Marj Graves joined the Army Nurse Corps during her final year of nursing school in 1967. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. she dedicated herself full to the care and support of wounded soldiers. She served as a head nurse on male orthopedic wards at Darnall Army Hospital, Fort Hood, Texas, and then at Ireland Army Hospital, Fort Knox, Kentucky. While assigned to work with orthopedic patients, Marj witnessed the effects of war first hand.
Following her promotion to Captain, Marj volunteered for Vietnam with full knowledge of the challenges and hardships she would endure. In Vietnam she continued to serve as a head orthopedic nurse with the 24th Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh. Her unrelenting efforts were recognized with her selection 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. They have been married for 52 vears, have two married daughters, 5 grandchildren, and reside in Louisville, Kentucky.
When Marj returned home she did as many weary soldiers and buried her traumatic experiences. It was not until two decades later while visiting the Vietnam War Memorial would she confront her demons.
Using the same tenacity that helped her survive Vietnam, Marj fought and successfully won the battle with her haunting memories. She now shares her experiences and is an advocate for soldiers and veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Marj has been featured in Diane Aprile’s book, The Things We Don’t Forget, in Heather Marie Stur’s book, Beyond Combat: Women and Gender in the Vietnam Era, and in the KET documentary, Kentucky Veterans of the Vietnam War: In Their Own Words. 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, and is a recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Distinguished Citizen Medal. She has also been inducted into both the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame and the Fern Creek High School Hall of Fame, was named an Honor Flight Bluegrass Ambassador, and was the Grand Marshall of the Louisville, Kentucky Veteran’s Day Parade.
Marj served on the Host Committee for the 2011 Medal of Honor Society Convention in Louisville, is a member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, and is a past board member for the Louisville USO. She is a retired Occupational Health Manager from UPS and is devoted to the healing of unseen battle wounds.