MILLSBORO — Award-winning journalist Nancy E. Lynch will present “The REAL Women Veterans of Vietnam” at 2 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Millsboro Public Library.

Inspired by best-selling author Kristin Hannah’s novel, “The Women,” Ms. Lynch will share war letters that she received from nurses who served in combat zones. Those letters were published in her News Journal column, “Nancy’s Vietnam Mailbag,” from 1968 to 1972.

Ms. Lynch will compare their experiences to those of Ms. Hannah’s fictional Army nurse, Frankie McGrath, a privileged Californian who served two tours in Vietnam after a family tragedy.

About 10,000 military women served in Vietnam and not all were nurses. Barred from combat, they also worked in communications, intelligence, and administrative jobs. Civilian women also volunteered for duty in Vietnam and served with the American Red Cross, the Army Special Services, the USO, and as news correspondents.

According to Ms. Lynch, although “women can be heroes” was a revelation to the fictional Frankie, it was an indisputable reality for the women who served and died in Vietnam. Ms. Lynch compiled almost 1,000 war letters and pictures she received in a book “Vietnam Mailbag, Voices From the War: 1968-1972.”

“In honor of Veterans Day, we can’t think of a better representative than Nancy Lynch to help us appreciate the real contributions from these phenomenal women who served,” said Assistant Director Anthony Connolly.

A University of Delaware graduate, Ms. Lynch has written seven books, all non-fiction, and lives in Bethel. Ms. Lynch’s presentation is underwritten by a grant from Delaware Humanities.

For more information, visit millsboro.lib.de.us.