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Women's Overseas Service League Oral Histories
(81 - 100 of 103)
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- Title
- Interview of Dorothy Early and Sarah Leach on their service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corp during WWII
- Creator
- Leach, Sarah
- Date
- 1985
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Dorothy Early and Sarah Leach talk about their experiences in the Army Nurse Corps assigned to the 77th Evac Hospital in Germany. They describe how they came to join the Nurse Corps, their training, where they were stationed, the rigors of life near the front, and their eventual change to full military rank in the Women's Army Corp and the pay increase that came with it. Both discuss treating American and German soldiers, the differences between German civilian physicians and military...
Show moreDorothy Early and Sarah Leach talk about their experiences in the Army Nurse Corps assigned to the 77th Evac Hospital in Germany. They describe how they came to join the Nurse Corps, their training, where they were stationed, the rigors of life near the front, and their eventual change to full military rank in the Women's Army Corp and the pay increase that came with it. Both discuss treating American and German soldiers, the differences between German civilian physicians and military physicians, the food in North Africa and Sicily, and making friends wherever they went. They also answer a call-in question from a listener. Recorded for the KCMO radio program "40 Years After World War Two" hosted by Jamie McFarrin.
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- Title
- Interview of Dorothy McDonald on her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps
- Creator
- McDonald, Dorothy
- Date
- 198x
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Dorothy McDonald says that she joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps at the age of 36 because of the attack on Pearl Harbor and then goes on to discuss her war experiences in a wide-ranging oral history interview. She talks about her duty stations in France and Germany, sleeping four nurses to a tent, and her uniforms. McDonald says that wading ashore at the Normandy beach made an impression upon that she will never forget. McDonald also says that she did not use the G.I. Bill after war, that her...
Show moreDorothy McDonald says that she joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps at the age of 36 because of the attack on Pearl Harbor and then goes on to discuss her war experiences in a wide-ranging oral history interview. She talks about her duty stations in France and Germany, sleeping four nurses to a tent, and her uniforms. McDonald says that wading ashore at the Normandy beach made an impression upon that she will never forget. McDonald also says that she did not use the G.I. Bill after war, that her war experiences and training did not help further her career and that she hated Army drilling and calisthenics because she joined "to be a nurse and not a soldier."
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- Title
- Interview of Edna Penny Rice on her twenty-four year military career, first in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and then its successors, the Women's Army Corps, and the Women in the Air Force
- Creator
- Rice, Edna Penny
- Date
- 1986-03-07
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Edna Penny Rice talks about her twenty-four year military career, first in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and then its successors, the Women's Army Corps, and the Women in the Air Force. Rice says that she enlisted because she thought she "was as good" as her brother and her fiance and felt very patriotic. Rice says that she was inducted in July 1942 and worked in personnel and administration in every military theater of operation. She describes working and living conditions at her various...
Show moreEdna Penny Rice talks about her twenty-four year military career, first in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and then its successors, the Women's Army Corps, and the Women in the Air Force. Rice says that she enlisted because she thought she "was as good" as her brother and her fiance and felt very patriotic. Rice says that she was inducted in July 1942 and worked in personnel and administration in every military theater of operation. She describes working and living conditions at her various posting, her uniforms and her leadership and administrative responsibilities. Rice says she was was pushed into becoming an officer and never planned on making the service a career. Rice is interviewed by Marjorie Brown.
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- Title
- Interview of Virginia Emrich on her experience running Red Cross recreation clubs in Australia for U.S. troops during WWII. Part 1
- Creator
- Emrich, Virginia, 1913-2008
- Date
- 1983-05-04
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
In the first of two oral history interviews, Virginia Emrich talks about running Red Cross recreation clubs for U.S. troops during World War Two. Emrich discusses her Red Cross training and says that she was slated to go to Europe, but protested the assignment because she wanted to go to the Pacific and was finally sent to Brisbane, Australia in 1943. Emrich says that her first assignment in Australia was to staff a club which had a beach, golf course, and tennis courts and recalls troops...
Show moreIn the first of two oral history interviews, Virginia Emrich talks about running Red Cross recreation clubs for U.S. troops during World War Two. Emrich discusses her Red Cross training and says that she was slated to go to Europe, but protested the assignment because she wanted to go to the Pacific and was finally sent to Brisbane, Australia in 1943. Emrich says that her first assignment in Australia was to staff a club which had a beach, golf course, and tennis courts and recalls troops from New Guinea and other front line units rotating through Brisbane for rest before the Philippine invasion in October 1944. Emrich says she was later moved to Darwin on the north coast of Australia to run a recreation club and describes her duties there, the tropical heat and humidity, the rains, mud, and insects and says that the troops were not allowed to swim in the ocean because the stingrays were so fierce. Emrich is interviewed by Virginia Cornett.
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- Title
- Lee Gordhammer talks about her service in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during WWII
- Creator
- Gordhammer, Lee
- Date
- 198x
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Lee Gordhammer talks about her service in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and the Women's Army Corps (WAC) from 1942 to 1945. Gordhammer says she chose to work in motor transportation and became both an instructor and a skilled mechanic. She describes dodging "buzz-bombs" while in England, landing at Omaha Beach in July 1944, and ending the war in Paris. Gordhammer also discusses why she enlisted, her pre-war employment, military living conditions, uniforms, using the G.I. Bill to...
Show moreLee Gordhammer talks about her service in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and the Women's Army Corps (WAC) from 1942 to 1945. Gordhammer says she chose to work in motor transportation and became both an instructor and a skilled mechanic. She describes dodging "buzz-bombs" while in England, landing at Omaha Beach in July 1944, and ending the war in Paris. Gordhammer also discusses why she enlisted, her pre-war employment, military living conditions, uniforms, using the G.I. Bill to finish her education after the war, and finally working at the U.S. State Department.
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- Title
- Interview of Mary Myers on her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during and after WWII
- Creator
- Myers, Mary, 1917-2010
- Date
- 1986-04-21
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Mary Myers talks about her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from 1944 to 1950. Myers talks about her nurse's training, why she decided to enlist in the military, basic training and being sent overseas to Marseilles, France in November 1944 to help form the 236th General Hospital. Myers recalls being strafed by German planes in Paris, enjoying a Coca-Cola on Christmas day, her primitive quarters, bathing out of her helmet in cold weather, caring for Allied soldiers and German POWs, and the...
Show moreMary Myers talks about her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from 1944 to 1950. Myers talks about her nurse's training, why she decided to enlist in the military, basic training and being sent overseas to Marseilles, France in November 1944 to help form the 236th General Hospital. Myers recalls being strafed by German planes in Paris, enjoying a Coca-Cola on Christmas day, her primitive quarters, bathing out of her helmet in cold weather, caring for Allied soldiers and German POWs, and the variety of wounds and diseases she treated. Myers says that officers and enlisted men and women shared the same mess hall and that she was always treated respectfully by U.S. troops and German POWs. Myers also talks about the end of the war in Europe and being shipped to the Pacific just in time for VJ-Day. After the war, she says that she stayed in the Army Reserves and used the G.I. Bill to earn an undergraduate degree and part of a graduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh. Myers is interviewed by Elizabeth Booker.
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- Title
- Interview of Josephine Boecker on her service in the American Red Cross in the Pacific Theater during WWII
- Creator
- Boecker, Josephine
- Date
- 1985-02-15
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Josephine Boecker discusses her service in the American Red Cross in the Pacific Theater from September 1943 to September 1946. Boecker describes being contacted by the Red Cross and later being called for war service, going through the required background checks, taking a leave of absence from her job, and enduring a grueling three month training regimen. Boecker says that she believed she was headed to North Africa and was surprised when she found herself aboard a train bound for the west...
Show moreJosephine Boecker discusses her service in the American Red Cross in the Pacific Theater from September 1943 to September 1946. Boecker describes being contacted by the Red Cross and later being called for war service, going through the required background checks, taking a leave of absence from her job, and enduring a grueling three month training regimen. Boecker says that she believed she was headed to North Africa and was surprised when she found herself aboard a train bound for the west coast and duty in the Pacific. She describes the four week trip to New Guinea, being stationed at the 47th General Hospital near Milne Bay, the camp conditions, sanitation, the food, the steps taken to prevent malaria, the perpetual rain, camp social events, and her job of setting up entertainment and recreation facilities for the troops. She says that she spent her leave in Australia and later moved forward with the troops to the Philippines. She recalls her reaction to the news of the dropping of the atomic bomb, being sent to Japan to staff a hospital in Tokyo, the destruction she saw, and the effects U.S. occupation had on Japanese society. Sound quality deteriorates near the conclusion of the recording.
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- Title
- Interview of Lois Kuen Johnson on her experiences serving overseas in the American Red Cross rest camps near the end of WWII
- Creator
- Johnson, Lois Kuen
- Date
- 1983-06
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Lois Kuen Johnson talks about her experiences serving overseas in the American Red Cross rest camps from February 1944 to November 1945. Johnson explains that she volunteered for the opportunity to travel and discusses her duties, housing conditions, her uniforms, being stationed in Italy, and serving coffee and pastries to the troops as they moved from Naples to the front. She describes helping an Italian non-combatant deliver a baby and an incident in which she spotted an enemy intelligence...
Show moreLois Kuen Johnson talks about her experiences serving overseas in the American Red Cross rest camps from February 1944 to November 1945. Johnson explains that she volunteered for the opportunity to travel and discusses her duties, housing conditions, her uniforms, being stationed in Italy, and serving coffee and pastries to the troops as they moved from Naples to the front. She describes helping an Italian non-combatant deliver a baby and an incident in which she spotted an enemy intelligence agent. She says that although she did adapt well to working and living overseas, she did sometimes feel lonely. Johnson is interviewed by Gudrun Bodgercln and June Stoltz.
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- Title
- Interview of Anna Spillman Atteberry on her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWII
- Creator
- Atteberry, Anna Spillman, 1920-2011
- Date
- 2007-04-02
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Anna Spillman Atteberry talks about her childhood in depression-era Louisiana and her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in Southern France and Italy during World War Two. Atteberry says that after nursing school she heard news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and immediately enlisted. She says that she was first assigned to the Fort Bliss hospital, volunteered for overseas duty, joined the 56th Evacuation Hospital and was sent to Casablanca in North Africa. She was next moved to Bizerte to...
Show moreAnna Spillman Atteberry talks about her childhood in depression-era Louisiana and her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in Southern France and Italy during World War Two. Atteberry says that after nursing school she heard news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and immediately enlisted. She says that she was first assigned to the Fort Bliss hospital, volunteered for overseas duty, joined the 56th Evacuation Hospital and was sent to Casablanca in North Africa. She was next moved to Bizerte to treat casualties from the invasion of Sicily, she says and was later sent to Anzio and then north to Naples. She talks about spending the winter in a front line tent hospital, dealing with the dirt floors and trying to keep things sterile, treating battlefield wounds and pneumonia and other cold related cases and working during German shelling and says that she is proud of the care that she and other hospital staff provided. After next being stationed in Rome, Atteberry says that she was transferred to the 10th Field Hospital in France, followed the Army as it moved across France and Germany and says that the lines changed so quickly that they were sometimes forced to leave behind patients who were too critical to be moved. She says that she returned to the States as a patient and received treatment at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver and when she recovered, was sent to Fort Sam Houston where she nursed severely injured casualties. Atteberry is interviewed by Ruth Stewart and Patricia Martin.
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- Title
- Interview of Patricia Young Berri on her service in the American Red Cross during WWII
- Creator
- Berri, Patricia Young
- Date
- 1985-04-04
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Patricia Young Berri talks about her service in the American Red Cross during World War Two from February 1944 to March 1945. Berri says she was working as a secretary for Shell Oil in Houston and doing USO work when she volunteered and was first assigned to the 117th Station Hospital in Leyte in the Philippines to coordinate patient recreation. She was next sent to a Naval base on Palawan and later Samar to await transport back to the United States. Berri talks about the ARC uniforms, the...
Show morePatricia Young Berri talks about her service in the American Red Cross during World War Two from February 1944 to March 1945. Berri says she was working as a secretary for Shell Oil in Houston and doing USO work when she volunteered and was first assigned to the 117th Station Hospital in Leyte in the Philippines to coordinate patient recreation. She was next sent to a Naval base on Palawan and later Samar to await transport back to the United States. Berri talks about the ARC uniforms, the train ride to San Francisco and landing in Leyte and says that she didn't mind the cold showers or the tent life there, but had a difficult time adjusting to the Filipino unisex latrines. Berri is interviewed by Marjorie Brown.
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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 Betty Thompson on her service as a physical therapist in the U.S. Army during WWII. Part 1
- Creator
- Thompson, Betty, 1919-2004
- Date
- 1983
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Betty Thompson talks about her service as a physical therapist in the U.S. Army during World War Two. Thompson says that her unit was originally scheduled to be sent to Belgium, but that they were kept in a Paris triage hospital because the causality load became so heavy. She says that she spent sixteen months there and describes some of the most severely injured patients which she treated. After V-E Day, Thompson says her unit was split up and she was sent to the Riviera for duty in a...
Show moreBetty Thompson talks about her service as a physical therapist in the U.S. Army during World War Two. Thompson says that her unit was originally scheduled to be sent to Belgium, but that they were kept in a Paris triage hospital because the causality load became so heavy. She says that she spent sixteen months there and describes some of the most severely injured patients which she treated. After V-E Day, Thompson says her unit was split up and she was sent to the Riviera for duty in a venereal disease hospital and then was finally ordered back to the States in October 1945. She also talks about meeting President Franklin Roosevelt when she worked at Warm Springs, Arkansas after graduating from nursing school, meeting her future husband overseas during the war and using her G.I. Bill money to earn a pilots license.
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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 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 Betty Vogel on her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWII
- Creator
- Vogel, Betty, 1921-2005
- Date
- 2003-10-23
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Betty Vogel describes her youth and education and her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II. After graduating from the nursing program at Abbott Hospital in Minneapolis in 1942, Vogel says that she decided to join the Army after seeing Japanese atrocities depicted in a newsreel. She says that she was inducted in September 1943 and after training, was shipped out to Scotland in January 1944 on the USS Brazil. She says that she was later stationed at a hospital in Barford,...
Show moreBetty Vogel describes her youth and education and her service in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II. After graduating from the nursing program at Abbott Hospital in Minneapolis in 1942, Vogel says that she decided to join the Army after seeing Japanese atrocities depicted in a newsreel. She says that she was inducted in September 1943 and after training, was shipped out to Scotland in January 1944 on the USS Brazil. She says that she was later stationed at a hospital in Barford, England and that on D-Day the casualties came in so fast that they had no time to even clean them up. In July of 1944, Vogel says that she was sent to a hospital near Paris and treated American and German casualties from the Battle of the Bulge and actually married her husband Edward during that same battle. When she had earned enough points, Vogel says that she was sent back to the States and was discharged at Fort Sheridan, IL in December 1945. Vogel remembers being scared much of the time that she was in the field during the war and says that she doesn't believe that women belong in combat. Vogel is interviewed by Ruth F. Stewart assisted by Carol A. Habgood.
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- Title
- Interview of Sophie Steffer on her twenty year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, focusing primarily on her service in WWII
- Creator
- Steffer, Sophie, 1910-1997
- Date
- 1986-03-07
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Sophie Steffer discusses her twenty year career in the United States Army Nurse Corps, focusing primarily on her service in World War Two. Steffer says that her civilian job was considered "essential" to the war effort and that she was denied enlistment for two years because of it. She says that she was first sent overseas to India near the end of the war and then later to the Philippines, Germany and Japan with the occupation forces. Steffer talks about living in thatched huts in India,...
Show moreSophie Steffer discusses her twenty year career in the United States Army Nurse Corps, focusing primarily on her service in World War Two. Steffer says that her civilian job was considered "essential" to the war effort and that she was denied enlistment for two years because of it. She says that she was first sent overseas to India near the end of the war and then later to the Philippines, Germany and Japan with the occupation forces. Steffer talks about living in thatched huts in India, Quonset huts in the Philippines, and apartments in Germany and Japan and describes processing soldiers and civilians who had been Japanese prisoners, while she was in Calcutta. She says that her biggest adjustment to military life was learning to salute and accepting the separation of enlisted personnel and officers. Steffer is interviewed by Marjorie Brown.
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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 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 Janet A. Bachmeyer on her thirty-year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps
- Creator
- Bachmeyer, Janet A.
- Date
- 1986-04-21
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Janet A. Bachmeyer talks about her thirty-year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from July 1944 to June 1974. Bachmeyer says she received her nurse's training at the Evangelical School of Nursing in Chicago and worked her way up the ranks in the military from staff nurse to chief nurse before she retired. She talks about her duty stations in Europe during World War II and others in postwar Germany, Korea and in Vietnam. Bachmeyer describes post housing, her uniforms, and her vivid memories...
Show moreJanet A. Bachmeyer talks about her thirty-year career in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from July 1944 to June 1974. Bachmeyer says she received her nurse's training at the Evangelical School of Nursing in Chicago and worked her way up the ranks in the military from staff nurse to chief nurse before she retired. She talks about her duty stations in Europe during World War II and others in postwar Germany, Korea and in Vietnam. Bachmeyer describes post housing, her uniforms, and her vivid memories of being in London on V-E Day and celebrating all night. Bachmeyer says that she hadn't intended to make the military a career but decided it was right for her after leaving active service for a couple of years. Bachmeyer also talks about her activities in retirement and her feelings about the WOSL. Bachmeyer is interviewed by Marjorie Brown.
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- Title
- Interview of Hazel M. Hamilton on her service in the U.S. Women's Army Corps during WWII
- Creator
- Hamilton, Hazel M.
- Date
- 1983-05-28
- Collection
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description
-
Hazel M. Hamilton, formerly a sergeant in the Women's Army Corps, talks about her service in World War Two. Hamilton explains why she enlisted in July 1942 and talks about going through confidential secretary training and working and housing conditions at her duty stations in Des Moines, Iowa, Daytona, Florida, Los Alamos, New Mexico, Fort Sam Houston and Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Hamilton, New York, and in Scotland, England and Paris, France. After being discharged, Hamilton says that she took...
Show moreHazel M. Hamilton, formerly a sergeant in the Women's Army Corps, talks about her service in World War Two. Hamilton explains why she enlisted in July 1942 and talks about going through confidential secretary training and working and housing conditions at her duty stations in Des Moines, Iowa, Daytona, Florida, Los Alamos, New Mexico, Fort Sam Houston and Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Hamilton, New York, and in Scotland, England and Paris, France. After being discharged, Hamilton says that she took advantage of the G.I. Bill and attended secretarial school for eight months in Pasadena, California. Hamilton also reminisces about her childhood and events she remembers from World War One. Hamilton is interviewed by Thelma Norris and Genevieve Cadmus.
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