Sharon Ann Lane

Sharon Ann Lane (July 7, 1943 – June 8, 1969) was a United States Army nurse and the only American servicewoman killed as a direct result of enemy fire in the Vietnam War. The Army posthumously awarded Lane the Bronze Star Medal for heroism on June 8, 1969.

Biography

Sharon Ann Lane was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of John and Mary "Kay" Lane. When she was two, the family moved to North Industry, Ohio. In June 1961, she graduated from Canton South High School in Canton, Ohio. In September, Lane entered the Aultman Hospital School of Nursing in Canton and graduated from there in 1965. that struck between two quonset huts of Vietnamese civilians, soldiers, and POWs, that formed the Vietnamese ward (Ward 4) where Lane last served. A Vietnamese child was also killed.

Awards and decorations

Bronze Star Medalw/ Valor devicePurple HeartNational Defense Service Medal Vietnam Service Medalw/ 1 bronze campaign starVietnam Military Merit MedalNational Order of Vietnam(Knight)Vietnam Gallantry Crossw/ PalmRepublic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Army Meritorious Unit CommendationRepublic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation

Bronze Star Medal with "V" device First Lieutenant Lane was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for her actions on June 8, 1969. The landscape surrounding the Vietnam Women's Memorial includes eight yellowwood trees that represent the eight American servicewomen who died during the Vietnam War - Lane, Carol Ann Drazba, Eleanor Grace Alexander, Pamela Dorothy Donovan, Annie Ruth Graham, Elizabeth Ann Jones, Mary Therese Klinker, and Hedwig Diane Orlowski. The only servicewoman killed in action was Lane; the rest died of accidents and illness. Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 11920 at Evans, Georgia, was named the 1Lt Sharon A. Lane Memorial Post. In 1969, Lane was named Outstanding Army Nurse of the Year by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1970, Lane was posthumously presented the Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee Award by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1986, the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 199 in Canton, Ohio, was named the Sharon Lane Memorial Chapter. In 1995, the volunteer center at Fort Hood, Texas, was named the Sharon Lane Volunteer Center. In 2003, Lane was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio (the hall of fame's exhibit is at Mott's Military Museum in Groveport, Ohio).

alt=Memorial located on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Photographed March 18, 2024. Fitzsimons Army Hospital can be seen in the background. Memorial located on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Photographed March 18, 2024. Fitzsimons Army Hospital can be seen in the background.