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The Colonel is a Lady Ken Riege
The Colonel is a Lady
The story of Lt. Colonel Evangeline P. “Jamie” Jamison
By Ken Riege USAF Veteran
TThe story of Evangeline Jamison and her service to our country brings to life the detail of individual bravery and sacrifices of our Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airman in war, and the human compassion and caring for the troops that she and the other nurses provided. She was a heroine and heroic real life action figure Army nurse in the Army Nurses Corps.
She served her country in three wars spanning the “Greatest Generation” to the Vietnam War. She was also the driving force behind the concept and creation of the Vietnam Women’s
Memorial in Washington D.C.
Evangeline Jamison was inducted into the Army on 3 Feb 1943 as a Reserve Nurse in the Army Nurses Corps with the rank of 2nd. Lieutenant and she did not enter into her Oath of Office lightly. Her life’s work would attest to that. She had a firm resolve to do her very best and one of the greatest things about Jamie (as she preferred to be called) is that she would never let someone down if they needed help. There are few people in the world who are genuinely concerned about others; Jamie was one of the few.
Now I want to back this story up a bit to when the first time I had heard of Lt. Colonel Jamison. We have many military veterans who stay at the Comfort Suites and on one particular day I was asked about one of the displays at the hotel. *See picture below. I have had this poster on display at the Comfort Suites in Gallup for almost 10 years now and I would say for the first 5 years it was up, I had never noticed the name on the dog tags. That was until I was asked if I had ever looked up the name of Evangeline Jamison and was told about a book called, “The Colonel is a Lady” by Beverly Thompson.
I was amazed with the story that I was told by my guest who had served under Lt. Colonel Jamison in Vietnam as a nurse. As we looked at the poster, near the bottom is a statue of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial which Lt. Colonel Jamison played a big part in the design and as she would put it, was her greatest accomplishment. I would beg to differ as I am sure there are thousands of American Service Members with whom their lives she touched and would have “Jamie” to thank for surviving.
Writing this story got me to thinking about a dear friend of mine who has kept in constant contact with his Army Nurse who helped save his life (on more than one occasion). I am talking about MOH Recipient (US Army,
This is a fantastic book that can be found on Amazon and is a definite read.
Vietnam) Mr. John Baca and his favorite nurse, “Nurse Angie.” As John puts it, “she has always been there for me and now it’s my turn to be there for her. They have been best of friends for over 50 years and I love to hear John’s stories about his dear friend and savior.
Nurses have played such a powerful role in all of history and never more of an important role than in combat. They have been there right in the thick of it. I wanted to honor the 8 amazing heroes of the Vietnam War who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. These are the “Women of the Wall.”
THE EIGHT WOMEN ON THE WALL: NURSES WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
The names of eight women, all nurses (seven from the Army and one from the Air Force), are inscribed next to their fallen brothers on The Wall in Washington, D.C.
(L to R: 1st. Lt. Hedwig Orlowski, 2nd Lt. Carol Drazba, 1st. Lt.Sharon Lane, Capt. Mary Klinker, Capt. Eleanor Alexander, 2nd Lt. Elizabeth Jones, 2nd Lt. Pamela Donovan, LTC Annie Graham)
As with every story I like to end with a quote from one of our nations greatest heroes. I am not sure if I have used my friend John Baca’s quote before, but felt it was so very fitting for this story. It is as follows:
John’s and all the other amazing MOH Recipients Quotes can be found in the book: Medal of Honor “Quotes” Inspiration from America’s Military Heroes. This book can be purchased from the Center For American Values in Pueblo, CO or on their website at: www.americanvaluescenter. org
*While I wasn’t aware of this fact when I first started this story, National Nurses Week is May 6th to the 12th so what better story to do for May. We owe so much to these amazing heroes of our community, so make sure you “Thank a Nurse” each and every time you come across these “Angels of Mercy.”
