293:. Two nights a week she taught English to a class of sixty Vietnamese students, mostly teenagers. She told a reporter about her students "They are particularly curious about America. I told them about the skyscrapers and the subways but I am afraid they didn't understand subways or why anyone would want them." Every Saturday morning she volunteered at the
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during the
Vietnam War. She wrote "Most of the people that I have told about going to Vietnam are greatly concerned, and I appreciate this; however, I am not concerned, and I am very much at peace. I know that I may never come back, but I know that I am in the center of the Lord's will and Vietnam
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Club in Da Nang, where she attracted attention from servicemen as a rare single
Western woman in the city, earning her the nickname the "Belle of Da Nang". She turned down all of their romantic overtures, telling a reporter "I am not interested in romance, and I have no idea of getting married."
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in
January 1968. The missionary compound was bombed and eventually overrun and eight of the thirteen missionaries were killed or died later in captivity. Olsen endured ten months in captivity, with forced day-long marches, beatings, inadequate food, and no medical attention. Fellow captive
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and a little meat. Also, they cooked some bamboo shoots I had been allowed to gather. We were ravenous and wolfed down the food, noticing that the bamboo shoots were more bitter than usual. It was meant to be our "last supper." Before we could finish, we had severe stomach cramps and
250:. However, she wavered about her desire to do missionary work, writing "I remember saying to the Lord at this time that if this is all there is to the Christian life, then I don't want it." For a time she stayed with her parents while they were in
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223:, then a boarding school which often served the children of missionaries. While at the academy she decided to dedicate her life to being a missionary.
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In 1963, she again decided on missionary work and successfully applied to the
Christian and Missionary Alliance. The next year, she trained in a
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We were allowed to rest for a couple of days near a supply depot. The NVA prepared us a meal of rice, corn,
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Betty Olsen was posthumously awarded a citation for "Heroic Medial Work" by the
Vietnamese government.
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school some distance from her parents for her primary schooling. For high school, she attended the
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agricultural aid worker
Michael Benge recalled Olson's death on September 26, 1968:
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As a provincial capital, Buôn Ma Thuột was one of the targets of the
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167:(October 22, 1934 – September 26, 1968) was an African-born American
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The next year, Olsen was sent to continue her preparation in
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400:American nursing : a biographical dictionary
488:"No Romantic Interests for 'Belle of Da Nang'"
195:Betty Olsen was born on October 22, 1934, in
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430:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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342:Benge helped bury Olson in the jungle in
246:. She graduated in 1962 with a major in
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16:Nurse and missionary in the Vietnam war
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394:Peterson, Susan Lee (1988).
226:Oslen trained as a nurse at
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277:in preparation for work in
228:Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
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486:Boyle, Hal (May 9, 1965).
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240:Nyack Missionary College
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282:is the place for me."
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217:Hampden-Dubois Academy
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181:North Vietnamese Army
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492:Kilgore News Herald
221:Mount Dora, Florida
590:People from Bouaké
570:Vietnam War nurses
467:on January 6, 2020
285:Olsen was sent to
211:. She attended a
201:French West Africa
128:September 26, 1968
110:French West Africa
57:for suggestions.
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457:"Betty Ann Olsen"
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396:"Betty Ann Olsen"
354:Awards and honors
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130:(1968-09-26)
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98:1934-10-22
62:April 2022
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348:Cambodian
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