Lorraine McGoldrick, on behalf of Rochester Area Republican Club (RARC),
presented the book, Donut Dolly: An American Red Cross Girl’s
War in Vietnam, written by local author Joann Puffer Kotcher, in
honor of March Women in History Month to each of the area high schools’
Information Literacy Specialists.
Pictured from L to R: Rochester Adams High School Brenda
Carlson, Stoney Creek High School Judy Freels,
Author Joann Puffer Kotcher, Rochester High School Julie Harris, RHS Interim Principle Neil
Deluca and Co-President RARC Lorraine McGoldrick.
RARC wanted to reach out to the students with this unique book about both the Korean and Vietnam wars. In Donut Dolly, Kotcher shared some of the book details and offered to be a speaker in history classes. McGoldrick stated that there will not be any of those misrepresentations we are hearing about in the media in this book as everything was tripled checked and verified.*
Joann Puffer Kotcher is the only woman to write a book about wartime.** She
includes her firsthand experience while traveling in war zones supporting
the troops. Kotcher is also one of the first women allowed in a combat zone
in the history of the United States. The book has received 22 national and
international awards. It started with Joann’s love of writing and her
agreement with her mother to take the time to write it down. Donut Dolly is Kotcher’s memoir about the men and women who served and their personal sacrifices.
After graduating from the University of Michigan, Kotcher was assigned to Korea and Vietnam as an American Red Cross volunteer from 1965 to 1967. She is featured in the film documentary Our Vietnam Generation (2011). Kotcher lives with her husband in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
RARC holds their meetings the first Thursday of the month at WestWynd in
Oakland Township. Visit their website or Facebook page for more information.
Also in attendance at RHS Media Center was Interim Principle Neil Deluca,
Interim Assistant Principal Casey Wescott and Barbara McGoldrick. Photos
were taken by RHS Junior Sean McGoldrick, and Maggie Roehling was reporting
for the award-winning Talon Student Newspaper.
* Kotcher is an independent author, who researched and worked on Donut Dolly for over eight years.
** According to the University of North Texas Press website, who published Donut Dolly in 2011, the book is considered Kotcher’s personal view of the war, recorded in a journal kept during her tour, day-by-day as she experienced it.
About Sarah Hovis
Thanks for your service Mrs. Kotcher!
And, great story! Thanks for sharing Rochester Media
Joann was the only person to write a book about the women with the Red Cross in Viet Nam. Since her book was published through a university press she had to document everything and since there were no publications on the subject that met university standards as a source materials (newspapers, magazines, etc. could not be used), she reached out to the military community for their stories from that time.
Also, Joann and the women in the Red Cross in Vietnam were the first women that our government had ever allowed into a combat zone. She has rightfully earned many awards for her book.
Joann’s book is a great read.