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Title
Interview of retired Lieutenant Colonel Madeline M. Ullom on her career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, including her service during WWII
Creator
Ullom, Madeline M., 1911-2001
Date
1985-05-15
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
In an oral history interview, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Madeline M. Ullom talks about her 28 year career in the United States Army Nurse Corps, including her service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II and being held as a POW by the Japanese. Ullom says she was based in Manila when the Japanese attacked in 1942 and was one of the last to be evacuated to the U.S. fortress on Corregidor. She talks about treating wounded in the fortress's tunnels as the Japanese attacked,...
Show moreIn an oral history interview, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Madeline M. Ullom talks about her 28 year career in the United States Army Nurse Corps, including her service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II and being held as a POW by the Japanese. Ullom says she was based in Manila when the Japanese attacked in 1942 and was one of the last to be evacuated to the U.S. fortress on Corregidor. She talks about treating wounded in the fortress's tunnels as the Japanese attacked, the eventual U.S. surrender and becoming a POW. Ullom talks about life in an internment camp, being imprisoned with civilian women and children from almost every Allied nation, the poor rations, and roll calls even in the middle of the night. Ullom says that more and more prisoners became sick and fatalities from malnutrition increased dramatically before her camp was finally liberated by the U. S. First Cavalry in 1944. She also talks about her post war assignments, becoming an advisor to the Veterans Administration, her activities in retirement and finally traveling back to the Philippines. Ullom is interviewed by Margaret E. Duncan.
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Title
Interview of Dorothy Schroeder on her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWII
Creator
Schroeder, Dorothy
Date
1986-03-07
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Dorothy Schroeder talks about her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War Two. Schroeder says she graduated from nursing school in 1941 and after working as a civilian in Miami, was inducted into the Army on January 28, 1944. She says that she shipped to Liverpool and Glasgow with the 191st General Hospital in October 1944 and was later stationed in France, just outside of Paris at a former mental hospital. She remembers treating casualties from the Battle of the Bulge, meeting...
Show moreDorothy Schroeder talks about her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War Two. Schroeder says she graduated from nursing school in 1941 and after working as a civilian in Miami, was inducted into the Army on January 28, 1944. She says that she shipped to Liverpool and Glasgow with the 191st General Hospital in October 1944 and was later stationed in France, just outside of Paris at a former mental hospital. She remembers treating casualties from the Battle of the Bulge, meeting her future husband in an operating room, site-seeing along the Riviera, sailing on the Mediterranean, visiting Lourdes, and attending a memorial service for President Roosevelt in Notre Dame Cathedral in April 1945. Schroeder says that she shipped back to the States in January 1946, was discharged that February, later married, started a family and worked at the Saint Joseph Infirmary in Louisville, KY for many years. Schroeder is interviewed by Jean T. Campbell.
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Title
Interview of Lieutenant Colonel Bernice R. Couzynse (Ret.) on her service as a U.S. Army nurse during WWII and other conflicts
Creator
Couzynse, Bernice R., 1919-1997
Date
1983-03-17
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Lieutenant Colonel Bernice R. Couzynse (Ret.) talks about her long military career and serving on four continents as a United States Army nurse. Couzynse says she completed nursing school in the fall of 1942 and by March 1943 had enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps. She tells of deploying to North Africa with a hospital unit, being under attack by German aircraft, moving up to Naples after the invasion of Italy, setting up a hospital at an agricultural college, moving with the troops as they...
Show moreLieutenant Colonel Bernice R. Couzynse (Ret.) talks about her long military career and serving on four continents as a United States Army nurse. Couzynse says she completed nursing school in the fall of 1942 and by March 1943 had enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps. She tells of deploying to North Africa with a hospital unit, being under attack by German aircraft, moving up to Naples after the invasion of Italy, setting up a hospital at an agricultural college, moving with the troops as they advanced, being near the front lines and treating extreme battlefield injuries. At the end of the war in Europe, Couzynse says that she did not have enough points to rotate home and was slated to be sent to Japan as part of the U.S. invasion forces. Ironically, she says that she did later serve in Japan during the Korean Conflict. Couzynse recalls her duty in Germany in the early 1960s, the Berlin Wall crisis when all leaves were cancelled, and finally finishing her career as head nurse at William Beaumont Hospital in El Paso, TX in April 1971. She credits the Army with giving her a chance to have an interesting career, to travel, and to make many friends. Couzynse is interviewed by Doris J. Triick.
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Title
Interview of Martha Marshall Baker on her twenty-year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps
Creator
Baker, Martha Marshall, 1927-
Date
1986-03-22
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Martha Baker talks about her twenty-year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and says that she began as a general duty nurse but spent most of her time as a surgical nurse before moving to central supply and supervision. She recalls her overseas and U.S. assignments, including serving in Okinawa and Vietnam and says that the housing overseas was better than in the States and that she was "disappointed" by the unattractive uniforms she had to wear. Baker also says she had to make few...
Show moreMartha Baker talks about her twenty-year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and says that she began as a general duty nurse but spent most of her time as a surgical nurse before moving to central supply and supervision. She recalls her overseas and U.S. assignments, including serving in Okinawa and Vietnam and says that the housing overseas was better than in the States and that she was "disappointed" by the unattractive uniforms she had to wear. Baker also says she had to make few adjustments to military life and found it to be incredibly exciting. She describes her post-retirement jobs, including teaching ROTC for the past eleven years. Baker is interviewed by Marjorie Brown.
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Title
Interview of Johanna Baskin Balla Butt on her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWII and the Korean War
Creator
Butt, Johanna Baskin Balla
Date
2004-01-14
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Johanna Butt talks about her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War Two and the Korean War. Butt says that she graduated from nursing school in 1943 and joined the Army that same year. She talks about treating wounded from Patton's Third Army in Europe, living in miserable conditions, being cold and not having enough to eat, V-E Day and finally being "separated" from the Army in February in 1946. She says that she was called up from the Army Reserves in 1951 for the Korean War...
Show moreJohanna Butt talks about her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War Two and the Korean War. Butt says that she graduated from nursing school in 1943 and joined the Army that same year. She talks about treating wounded from Patton's Third Army in Europe, living in miserable conditions, being cold and not having enough to eat, V-E Day and finally being "separated" from the Army in February in 1946. She says that she was called up from the Army Reserves in 1951 for the Korean War and talks about being stationed in Japan with the 382nd General Hospital, the flood of casualties that came in from the fighting in Korea, returning to the States in 1954, teaching nursing, working as an Army recruiter in the Pacific Northwest and being turned down for service in the Vietnam war. Butt says she retired from the Army in 1970 and moved to Tucson, AZ to care for her mother and husband. Butt is interviewed by Ruth F. Stewart.
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Title
Interview of Doris Evelyn McGraw Cobb on her life and family and her long service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps
Creator
Cobb, Doris McGraw, 1922-
Date
2003
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
In an oral history interview, Doris Cobb talks about her life and family and her long service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Cobb discusses her childhood and education and graduating from nursing school in 1941. She says that she enlisted in the Army in 1944, took basic training in Indiana and was shipped over to Scotland April 1945, just as V-E day was announced. Cobb talks about her travels and assignments at various hospitals in England and on the continent in the post-war years and says...
Show moreIn an oral history interview, Doris Cobb talks about her life and family and her long service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Cobb discusses her childhood and education and graduating from nursing school in 1941. She says that she enlisted in the Army in 1944, took basic training in Indiana and was shipped over to Scotland April 1945, just as V-E day was announced. Cobb talks about her travels and assignments at various hospitals in England and on the continent in the post-war years and says that she finally decided to leave the military in May 1946 to go back to college. After earning a B.A. in 1950 and working as a civilian nurse, Cobb says that she decided to go back into the Army in February 1956 with the rank of captain. She talks about her various jobs and duty stations through the years, including stints in various places in the U.S., Okinawa, Japan, Thailand, and Heidelberg, Germany. In 1969, Cobb says that she was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and finally retired from the service in the fall of 1974.
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Title
Interview of retired Lieutenant Colonel Mary Templeton Gates on her twenty-year service in the U.S. Army Air Forces and later U.S. Air Force
Creator
Gates, Mary Templeton, 1914-2005
Date
2004-04-07
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Ninety year old U.S. Army and Air Force veteran Mary Templeton Gates talks about her childhood, education and service career. Gates says that her decision to go into nursing was the result of her family's long history in medicine and that after graduating from nursing school in 1938, she worked in Georgia and New York City before deciding to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps to become a flight nurse. Gates says that she turned down a teaching position to become chief nurse in a squadron sent...
Show moreNinety year old U.S. Army and Air Force veteran Mary Templeton Gates talks about her childhood, education and service career. Gates says that her decision to go into nursing was the result of her family's long history in medicine and that after graduating from nursing school in 1938, she worked in Georgia and New York City before deciding to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps to become a flight nurse. Gates says that she turned down a teaching position to become chief nurse in a squadron sent to the Pacific during the war and describes her career in the Army through service in hospitals in Guam, Hawaii and Bermuda. After the war, Gates says that she left the Army, but later enlisted for duty in the Air Force at the start of the Korean War. She says that she became a Lieutenant Colonel around 1960 and finally retired shortly after. Templeton is interviewed by Ruth F. Stewart.
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Title
Interview of Jane Piatt on her service in the Women's Army Corps during WWII and in the Korean War
Creator
Piatt, Jane, 1909-1997
Date
1983-04-21
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Jane Piatt, chair of the Women's Overseas Service League's National Oral History Project, talks about her service in the Women's Army Corps during World War Two and in the Korean War. Piatt speaks at length about her time as a mess hall chief at Fort Des Moines and her time working with both Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby, the first director of the Women's Army Corps and Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams, the first African-American woman to become a commissioned officer in the WACs. Piatt also talks...
Show moreJane Piatt, chair of the Women's Overseas Service League's National Oral History Project, talks about her service in the Women's Army Corps during World War Two and in the Korean War. Piatt speaks at length about her time as a mess hall chief at Fort Des Moines and her time working with both Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby, the first director of the Women's Army Corps and Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams, the first African-American woman to become a commissioned officer in the WACs. Piatt also talks about her jobs as an air inspector and the head of an officer's club in the United States near the end of the war and leaving active duty in 1947, only to be recalled during the Korean conflict. During the Korean War, she says that she served in England at both Burtonwood Air Force Base as an air inspector and at Brize Norton Air Force Base as an administrative assistant. Piatt is interviewed by Elsie Hornbacher.
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Title
Interview of Barbara Fravenholtz on her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWII
Creator
Fravenholtz, Barbara
Date
1984-02-25
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Barbara Fravenholtz talks about her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War Two. Fravenholtz describes her decision to enlist on Armistice Day in 1942 and discusses why she enlisted alone rather than with other graduates from the St. Francis General Hospital nursing program. Fravenholtz recounts her experiences as a nurse in the 95th Evacuation Hospital which was attached to the 5th Army and later to the 7th Army, as it followed the front lines in Tunisia, Sicily, Cassino,...
Show moreBarbara Fravenholtz talks about her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War Two. Fravenholtz describes her decision to enlist on Armistice Day in 1942 and discusses why she enlisted alone rather than with other graduates from the St. Francis General Hospital nursing program. Fravenholtz recounts her experiences as a nurse in the 95th Evacuation Hospital which was attached to the 5th Army and later to the 7th Army, as it followed the front lines in Tunisia, Sicily, Cassino, Salerno, Strasbourg, and Heidelberg. She talks fondly about her dog Eric, a gift from an enlisted man in Africa, and says that the dog traveled with her throughout the war and came back to the states with her when she was discharged. She also vividly recounts seeing Mount Vesuvius threatening to erupt while she was on leave. Fravenholtz is interviewed by Amelia Bunder.
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Title
Interview of Mildred Blandford on her service as a secretary in the American Red Cross during WWII
Creator
Blandford, Mildred
Date
1983-10
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Mildred Blandford talks about her service as a secretary in the American Red Cross during World War Two. Blandford, who served from August 1944 to November 1945, says that she joined the Red Cross for overseas adventure and spent most of her time stationed at the 194th General Hospital in Paris. She says that she was quartered in a Parisian hotel with maid service, but that service in the hospital was no picnic and meant leaving her secretarial duties often to help care for the onslaught of...
Show moreMildred Blandford talks about her service as a secretary in the American Red Cross during World War Two. Blandford, who served from August 1944 to November 1945, says that she joined the Red Cross for overseas adventure and spent most of her time stationed at the 194th General Hospital in Paris. She says that she was quartered in a Parisian hotel with maid service, but that service in the hospital was no picnic and meant leaving her secretarial duties often to help care for the onslaught of wounded soldiers. After VE Day, Blandford says that she volunteered for duty in the Pacific and was sent to Okinawa where she found herself living in a tent rather than luxury hotel. She talks about her daily tasks and again helping out with wounded G.I.s. and describes two typhoons that hit the island and how staff tried to protect the patients in the tent hospital from the storm. At war's end, Blandford says that she returned to Louisville to work, but later went back to Paris for school and to work for NATO. Blandford is interviewed by Dorothy M. Harrison.
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Title
Interview of Virginia Immerman on her service in the Women's Army Air Corps during WWII
Creator
Immerman, Virginia, 1919-2013
Date
1984-03-23
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Virginia P. O'Rourke Immerman talks about her service in the Women's Army Air Corps in 1944, during World War Two. Immerman talks about growing up in Boston and enlisting in the WAACs when wartime life became boring, training at Fort Oglethorpe, being assigned to the Air Transport Command (ATC) at Love Field in Dallas, and finally being sent to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic which served as a stopover for aircraft flying between the U.S. and the Pacific Theater of Operations. She...
Show moreVirginia P. O'Rourke Immerman talks about her service in the Women's Army Air Corps in 1944, during World War Two. Immerman talks about growing up in Boston and enlisting in the WAACs when wartime life became boring, training at Fort Oglethorpe, being assigned to the Air Transport Command (ATC) at Love Field in Dallas, and finally being sent to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic which served as a stopover for aircraft flying between the U.S. and the Pacific Theater of Operations. She describes life on the island, the climate, the natives and their culture, and her duties in the Quartermaster Office. Immerman says that she was later sent to England and France with the ATC after VE-Day and describes being in Paris on VJ-Day, traveling the continent, skiing in Switzerland and finally shipping back to the States, being discharged in June 1946, using the G.I. Bill to get an undergraduate degree in 1950 and later working as a civilian in Europe. Immerman is interviewed by Virginia Emrich.
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Title
Interview of retired Lieutenant Colonel Margaret E. Oaks on her twenty-one year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps
Creator
Oaks, Margaret E. (Margaret Elizabeth), 1921-2015
Date
198x
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Margaret E. Oaks talks about her twenty-one year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps which began in July 1944 during World War II. Oaks says she was attached to an "air-evac" hospital during the war and discusses her wartime quarters and her various uniforms, and remembers being in Le Harve, France after D-Day and being amazed at the level of destruction. Oaks says she did not consider making the Army a career but when the war ended just decided that she was "cut...
Show moreRetired Lieutenant Colonel Margaret E. Oaks talks about her twenty-one year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps which began in July 1944 during World War II. Oaks says she was attached to an "air-evac" hospital during the war and discusses her wartime quarters and her various uniforms, and remembers being in Le Harve, France after D-Day and being amazed at the level of destruction. Oaks says she did not consider making the Army a career but when the war ended just decided that she was "cut out to be in the military." She talks about serving in post-war Germany and lists her other postings throughout the U.S. and around the world and says that she worked in almost every nursing specialty during her long career, including supervision and command. Oaks is interviewed by Marjorie Brown.
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Title
Interview of Rose Stornant on her service as a legal secretary in the Women's Army Corps during WWII
Creator
Stornant, Rose, 1915-2002
Date
1984-07-11
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Rose Stornant talks about her service as a legal secretary in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. Stornant recalls her training and her different U.S. assignments before being shipped to England in March 1944. She remembers being in Salisbury England watching the gliders and Airborne troop transports heading for Normandy on D-Day and says that she wasn't sent to France until November 1944. Stornant says that she was in Paris during the Battle of the Bulge at the end of 1944 and also...
Show moreRose Stornant talks about her service as a legal secretary in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. Stornant recalls her training and her different U.S. assignments before being shipped to England in March 1944. She remembers being in Salisbury England watching the gliders and Airborne troop transports heading for Normandy on D-Day and says that she wasn't sent to France until November 1944. Stornant says that she was in Paris during the Battle of the Bulge at the end of 1944 and also talks about Christmas in Paris, the celebrations on V-E Day, Bastille Day, and V-J Day and finally earning enough points to be sent back to the States. She says that she worked in Chicago for a short time after the war, but finally returned to Lansing, MI to reclaim her old job. Stornant is interviewed by Elsie Hornbacher.
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Title
Interview of Winifred Gansel on her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWII
Creator
Gansel, Winifred, 1907-2003
Date
1984-05-30
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
In an oral history interview, Winifred Gansel discusses her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War Two. Gansel talks about growing up in California, graduating from nursing school in 1931, her enlistment in the U.S. Army after Pearl Harbor and being sent to New Guinea with the 80th General Hospital. Gansel describes life at the camp, working with the native people, surviving insects and lizards, dealing with hygiene issues, and what the nurses did to relax. She says that the...
Show moreIn an oral history interview, Winifred Gansel discusses her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War Two. Gansel talks about growing up in California, graduating from nursing school in 1931, her enlistment in the U.S. Army after Pearl Harbor and being sent to New Guinea with the 80th General Hospital. Gansel describes life at the camp, working with the native people, surviving insects and lizards, dealing with hygiene issues, and what the nurses did to relax. She says that the 80th later moved with the troops to the Philippines and she talks about treating severely dehydrated and malnourished soldiers in tent hospitals there, and her duty in a polio ward. Gansel says that she came back to the States in November 1945, was discharged as a captain in March 1946, and returned to her position as a supervisor at the Santa Clara County Hospital in California. Gansel is interviewed by Norma I. Williams.
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Title
Interview of Linden N. Anderson on her long career in the American Red Cross including service in WWII and the Korean and Vietnam wars
Creator
Anderson, Linden N. (Linden Norine), 1908-2008
Date
2004-02-18
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Linden N. Anderson talks about her long career in the American Red Cross which included service in World War Two and the Korean and Vietnam wars. Anderson reminisces about her childhood, attending the University of Texas, teaching in Texas public schools and finally joining the Red Cross in 1943. Anderson talks about her training with the "doughnut dollies", being stationed at the 91st General Hospital, shipping out to England and being stationed in Wales until her unit could be moved to a...
Show moreLinden N. Anderson talks about her long career in the American Red Cross which included service in World War Two and the Korean and Vietnam wars. Anderson reminisces about her childhood, attending the University of Texas, teaching in Texas public schools and finally joining the Red Cross in 1943. Anderson talks about her training with the "doughnut dollies", being stationed at the 91st General Hospital, shipping out to England and being stationed in Wales until her unit could be moved to a hospital at Oxford. Anderson says that her job was to provide entertainment for the wounded and build morale and that she often took patients on bus tours throughout England. After V-E Day, Anderson says that she returned to the States, but was soon recalled by the ARC to serve in Japan and in Korea during that conflict. Anderson also says that she remained in the Red Cross for twenty-years after Korea, discusses her duty stations in Libya, Germany, Korea and the U.S., describes treating casualties in Japan during the Vietnam war and finishing her career in Corpus Christi in 1973. Anderson is interviewed by Ruth F. Stewart.
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Title
Interview of Mary J. Ford on her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWII
Creator
Ford, Mary J., 1912-2013
Date
2004-01-13
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
In an oral history interview, Mary J. Ford talks about her childhood and education in Indiana and serving in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II. After basic training, Ford says that she was first sent to Casablanca in Morocco in September 1943 and after a month, to Naples, Italy. She says that in Naples, she served in a hospital located in a monastery which had been bombed by the Germans and that she struggled to adjust to life in Italy and treating wounded soldiers and describes...
Show moreIn an oral history interview, Mary J. Ford talks about her childhood and education in Indiana and serving in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II. After basic training, Ford says that she was first sent to Casablanca in Morocco in September 1943 and after a month, to Naples, Italy. She says that in Naples, she served in a hospital located in a monastery which had been bombed by the Germans and that she struggled to adjust to life in Italy and treating wounded soldiers and describes her duties and working with nurses who were mainly from Detroit. Ford talks about the feelings she had after returning to the United States and why she chose to go volunteer for second tour of duty in Italy at the end of the war.
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Title
Interview of Edna Scott on her service with the American Red Cross in France in 1918 and 1919
Creator
Scott, Edna, 1898-1990
Date
1982-07-14
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Edna Scott talks about her service with the American Red Cross in France in 1918 and 1919. Scott says that she joined the Red Cross in 1918 as a nurse's aide, but soon became a canteen worker and also spent time visiting the injured and sick in hospital. Scott says she has been a member of the Red Cross for over sixty years and helped found the WOSL unit in Kansas City in 1921. She talks about her uniform, puts on her service cap for the interviewers and says that she would do it all over...
Show moreEdna Scott talks about her service with the American Red Cross in France in 1918 and 1919. Scott says that she joined the Red Cross in 1918 as a nurse's aide, but soon became a canteen worker and also spent time visiting the injured and sick in hospital. Scott says she has been a member of the Red Cross for over sixty years and helped found the WOSL unit in Kansas City in 1921. She talks about her uniform, puts on her service cap for the interviewers and says that she would do it all over again if she had the chance. Scott is interviewed by Evelyn McHiggins with Jane Piatt and Geneva K. Wiskemann.
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Title
Interview of Mary Duncan Clark on her twenty-eight year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps
Creator
Clark, Mary Duncan, 1919-2002
Date
1986-04-26
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
In a an oral history interview, Mary Duncan Clark talks about her twenty-eight year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. She says that her friends persuaded her to enlist during World War II and that she began as a staff nurse, moved up through the ranks and ended her career as a chief nurse. She discusses her duty stations in the U.S. and overseas, including in Vietnam and describes base housing, her uniforms and her travels. She tells a humorous story of going through customs in an...
Show moreIn a an oral history interview, Mary Duncan Clark talks about her twenty-eight year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. She says that her friends persuaded her to enlist during World War II and that she began as a staff nurse, moved up through the ranks and ended her career as a chief nurse. She discusses her duty stations in the U.S. and overseas, including in Vietnam and describes base housing, her uniforms and her travels. She tells a humorous story of going through customs in an unfriendly country and putting her feminine hygiene products on top in her suit case so that it would not be searched. Clark also says she enjoyed working with an adoption board in Japan to find homes for the illegitimate children of American soldiers and that she decided right after D-Day to make the Army her career. Clark is interviewed by Marjorie Brown.
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Title
Interview of Mary C. Burnham on her service in the U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps during WWII
Creator
Burnham, Mary C., 1907-1989
Date
1983-05-13
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Mary C. Burnham talks about serving as a dietitian in the U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps during World War Two and later in occupied Japan and stateside military hospitals, over a twenty-year Army career. Burnham discusses her youth in Milwaukee, her college years, her early work life in Chicago, enlisting in the Army in 1942 soon after Pearl Harbor, training at a base in Texas, shipping out to the Pacific Theater, her initial posting to Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands, and her...
Show moreMary C. Burnham talks about serving as a dietitian in the U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps during World War Two and later in occupied Japan and stateside military hospitals, over a twenty-year Army career. Burnham discusses her youth in Milwaukee, her college years, her early work life in Chicago, enlisting in the Army in 1942 soon after Pearl Harbor, training at a base in Texas, shipping out to the Pacific Theater, her initial posting to Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides Islands, and her life on the base and her duties as a dietitian. She says that she was later transferred to India and after serving in hospitals there, was sent back to the states via the Middle East and North Africa. During the Korean war, Burnham was again sent overseas and served as part of the U.S. Army of Occupation in Japan. She describes her three years of service in Japan, and says that she was very happy to finally be sent back to the states to serve in a series of military hospitals for the rest of her career. Burnham is interviewed by Jane Piatt.
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Title
Interview of Katherine Wilson on her service in the American Red Cross in Europe during WWII
Creator
Wilson, Katherine, 1908-2012
Date
1985-12-08
Collection
Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
Description
Katherine Wilson talks about her service in the American Red Cross in Europe during World War Two. Wilson says she joined the Red Cross right after Pearl Harbor, was sent to England in early 1943 aboard the Queen Elizabeth, helped to set up a hospital in a cow pasture and treated casualties coming from the North African campaign. She says that her Red Cross unit was later sent to Omaha Beach, thirteen days after D-Day, to set up another hospital about eight miles from the front. She talks...
Show moreKatherine Wilson talks about her service in the American Red Cross in Europe during World War Two. Wilson says she joined the Red Cross right after Pearl Harbor, was sent to England in early 1943 aboard the Queen Elizabeth, helped to set up a hospital in a cow pasture and treated casualties coming from the North African campaign. She says that her Red Cross unit was later sent to Omaha Beach, thirteen days after D-Day, to set up another hospital about eight miles from the front. She talks about treating burned tank crewman, dispensing cigarettes, helping patients to write letters home, and coordinating social activities for the troops. She says that her hospital unit was next moved to Belgium where it received a deluge of casualties from the Battle of the Bulge and was forced to pull out in the face of German advances. She talks about celebrating V-E Day on a speeding troop train through Belgium and that she had a chance to site see in Germany before finally being sent back to the States. Wilson is interviewed by Dorothy Harrison.
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