AUSTIN, Texas — Linda Knightstep was only 9 years old when she made a decision that would determine the path her life would take.

“It was very clear to me that caring for others was what i wanted to do," Knightstep said.

When Linda was older, she studied nursing, graduated with honors and, to the surprise of her family, joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. That was in 1968.

America was at war in Southeast Asia then, and Linda was in the middle of it all, working at a field hospital in Vietnam to help save the lives of wounded American soldiers.

Nurses like Linda worked under dangerous and chaotic conditions.

“They moved me over to ward where the guys were recuperating and to a man, they said: ‘You got to get me well, Lieutenant.’ They said ‘I have to get back. I've got beaucoup buddies i

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