Marj Billker Graves

About this episode

Marj Billker Graves shares her experiences as a nurse in the Army during the Vietnam War and her subsequent achievements as a veteran.

Marj Billker Graves joined the Army Nurse Corps during her final year of nursing school in 1967. She served as a head nurse on male orthopedic wards at Darnall Army Hospital, Fort Hood, Texas, and at Ireland Army Hospital, Fort Knox, Kentucky. As a Captain, Marj volunteered for Vietnam where she continued to serve as a head orthopedic nurse with the 24th Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh. During her tour of duty, she was selected as the nurse for a two-person medical team to accompany both the Bob Hope Christmas Tour in 1971 and the Sammy Davis, Jr. USO Show in 1972. After a return assignment in the United States at Madigan General Hospital, Tacoma, Washington, she resigned her commission to marry her husband, Bob, also a Vietnam Veteran. She was selected as Kentucky’s Vietnam Veteran for  USA Today’s  2012 Veterans Day issue, has been featured in numerous articles in  The Courier-Journal,   was inducted into the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame, is a recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Distinguished Citizen Medal, and in 2023 was the first female veteran to serve as Grand Marshal of Louisville’s Veterans Day…

People in this episode

Guest: Marj Billker Graves

Topics covered

• military service
• nursing
• Vietnam War
• veterans
• healthcare

Keywords

• Army Nurse Corps
• Vietnam Veteran
• Daughters of the American Revolution
• Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame

Mentioned in this episode

Products: UPS

Books & works: the Daughters of the American Revolution Distinguished Citizen Medal

Places: Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Knox, Kentucky, Vietnam, Long Binh, United States, Tacoma, Washington, Louisville

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