WORTHINGTON — Dorset Anderson’s Vietnam War wasn’t fought with artillery, but with games and snacks. And she didn’t wear fatigues, just a powdered blue dress.
Despite not technically being a veteran who served in any branch of the military, Anderson was applauded by the 40 people who came to Monday’s Veterans Day potluck, including veterans who had fought in Vietnam, for her 18-month service as a Donut Dollie with the American Red Cross.
Anderson was one of only 627 Donut Dollies to serve from 1962 to 1973. Usually traveling at least in pairs, the Dollies were charged with entertaining troops with food, songs, games and other touches of home. Three of them died while serving.
After returning home, Anderson rarely talked about her time in Vietnam until a decade ago when she returned there with her son and filmmaker Norm Amandi. At Monday’s potluck meal, the audience watched a preview for Amandi’s 90-minute documentary, “The Donut Dollies,” about his mother’s time as a Dollie.
In the 15-minute preview, Anderson talks about how she was walking into the unknown and yet was still excited before she left for Vietnam in July of 1968.
While there, Anderson found herself in a war zone, and had to spend a night in a bunker to avoid incoming fire. She also survived a close call on a helicopter when its door fell off and hit the tail rotor, but luckily the pilots were able to safely land on a beach. Anderson, like others who served, also had to deal with the grief of loss regularly.
After the war, Anderson, like many who returned from the conflict, did not talk about it.
“After being in the Red Cross, she stayed in Vietnam for awhile, working in banking there on a military base, and then did a little of that in San Francisco,” said Amandi.
When she returned to the states she babysat, especially for her sister, who had 15 children. Originally from West Virginia, Anderson has called Cummington and Worthington (she lives on the town line) home since the 1980s and met her husband in western Massachusetts.
In the documentary, Anderson is taken aback upon her return to the country after 46 years. She had left the island in desolation, and was able to witness firsthand the restoration of the landscape and the people of Vietnam.
“Progress is our most important product,” she says as she surveys the new Vietnam she hadn’t known about.
Regardless of the circumstances of the war, Anderson said her role was to “make em [troops] laugh and take their minds off the war.”
This is a trait that stuck with her throughout her life, even at the age of 80. In a brief interview toward the end of lunch, Anderson said, “That is the best thing in the world is to be able to laugh.”
“That’s the way she was when she was 20, and that’s the way she is at 80,” said Amandi, commenting on her lifelong pursuit of making people laugh.
“Dorset loves everyone. She’s a friend to everyone,” said Catharine Whitcomb, who has been friends with Anderson for decades.
When the preview of the documentary was over, Anderson received a bellowing applause from the room. “I really appreciate everybody,” she said, letting out a few tears. And then she asked everybody to get up and sing, and everybody sang “Happy Birthday” for a resident in attendance.
Leonard Beaudry, born and bred in Worthington, served in Vietnam from 1967 through 1969 and then spent the next 35 years of his life still in the U.S. Air Force. He said the documentary resurrected memories for him after watching it.
“It brought up many memories just to look at the uniforms we wore, the jungle fatigues,” he said, and added that he also has fond memories affiliated with Donut Dollies.
Beaudry said to see an American woman, “in itself was like God’s gift to GI’s.”
Amandi explained that the documentary is the most cherished film he has put together in his life. He said initially it was supposed to replace many of the mementos Anderson had lost from Vietnam in a flood. But now that Anderson’s memory is frail, he said the film is able to preserve memories, not just mementos.
“It was the most meaningful project I’ve ever been involved with, because I got to do it with my mom and spend so much time with her,” said Amandi.
Amandi said it also got both his mom and others who had been in Vietnam to share stories that may have never been heard.
“Like a lot of vets, a lot of Donut Dollies didn’t share their stories afterwards — really kept it locked up, and also they didn’t think what they did was important,” said Amandi. “Through this film it’s been great to hear from a lot of veterans who really were moved and positively impacted by what they did.”