In her home in Ypsilanti, Dr. Elizabeth Allen holds a photograph of herself as a young military nurse. The two images bring a lifetime of experience into a single frame.

Allen served as a captain in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during her 1967–68 deployment to Vietnam, caring for wounded service members in a field hospital. She describes the isolation of being a Black woman officer and the discrimination she witnessed while serving.

Her service continued to shape her life after Vietnam. She speaks candidly about post-traumatic stress, the barriers faced by women veterans, and the struggle to have her service recognized. She later consulted on the television series China Beach.

In the interview, Allen recounts long hospital shifts, the racism she encountered, and her efforts to study how stress affected wound healing. Her account makes clear that the experiences of Black women serving in Vietnam cannot be reduced to a statistic.

Allen later consulted on the television series China Beach. She also describes the lasting effects of war, including post-traumatic stress, and the challenges she faced seeking recognition and care as a veteran.