[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 150 (Tuesday, November 19, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNITION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF LYNDA VAN DeVANTER BUCKLEY

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                            HON. LANE EVANS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 19, 2002

  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Lynda Van DeVanter 
Buckley, the author of ``Home Before Morning: Story of an Army Nurse in 
Vietnam'', who passed away after a long-time illness last week. Lynda 
served in Vietnam 1969-70 at 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku. I had 
the good fortune to know Lynda from her testimony to the House 
Committee on Veterans Affairs and from her longstanding advocacy as a 
very early member of the Vietnam Veterans as America. Like so many in 
the veterans' community, I felt a tremendous loss upon hearing that 
Lynda had left us after her long and courageous struggle.
  As a friend, a Vietnam era veteran and lifetime member of Vietnam 
Veterans of America, I remember Lynda's perseverance, her indomitable 
spirit and her humanity. As a then-junior Member of the House Committee 
on Veterans Affairs she helped shape my views on policy for Vietnam 
veterans--particularly on women veterans' issues, and the health 
effects of Agent Orange on veterans and their children. Even in her 
illness, Lynda continued to fight for her daughter, Molly, whose 
conditions Lynda suspected were related to her own exposure to Agent 
Orange.
  ``Home Before Morning: Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam'' became a 
clarion call to women Vietnam veterans. It reminded them that they were 
not alone in their struggles and gave voice to the problems and 
concerns of both this particular group of Vietnam veterans and the 
entire generation. So many of the pre-eminent leaders in this community 
have been affected by her character and her courage. I know her fight 
lives on in them.
  My good friend, Dr. Linda Spoonster Schwartz, a Vietnam nurse who is 
also a Vietnam Veterans of America member, had this to say about 
Lynda's life which speaks volumes of the loss we all sense in her 
passing:
  ``She was our first Sister. I say that because she took her own 
Odyssey and put it in print. Her struggle was very much like our own. 
We began to see we were not alone . . . . Her words came like 
thunderbolts to part the curtain of anonymity, demoralization and 
released the years of quiet turmoil suffered by many women who served 
in Vietnam and during the Vietnam era . . . . She became the Elder 
Statesman, supporting, advising, and nurturing a new team to continue 
her work. She taught us how to share, how to disagree without demeaning 
each other. Mostly she understood with a deep sense of reckoning which 
never wavered from her vision . . . . She created a voice for women 
veterans and all past, present and to come are the beneficiary of her 
legacy.''
  Lynda will be missed by many, but her commitment and contributions 
will endure. Yes, Lynda will be missed, but never forgotten.




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