In September 1982, at her Montana ranch, Frankie opened an invitation to a 36th Evac Hospital reunion scheduled with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedication. Her first reaction was anger at the belated recognition and the government’s handling of Agent Orange, which she believed likely caused her miscarriage. She remembered how veterans themselves forced the memorial into being.

Donna, a fellow Vietnam nurse who had arrived broken years earlier, worked with Frankie to build a healing ranch—The Last Best Place—for women who served. They both regained their nursing licenses, earned master’s degrees, and created a refuge where women worked, shared, and healed; family and friends supported each summer. The ranch featured a “heroes’ wall” of photos labeled “THE WOMEN,” symbolizing their collective story.

During a barn group session with Gwyn, Liz, Marcy, and Ramona, Frankie raised the memorial and reunion. The women argued about attending; Gwyn voiced anger and erasure, Liz wanted to honor the dead, and others feared reopening wounds. Frankie acknowledged both the best and worst of Vietnam and named their shared silencing, asking directly about suicidal thoughts. The group confronted Agent Orange fears, miscarriages, and despair. Frankie asserted that healing began by speaking together and refusing invisibility.

In Washington, D.C., on November 13, 1982, Frankie prepared in her old fatigues, boonie hat, and dog tags, flipping through O Club photos and her journals that charted her path from shame to recovery and purpose. Before dawn she met Barb and Ethel at a cheap motel; they recalled war memories and braced for the day. They joined thousands of veterans processing toward the National Mall, singing and then falling silent as helicopters and a missing-man flyover honored the fallen.

At the Memorial, speeches finally offered “Welcome home and thank you.” Frankie approached the Wall alone and then was met by her parents, who had chosen to come despite earlier saying they would not. Together they found Finley O. McGrath’s name; Frankie touched the warm stone and remembered her brother’s life, not only his death. A veteran thanked Frankie for her nursing service, and her father, moved to tears, admitted guilt for how he’d treated her on returning home and apologized, calling her “Peanut.” Frankie, filled with love and pride, affirmed her service despite the war’s wrongs.

Walking the Wall, Frankie searched for Jameson Callahan and was stunned when Jamie appeared alive, scarred and with a prosthetic leg. He returned the small carved stone she had slipped into his duffel and told her that remembering her had helped him survive. He shared that he had divorced, had another child named Frances, and that healing had taken years. Frankie said she never married and was happy. They acknowledged their long separation and embraced, promising more time ahead.

Surrounded by veterans and families, Frankie recognized that remembrance mattered and that the women’s experiences had been silenced. She resolved to tell the story of the nurses of Vietnam and to claim pride in their service. The chapter closed on the declaration that their story began with the truth: “We were there.”