KINGSFORD — A former nurse who served in Vietnam was featured speaker for the annual Tribute to Veterans lunch Friday in the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 439 hanger at Ford Airport.

Veterans were treated to a free lunch in an event that takes place on the eve of Ford Airport Day today.

The veterans expressed appreciation for the lunch.

“I think it’s great,” said Ken Davis of Iron Mountain, who was a Navy medic with the Marine Corps and also served in Vietnam.

“It is wonderful that they have everyone here for this,” said Renee Lindow of Kingsford, a volunteer at the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain for more than 20 years.

“This is a great idea,” said Merle Parsons of Iron Mountain. “It’s a way to recognize the vets and do a little something for them. I’m sure all the vets, myself included, appreciate it.”

Parsons served in the U.S. Air Force from 1967 to 1971 but not in any combat areas, he said. His first job was the communications center, where they would receive telegrams from Vietnam announcing soldier deaths, which they would translate into Western Union telegrams to be delivered to families. He later worked at a communications center in Germany.

In her talk, Mary Stolze said she was stationed in California for training in 1969 and met her husband, George, because they needed a fourth player for bridge. They had their first date July 4 and married on Sept. 12.

“We were both really scared and it was either get married or we may never see each other again,” she said. They both served overseas in Vietnam. She was at several MASH-style field hospitals in Vietnam from the end of 1969 through most of 1970, until she became pregnant and left the service.

“I used to say ‘Our hospital wasn’t nearly as clean or nearly as funny as the “M*A*S*H” TV show, but we shared the same goal.'”

Their job was to stabilize casualties before they were taken by helicopter to a hospital.

“We didn’t know if they survived or not,” she said. She said that was the worst part, not knowing if the men they treated made it home.

She described supply shortages, terrible climate, bugs and the constant fear for her husband, who served with the 101st Airborne.

She wanted to keep serving as long as possible when she became pregnant, but with all the diseases and other factors decided it was unsafe.

When she returned home with another nurse and several hundred male soldiers, they were warned about protesters. So she and the other nurse changed into civilian clothes and took commercial flights.

She believes that until Desert Storm, people had negative perceptions of Vietnam veterans. She also said women weren’t allowed to use VA services for many years.

“It gets a little easier each time I’ve given it,” Stolze said later of her talk. “And I was glad to do it for the veterans. I’ve given it at other places — the women’s club and at the college. I was glad to do if for the veterans because for these guys, especially the Vietnam veterans, there was no brass band when we got home. And the younger veterans thank us because of the care they get at the VA and things like that. But we thank them because the reason that we’re getting any kind of recognition now is because of them.”