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Frankie McGrath transforms through her experiences before and after her service in Vietnam. It’s not always a pleasant transformation, however; Frankie is repeatedly heartbroken, traumatized, abandoned, and made to feel as though her enormous sacrifices are worthless. Born into the wealthy McGrath family, from childhood Frankie has had to contend with the deeply ingrained expectations her mother and father have for their children. These expectations are largely constrained by gender and by the relationships men and women have to military service. It doesn’t help that, although she adores him, her brother Finley embodies the family ideals of military heroism. Frankie feels overlooked and believes her potential is ignored because of her gender. She is not sure she wants a life like her mother’s, where homemaking and caretaking are the most dangerous missions she’d undertake. Finley’s death in Vietnam is the final straw in her decision to break the McGrath mold. It motivates Frankie to enlist as a nurse. Although her parents are utterly opposed, she feels that it’s the best way to honor her family’s legacy and forge her own path.
In Vietnam, Frankie shakes off her initial aghast reaction to the chaos and brutality of war and works under extreme conditions to help wounded soldiers who come under the surgeon’s knife. Although they are very different from her friends in Coronado, she bonds with fellow nurses like Barb and Ethel, who support her through the challenges of wartime and provide examples of female toughness and compassion. She begins to see that there is a wider world than that of her parents’ expectations. The fact that much of this world is populated with men at war doesn’t prevent her from wanting to join it, though she is forever traumatized by the violence and destruction she sees in Saigon and Pleiku.
Frankie’s romantic relationships, especially with the facetious Rye, reveal a different side of her. As a surgical nurse trained in triage, Frankie is accustomed to assessing a situation quickly and accurately, all while looking for signs that the person concerned might be past help. She doesn’t seem to be able to apply this same rigor to her own relationships. She has a series of ill-starred affairs with married officers or men in whom she’s not really interested, until she meets Rye again in Vietnam. Her love for him blinds her to his flaws and causes her enormous pain. She believes his lies over and over again, as if by wishing he were different she could change his intentions.
After the war, Frankie faces societal rejection and the psychological struggles that come with it. She’s forced to confront her PTSD and feelings of inadequacy alone, because there is no governmental support for female veterans of Vietnam. Her downward spiral into addiction and attempted suicide is a result of both Rye’s deceit and the way her country abandons her. It’s only when she’s able to see a way forward for herself through therapy (with the help of Henry Acevedo, her long-suffering former fiancé) that any light begins to dawn. When she rebuilds her life, reconnects with her old friends, and creates The Last Best Place, it’s as much a sanctuary for herself as it is for other women veterans. This project shows her determination and sense of purpose, as she channels her pain into creating something meaningful for others.
