baby went for treatment of her wounds. She was named Kathleen after the Irish song 'I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen.' It was thought that Kathleen was adopted by an American soldier and may have grown up in Alabama. Donna Rowe's story had all of us in tears. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did a story on this interview she gave us --which was archived on the web-- that later lead Kathleen to the ITSOTB website five months later. The following is from her Guestbook entry:

ITSOTB Guestbook 7 March 2003 "My name is Kathleen Epps. I am 33 yrs old now. I was given my name ( Kathleen) by Capt. Donna Rowe back in May of 1969. Came into Third Field Hospital on May 15th I believe. She was a nurse at the hospital. I am that little girl who was found on her dead mother's stomach. A many thanks to the men who found me that day and saved my life and if anyone knows where Donna is, could you let me know ? Thank you. Kathleen_Cords@hotmail.com 

Follow-up: Kathleen was contacted by Patrick and Cheryl Fries and action was taken to get all the parties in touch with each other. I also emailed Kathleen and found out that she lived not too far from me in northern California - and that her father lived just minutes from my house. We had several communications and I am looking forward to meeting her in person soon. 

Newspaper Story from 1969: 
Jacksonville Journal, Monday, July 7, 1969
The Little Orphan Becomes Miss Ecumenical

By HELEN MUSGROVE
Journal Correspondent


THIRD FIELD HOSPITAL, Vietnam - If ever a little girl qualified to be Miss Ecumenical, it's the tiny infant who arrived in an ambulance recently at this hospital.

When the in ambulance doors were opened, the vehicle appeared to be empty. Capt. Donna Rowe, head of nurses, was puzzled and asked the driver, "What have you got for us, Greer?"

He smiled, "Would you believe a baby?" With that he lifted out a tiny form, wrapped only in a GI blanket and laid it carefully in Capt. Rowe's arms. The medics took over and discovered it was a little girl with a small fragmentation wound in her abdomen.

The dust-off boys told Greer that a patrol had found the baby lying in the Montagnard mother's arms. The woman had been dead about two days. In fact, everyone in the village was dead, but this poor little orphan. Somehow she had survived both the VC and the heat.

However, there was severe dehydration, and intravenous fluids were started immediately. Capt. Rowe carried the baby to the X-ray department, and it was while the technicians worked that the baby's future began to look a lot more hopeful.

On duty at the time were Spec. 5 Richard P. Hock of Kennesaw, Ga, and Spec. 5 Darrell Warren of Tucson, Ariz. As they handled this lone survivor of a massacre, they knew she would be going to St. Elizabeth's Orphanage as soon as she was well enough. Both men suddenly felt the baby should be baptized. Hock is a Methodist, Warren is a Mormon, but knowing the orphanage to be Catholic, they decided to call in their Franciscan chaplain Rev. Luke F. Sullivan, to officiate.

Father Sullivan is from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and he held consultation in the operating room with Hock and Warren who readily agreed to act as the child's godfathers. Capt. Rowe picked a name for her, Kathleen. She explained that the old song, "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," kept running through her head. Fields was decided on as her last name because the dust-off boys had brought her in from a field and she had come to Third Field Hospital.

Kathleen captured yet another heart in that operating room. Spec. 5 Roy Entin of Wyncote, Pa., also felt dawn to the child. He is of the Jewish faith. Since the rabbi didn't happen to be in the hospital that day, it was agreed by all that Father Sullivan should have this little lamb, who escaped the slaughter, as one of his flock.

Father Sullivan laughingly added, If the next one is a boy, we'll let the
rabbi do the honors." All three medics felt a strong commitment to the
welfare of Kathleen.

Because shed arrived naked, one of the immediate problems was to find a wardrobe for her. Not many things are available for so tiny a child. Hock and Warren signed officially as her godfathers and then weren't even able to find cigars to distribute in celebration. Almost all cigars end up on the black market.

Kathleen became the subject of earnest discussion by her sponsors. Being a Montagnard, she closely resembles American Indians, and they wondered if it would be possible for a Catholic Indian family in the States to adopt her.

Each morning the godfathers and their Jewish friend went to visit what they now thought of as "their" baby. Father Sullivan reminded Hock and Warren that they had a duty toward Kathleen. Both men are contributing a certain amount of money each month to provide care and clothing. This is just another example of how all serve together out here. A Methodist, a Mormon and Jew sent for a Catholic priest to christen a little girl whose own parents probably believed in animism and attributed spiritual qualities to such things as rocks, soil, trees and water.

With so much going so wrong on a vast scale, it is little things such as
this that give one a feeling of hope in the future.

Goodnight From Vietnam
Helen Musgrove, War Correspondent
Third Field Hospital

SPEAKING TOURS

Plans are being put together to have members of the flight crew from 091"The Shadow" give talks and show film clips and slides of the documentary project to veteran groups and to reunions. Should your group be interested you can contact Arrowhead Films at their website www.intheshadowoftheblade.com or contact me at angelnet@citlink.net We are limited in our resources but will try to share the story of this healing journey as best we can.