Scope and Contents

Collection consists of one CD created by Cathy Oatman, A Letter from Long Binh: A Memoir of a Night of War, digitized from the original cassette.

Biographical / Historical

Catherine Louise "Cathy" Oatman (19 January 1936 - 29 June 2013) served with the U.S. Army for 3 tours in Vietnam, from February 1969 to May 1972.

Cathy enlisted in the Womens Army Corps in March 1966 and trained at Fort McClellan, Alabama. She was stationed at Fort Shafter in Hawaii from 1967 to 1969. From there Cathy went to Vietnam where she was stationed in Long Binh and Saigon from February 1969 to May 1972. While in Hawaii and Vietnam, Cathy handled all the payroll and leaves for the personnel assigned in Southeast Asia, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant.

While stationed in Vietnam she also volunteered at a local orphanage on her days off. She fell in love with one of the babies and went through the process to adopt him. She then became attached to a little girl and requested for her tour to be extended until she could adopt her second child. Cathy brought Kevin and Kim to the United States with her in 1972.

In 1972, Cathy was assigned to Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. In 1974 she began work with the Recruiting Command in Gainesville and Pensacola, Florida, and then to the Reserve Center in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Her final assignment was in Brewton, Alabama in 1975, when she was medically retired.

During her nine years of service, she received the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, MACV and RADCOM medals, the MACV Joint Service Command Medal, and a Certificate of Service for 1 March 1968 to 1 October 1970. She also received the Order of the Silver Rose Award, which honors veterans exposed to Agent Orange.

Cathy was a member of the Vietnam Women Veterans Inc., Vietnam Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, Womens Army Corps Veteran Association, and the Order of the Silver Rose.