Martha Raye--comedienne known for her large sized mouth

 Martha Raye
August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994

The most unforgivable oversight of TV is that her shows were not taped.

This is a great story about a great woman.

The following is from an Army Aviator who takes a trip down memory lane:

It was just before Thanksgiving '67, and we were ferrying dead and wounded from a large GRF (Ground Relief Forces) west of Pleiku. We had run out of body bags by noon, so the Hook (CH-47 CHINOOK) was pretty rough

 

In the back. All of a sudden, we heard a 'take-charge' woman's voice in the rear. There was the singer and actress, Martha Raye, with a SF (Special Forces) beret and jungle fatigues, with subdued markings, helping the wounded into the Chinook, and carrying the dead aboard. 'Maggie' had been visiting her SF 'heroes' out 'west'.

We took off, short of fuel, and headed to the USAF hospital pad at Pleiku.* As we all started unloading our sad pax's, a 'Smart Ass' USAF Captain said to Martha.... "Ms Ray, with all these dead and wounded to process, there would not be time for your show!"

To all of our surprise, she pulled on her right collar and said....Captain, see this eagle? I am a full 'Bird' in the US Army Reserve,** and on this is a 'Caduceus' which means I am a Nurse, with a surgical specialty.... Now, take me to your wounded." He said, 'yes mam.... Follow me.' Several times at the Army Field Hospital in Pleiku, she would 'cover' a surgical shift, giving a nurse a well-deserved break.

During that time, another serviceman flying a "Huey Slick" helicopter carrying troops recalls that his ship received combat damage to the extent that he had to return to base at Soc Trang:

I was the pilot of that "slick" which had received major damage to the tail-rotor drive shaft from a lucky enemy rifle shot. The maintenance team at the staging area inspected and determined that a one-time flight back to base camp would be okay but grounded the aircraft after that. Upon arriving back at Soc Trang, I informed Martha (she came right up to us and asked how things were going) that we had a gunship down in the combat area and additional efforts were being made to extract the crew. I don't recall if we had received word of the death of the pilot at that time. Martha stated that she and her troupe would remain until everyone returned from the mission. As there were no replacements, the servicemen could not return to the mission. While the servicemen waited, Raye played poker with them and helped to keep everyone's spirits up. I enjoyed playing cards with Martha but regretted it somewhat. It appears that she had plenty of practice playing poker with GIs during her USO service in multiple wars. But I still love her for who she was and what she did.

When the mission was completed, which had resulted in the loss of a helicopter, gunship and a Viking pilot, there was also an officer, the Major who was in command of the Vikings who had been wounded when the ship went down. He was flying pilot position but was not in control of the ship when the command pilot, a Warrant Officer, was shot. When he and the two remaining crewmen were returned to Soc Trang, Raye volunteered to assist the doctor in treating the wounded flyer.

When all had been completed, Raye waited until everybody was available and then put on her show. Everyone involved appreciated her as an outstanding trouper and a caring person. During the Vietnam War, she was made an honorary Green Beret because she visited United States Army Special Forces in Vietnam without fanfare, and she helped out when things got bad in Special Forces A-Camps. As a result, she came to be known affectionately by the Green Berets as "Colonel Maggie."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Raye

Martha is the only woman buried in the SF (Special Forces) cemetery at Ft Bragg.

**Her title, albeit "honorary," can help one to do so much good, if used properly. My vote would be to  use it.

*Pleiku was strategically important during the Vietnam War because it was the primary terminus of the military supply logistics corridor extending westwards along Highway 19 from the coastal population center and port facilities of Qui Nhon. Additionally, its central location on the plateau, between Kontum in the north, Buon Ma Thuot to the south, and the North Vietnamese Army's base areas inside Cambodia to the west made Pleiku the main center of defense of the entire highland region of the Republic of Vietnam.

This was strategically obvious to both sides; the U.S. established an armed presence very early in the conflict at Camp Holloway, and the Việt Cộng attack on this base in early 1965 was one of the key escalating events that brought U.S. troops into the conflict.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiku

Obviously, in this photo, she does not have the "full bird" insignia, but either a major or lieutenant colonel (depending on the color of that oak cluster).