Rebecca Gronewold , Interviewed by Tylor Fehrenbacker, 2016
INTERVIEW LOG
Name of person(s) interviewed: Rebecca Gronewold Researcher: Tylor Fehrenbacker
Date of interview: May 2016
Location of interview: Pendleton, Oregon
Length of interview: 13:04
TOPIC SUMMARY Time and Contents
Inventory of Interview 0:00-0:37 Introduction of interview. I tell viewers where she served and what division of the military she served in. I also describe why the video is being taken and who I am interviewing and where it is taking place.
0:38-1:02 Discusses how she entered the military as part of an ROTC program she was awarded in high school. She then went the University of Central Arkansas for four and a half years and studied nursing. She was then commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the army.
1:03-1:43 Discuss her first years of service in the military. She was stationed in Texas to undergo officer basic training where she learned necessary skills in becoming an Army Officer. She was then sent to Fort Sill Oklahoma to work as an OB nurse delivering babies for Army personnel and Army wives. She then helped take care of the babies after birth.
1:44-2:37 We talk about all the places she was stationed including Iraq, Germany, Italy, Hawaii, and Fort Sill Oklahoma. When she was in Iraq, she continued work as an OB nurse and delivered babies in a hospital there. When she was stationed in Germany, she treated soldiers with minor injuries such as cuts and bruises and back pain. She then worked in Italy as head of her own OB nursing wing and was in charge of running all the tasks that are involved with being in charge of a hospital ward. She returned to Pendleton Oregon with her husband and served in the National Guard out of Salem for three years and began working in pediatrics.
2:38-4:09 We discuss her service and her job tasks as both a OB nurse and a field medical nurse in Iraq. She describes what her duties were and common cases she saw while working in Iraq.
4:10-4:50 I ask how she kept in touch with her family during her service and she explains that it was pretty easy with phone and email and she was able to contact them regularly. She then also explains how she met her husband in the service and how she married him once they got out of the military.
4:51-5:18 we talk about any medals or awards she received.
5:19-6:08 we talk about the stresses and pressure she saw while in her service and what was difficult about her job. We also talk about how she was getting indirect fire from outside and inside of the base while she was in Iraq treating patients.
6:09-7:02 I ask if she always had the supplies needed to complete her job while she was deployed in Iraq and she explains about the life there and what it was like as well as what kind of facilities they were provided.
7:03-7:52 her most memorable experience of her military service.
7:53-8:29 how she handled pressure during her service, especially during deployment in Iraq and what she did to relieve stress. What were her methods of dealing with loss and who helped her deal with that loss and stress. Also, how she stayed in touch with these friends and battle buddies during and after her service.
8:30-9:20 we talk about the final days of her service. Her ROTC contract extended for eight years of active duty and she was beginning to start a family with her now husband and felt it would be best to leave the military at this point. She then talks about why she liked active duty more than the National Guard which she joined after she came back home from duty.
9:21-10:19 we talk about what she did after her service ended.
10:20-11:38 we discuss her veteran’s organization called Quilts of Valor that brings quilts to retired veterans, specifically of World War II and Vietnam who have suffered any loss or trauma from war. They also bring veterans on a tour of the capital and let them see the sites and memorials. She is the Oregon State Assistant Coordinator and believes it’s a great way to show thanks and give back to those veterans.
11:39-12:25 we discuss how her military experiences affected her life afterwards and how she views war now and if it has changed because of her experiences.
12:26-13:03 closing statement on how the military effected her life afterwards and what she got out of her experiences in the military and what she learned. Gives some great advice about not letting the little things bother you and just living with what you’re given.
Ms. Rebecca Gronewold Interviewed by Tylor Fehrenbacker, 2016
Rebecca Gronewold was awarded a four year ROTC scholarship while in high school to study nursing at the University of Central Arkansas. She studied nursing for four years in college before she received her commission as a Second Lieutenant to join the Army.
In her first years of service, she was stationed in Officer Basic Training or OBC in Texas where she learned skills to help lead other medics and nurses.
Then she was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma to be trained in OB nursing. OB nursing is helping doctors deliver and then take care of babies and mothers. Her task was to deliver babies for Army wives and for Army personnel. She helped take care of them afterwards and worked with the mothers and families.
In her career, she was also stationed in Iraq, Germany, and Italy for training for four months, and Hawaii for training as well.
While she was in Iraq, she helped treat soldiers who were wounded and injured while under fire. She was a medic that would work in field hospitals treating wounded soldiers. She wasn’t part of the hospital’s emergency staff, so she didn’t get to see a lot of the bad cases of injuries, but she got to help rehabilitate them after they were treated and no longer in critical condition.
She liked this more than her OB work because it was always something new. She thought that it was very stressful because she had to deal with death amongst her patients and the fighting wasn’t far away. She never got to fire her rifle in combat, but was around units of men that had to and treated their wounds and injuries.
Rebecca was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany for three years where she treated soldiers with minor injuries. Most of her cases were of soldiers with back pain, knee pain, bad ankles, and other common illnesses. After that, she was stationed in Italy where she was given the opportunity to become the head of her own OB ward and run and operate her own OB wing at the hospital. She was put in charge of other nurses and was tasked with running the whole OB section.
When she was stationed in Iraq, she met her husband who was a fighting there overseas. They began dating and eventually decided to settle down and start a family. Her eight years in the Army were up and she decided to get out and become a nurse in Pendleton Oregon. She settled down with her family and had a son named Peter and began working at the Pediatrics Hospital in Pendleton.
By the time she was finished with her service in the army, she had received the rank of Captain. She served a total of 11 years in the military. She served eight years of active duty in the U.S. Army and three years in the Army Reserves.
She is now still working at the Pediatric clinic and also helps out with Quilts of Valor. She is the Oregon Assistant coordinator and helps build and bring quilts to retired veterans that have had any loss from the war. The veterans she brings quilts to are deeply moved by this gesture because a lot of them didn’t receive the recognition they deserved for their service in World War II and Vietnam.
She just recently accompanied a group of veterans to visit the nation’s capital in Washington D.C., to tour the sites and then received the veterans blankets made for them.
Rebecca Gronewold is a hero that saved many lives fighting for our country and continues to touch the lives of not only children and their families but also the veterans that came before us.