The angel of Dien Bien Phu
Subtitle: the sole French woman at the decisive battle in Vietnam
By: Geneviève de Galard
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Annapolis, MD
Language: eng
Number of pages: 183
ISBN-13: 9781591142065
Work titles: Femme à Dien Bien Phu
Description: "As the only French woman among some 11,000 defenders at Dien Bien Phu, Geneviève de Galard had a unique perspective of the siege and fall of the French fortress. This memoir about her years as a flight nurse for the French air force offers previously unknown details about their defeat. De Galard was on the flights that evacuated casualties from the battle, often landing in the midst of Vietminh artillery barrages. After a French air force C-47 with de Galard on board was seriously damaged, she tended to the wounded and dying in a field hospital. Her efforts won her the Knight's Cross and the Croix de Guerre, and from the American press the name Angel of Dien Bien Phu. Following a tickertape parade in New York, President Eisenhower awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1954. Now, Americans can learn the full story."--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: Toward Dien Bien Phu : the historical context; title: Roots; title: Dreams of Indochina; title: In the maelstrom; title: The trap closes; title: Among the wounded; title: Toward the fall; title: A hospital under parachutes; title: Further than hell; title: Hanoi-Saigon-Paris; title: Triumph on Broadway; title: Always a flight nurse; title: Remaining faithful; title: To them; title: Appendix A: A few testimonies; title: Appendix B: Order of battle, French Union forces, Dien Bien Phu; title: Appendix C: Casualties of French forces at Dien Bien Phu; title: Appendix D. Order of battle, Vietminh forces, Dien Bien Phu; title: Chronology A: French Indochina War, 1945-1956; title: Chronology B: Battle of Dien Bien Phu, November 12, 1953-May 7, 1954.