OCONTO, Wis. (WFRV) – When it comes to military service, the focus is largely on those on the battlefield; however, it wouldn’t be possible without those behind the scenes, like Oconto’s Karen Spychalaski.
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Following in her mom’s footsteps, Spychalaski entered the medical field after high school graduation in 1970, joining the United Service Organization (USO) as a nursing aide.
“She was a full-time registered nurse when she was younger and I had it in my mind, ‘I want to make that my career,'” Spychalaski said. “That’s where they started training me and I just kept on going.”
Her medical training continued in a Veterans Affairs Hospital; however, it was more than just one, as she spent time in several Midwest VA hospitals before being sent to Vietnam to treat injured service members.
While scary at first, Spychalaski said knowing that she was helping others helped put her at ease as she cared for those on the battlefield.
“At first I was scared, thinking, ‘here are these bombs going off,'” Spychalaski said. “But I just said ‘I’m here, I’m helping these guys’ and I just took it day by day.”
After some time in Vietnam, she returned home and took care of her mother, the same woman who inspired her to join the medical world, and she’s still grateful for the USO’s training.
