Interview of retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Alice Pfeiffer on her career as an Air Force nurse and administrator Ruth Stewart: This morning, Alice Pfeiffer is being interviewed at Air Force Village 1, San Antonio, Texas by Ruth Stewart. This is February the 17th, 2004. Uh, this is being done as a project of the Women's Overseas Service League – San Antonio Unit. [00:25] Alice, tell me briefly about where you born, where you were brought up, and what kind of a life you led then. Alice Pfeiffer: I was born in Rockford, Illinois and I think, I think that, uh, as far as the, the childhood was concerned, it was just like any other thing except, in those days, you played hide and seek and, and red light and things like that to amuse yourself and you didn’t have, didn’t get into any trouble. Ruth Stewart: [1:00] Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: And I think that, uh, that it’s too bad that, that children nowadays, uh, don’t know how to amuse themselves. ‘Cause we sure did! Ruth Stewart: [1:11] Mm-hm. Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: And, in fact, I remember when it rained, we all put our bathing suits on and went out [laughter] in the street and, you know, we thought we were in a lake or something to play in the puddles. [laughter] Ruth Stewart: [1:26] Splashed around, yeah. Alice Pfeiffer: Yeah, we messed around. Ruth Stewart: [1:29] Yeah. Alice Pfeiffer: So, uh, we just, we just made up things to do, you know, and, uh, uh, we never got bored or anything like that. But, uh, we’re a different generation. Ruth Stewart: [1:42] Well, right. And then, what got you interested in nursing? Alice Pfeiffer: I wasn’t interested in it. My family was. So, I didn’t like it at all. Ruth Stewart: [1:57] But you ended up in nursing school. Alice Pfeiffer: Well, my family wanted me to do it and I didn’t have any other choice. Ruth Stewart: [2:07] Okay. And then, where did you go in, where did you study? Alice Pfeiffer: Uh, Swedish-American, uh, Hospital, Rockford, Illinois. Ruth Stewart: [2:17] Okay. And, following your graduation from there, that was a diploma program like was common in those days. Alice Pfeiffer: Right. Ruth Stewart: [2:27] Um, but did you join the, well, it would’ve, wouldn’t have been the air force right away, would it? Alice Pfeiffer: Uh… Ruth Stewart: [2:34] Or did you work as a civilian? Alice Pfeiffer: Uh, no, I went into the air force almost immediately. Ruth Stewart: [2:39] Was it the air force or army air force? Alice Pfeiffer: It was the army. Ruth Stewart: [2:42] Army air force, okay. Alice Pfeiffer: I went in almost immediately. Ruth Stewart: [2:46] And what year was that? Alice Pfeiffer: 1941. Ruth Stewart: [2:50] Right. The beginning of the war then? Or, the war. You can tell which one is my war. [laughter] My era. Alice Pfeiffer: [laughter] Ruth Stewart: [3:01] Okay. Um, and was it because of the war that you decided to go in, or was it just…? Alice Pfeiffer: No, I just wanted to go in to get away from that, that hospital. I didn’t like it. Ruth Stewart: [3:17] Okay. So there you went, off you went! And, where did you have your basic then? Alice Pfeiffer: Well, we didn’t have basic training in those days. Ruth Stewart: [3:26] You didn’t? Alice Pfeiffer: Hm-mm. Ruth Stewart: [3:28] What, how did they start you out then? That’s different! Alice Pfeiffer: We just went! Ruth Stewart: [3:32] Went in a hospital? Army, an army air force hospital? Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: You didn’t have any basic training. We just, we just went and, in fact, I went to Camp Grant, Illinois, and it was only 5 miles out of Rockford. When I went to the post office to get my, uh, orders, I saw where I was going and I cried all the way home. I actually did, I cried all the way home. I walked home from the post office and I told my mother when I got there, I said, “Look at this! I’m only going 5 miles out of town!” Ruth Stewart: [4:06] What was the name of the camp? Alice Pfeiffer: Camp Grant. Ruth Stewart: [4:09] G-R-A-N-T? Alice Pfeiffer: Grant. Just like the president’s name. But we didn’t have basic training in those days because, you see, you didn’t get, uh, you got your room and your board, uh, I don’t remember whether, no, you didn’t get, and, and, uh, you got real, you got $70 a month. That’s all you got. But you got your room and board. Of course, you got to get that anyway. Ruth Stewart: [4:46] And what kind of, uh, clinical assignment did you get when you were there? Alice Pfeiffer: I just worked probably on the medical ward. I don’t think I ever worked on surgical wards. Ruth Stewart: [4:59] Okay. And how long were you there? Alice Pfeiffer: And we went, uh, we went, we worked 7 to 7 in those days. Ruth Stewart: [5:07] Mm-hm. Yeah. Alice Pfeiffer: I don’t know how long I was there. ‘Cause then I went to Eglin, then I went to Eglin Field. And… Ruth Stewart: [5:21] Were you very happy then when you got out of Rockford? Alice Pfeiffer: Uh, then, uh, uh, oh, I don’t know. Then I went to Eglin Field, you know, down, down in Florida? And then, we went up to, uh, oh, we went up to Fort Bragg before we went, uh, we went abroad. You know, you had to go there to get indoctrinated about overseas, etcetera, etcetera. And then, we sailed on the, um, oh, we sailed, I think we sailed on Mary. Ruth Stewart: [6:12] On? Alice Pfeiffer: Queen Mary. Ruth Stewart: [6:14] Queen Mary. Alice Pfeiffer: I remember, she changed her course every, every 7 minutes. And they put us in, they crammed us in state rooms, you know, we were like a three-decker, you know, and you were, it was an L shape, and I don’t know how many were in that, in that cabin. And, uh, they put us in alphabetical order [laughter] so I got the top bunk and I’m scared to death of heights! Ruth Stewart: [6:50] [laughter] Oh boy! Alice Pfeiffer: I am! I really am. ‘Cause I remember in nurses’ training, I was just telling somebody the other day that there was some project and you had to get on this ladder [inaudible 7:06] and something con-, I don’t know whether it was connected and I told them, I said, “You know, if you make me go up on that ladder, I’m quitting right now!” I didn’t have to do it. I’m scared to death of heights! Ruth Stewart: [7:22] Yeah, yeah. That’s pretty common, really. Alice Pfeiffer: Yeah. Well, anyway, then, uh, I don’t know where we were. It was the 68th General and it was out in the cow pasture. You weren’t near anything. And I couldn’t, I didn’t like it over there at all. The people were all right, but, I mean, that I didn’t like that hospital director, he was a [inaudible 7:50]. Ruth Stewart: [7:50] Now, what country was that in? Alice Pfeiffer: [laughter] Ruth Stewart: [7:53] What country was that in, Alice? Alice Pfeiffer: That was before, that was during the war. That was the 68th General. Ruth Stewart: [8:01] And what, what country was the cow pasture in? Alice Pfeiffer: England. Ruth Stewart: [8:05] England, okay. Alice Pfeiffer: That’s what I called it. ‘Cause we were, we were, we weren’t even close to, uh, we were probably the closest might have been Shrewsbury, I don’t remember, but I think it was Shrewsbury. I know we were a lon-, we weren’t close to Liverpool and we weren’t close to London. So, we were just out there. It was very boring. And we worked 7 to 7. Ruth Stewart: [8:36] That was either morning or, or day or evening or night. It was 7 to 7, day, or 7 to 7, night? Alice Pfeiffer: Mm-hm. Right. Ruth Stewart: [8:43] Okay. And what was your personal life like when you were out there? Did they have barracks or, what did you live in? Alice Pfeiffer: Oh, no, we had, we had, we had, uh, barracks, per se. I don’t recall my, I don’t really recall much about’m but I know we had barracks. And, uh, we didn’t go over to France until after, um, oh, [inaudible 9:29] I think we went over there in ‛46. Because we didn’t do anything in France. We just stayed there down, down in southern France and then we finally left and came back to the States. And then, at Fort Sheridan, uh, that’s where, that’s where a lot of us got our discharge papers. We weren’t asked whether we wanted to stay in or not. And then Elizabeth Fitch (Fitch Shampoo), she told me when I went back in, she said, “Alice, if you had looked me up, you wouldn’t have had to get out.” She said, “That’s what Marie [Edison 10:11] did.” Well then see, I went back in on the 1st of March of ‛49. So, the period that I was out, um, I went back in, uh, in time enough so that the period that I was out was still accounted for my years in the service and my pay period. Ruth Stewart: [10:37] What year was it that you went to Fort Sheridan and were discharged? Alice Pfeiffer: That was, I, I was on the 1st of March, oh no, that was 1946, but I don’t know what month, because I know I went back into the service on the 1st of March of ‛49 at, um, Scott. Ruth Stewart: [11:04] Scott Air Force Base? Alice Pfeiffer: Mm-hm. I got it all down on that paper. Ruth Stewart: [11:08] Okay. Good. I’m glad that you’ve done that. Alice Pfeiffer: Because, because, um, [inaudible 11:16] then, from, um, then I went to Alaska ‘cause I was in Alaska during the Korean War. And, from Alaska, I went to, [inaudible 11:56] I put this down on the paper so I hope I get it right. I went to Orlando and then, from Orlando, I went to, uh, was that? See, I just put it on the paper last night. Let’s see, uh, where did I go? I went to, uh… Ruth Stewart: [12:34] You went to Iceland after Alas-, after Orlando. Alice Pfeiffer: Mm-hm. And then I went to Davis-Monthan. Ruth Stewart: [12:43] Texas? Alice Pfeiffer: No, that’s Arizona. And then I went to Ben Guerir, Morocco, off at, and, uh, Wright-Pat. And I retired at Wright-Pat. Ruth Stewart: [13:03] And what year was that that you? Alice Pfeiffer: Uh, May of, uh, ‛64. Ruth Stewart: [13:14] So you’ve been retired 40 years then? Alice Pfeiffer: I, and, yeah, and I, I, I didn’t do any nursing afterwards, either. When I retired, I retired. [laughter] Ruth Stewart: [13:27] Okay. What did, let’s go back now to some of the time that you were in, in the air force. Uh, what kind of recreation did you find when you were overseas? If any? Alice Pfeiffer: I don’t recall any. Ruth Stewart: [13:47] You didn’t play cards or did you read or…? Alice Pfeiffer: Oh no, I’m not, I’m a reader but I’m, I’ve never been a card player. Ruth Stewart: [13:55] Uh-huh. [inaudible 13:56]. Alice Pfeiffer: I remember one time, um, of course, you see, when I was, uh, now, I, for instance, when I was in Iceland, people just didn’t have cars. You don’t have cars up there. You know? One fella did have a car. One navy fellow, and we went fishing one time. But I don’t recall that, that, you know, there wasn’t, uh, that much to do, you know? Ruth Stewart: [14:28] Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: You just made your own, you made your own, you made your own thing. And I’m not, I’m not a card player. Ruth Stewart: [14:35] Mm-hm. And what about, uh, friends? Did you make friends that you continued contact with throughout the service or [inaudible 14:44]? Alice Pfeiffer: Oh, oh, uh, uh, that, from, uh, from Davis-Monthan. Those probably are the only ones that I, I mean, you know, that I really became friends with, you know, that I’ve kept in touch with. Ruth Stewart: [15:06] Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: Uh, there are about 3 from, no, 2 from Davis-Monthan and I forgot where the other one was from, but, um. I did more after I retired than I did when I was re-, in the service. Ruth Stewart: [15:19] Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: I don’t recall anything outstanding we ever did, you know, as far as recreation is concerned. Ruth Stewart: [15:26] Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: ‘Cause, I’m, uh, in fact, I don’t know what we did. Ruth Stewart: [15:36] Maybe you read a lot? Alice Pfeiffer: Because I’m not, uh, I’m not, uh, uh, I have no, I have really no idea. Maybe you think it’s funny but I can’t remember. Or anything we ever did. Ruth Stewart: [15:56] After you were discharged, did you join any veterans’ organizations other than Women's Overseas Service League? Alice Pfeiffer: No. No. I, uh, uh, at one time, I did, I did belong to it for a short time in, uh, uh, Tucson, and then I don’t know why I dropped out. And then I joined it here when, uh, I can’t think of her name, um, oh, Edith Crow! When she lived here in the village, we used to, we went out a couple times and then I, I always got lost going out there and I, and after about 2 or 3 times, I said, “This is it! We aren’t, I’m not driving out there anymore!” That was, that was, I always got lost every time and lost coming back and it wasn’t worth it. You know, ‘cause that’s a long ways out there. Ruth Stewart: [16:59] That was to where, then? Alice Pfeiffer: No, uh, uh, you know, [inaudible 17:05]? Ruth Stewart: [17:05] [inaudible]. Alice Pfeiffer: Where it used to be, I can’t think of, you know, clear out there at Luby’s? Ruth Stewart: [17:12] Oh, the, yeah, Randolph Air Force Base? Alice Pfeiffer: No, no. Where you met. Ruth Stewart: [17:16] You mean just the organization? Alice Pfeiffer: Yeah, where the organization met, you know? Out, uh, at that Luby’s? Ruth Stewart: [17:22] Yeah, Luby’s [inaudible 17:23]. Alice Pfeiffer: At that Luby’s cafeteria where you been for years and years and years. Ruth Stewart: [17:28] Right. Alice Pfeiffer: And, uh, see, then after, I can’t remember now when I, when I rejoined because of, uh, uh, uh, [Jeanne 17:36] driving. Of course, then, she doesn’t drive anymore so we don’t go. Because I don’t know about, uh, uh, uh [Erma 17:45] whether, you know, sometimes I think I think she does and sometimes I think she doesn’t, but that’s immaterial. Ruth Stewart: [17:50] Mm-hm. So then, right a-, in 1946 then, or ‛64, when you retired, did you come directly to San Antonio? Alice Pfeiffer: Oh, no, I went to Ar-, I went to, uh, Arizona. I haven’t, I haven’t been here, uh, uh, I think I’ve been here about 11 years. Oh, no. I never was stationed in Texas, thank the Lord! [laughter] Ruth Stewart: [18:19] If you feel that way about us, how come you came back to Texas or came to Texas then about 11 years ago? Alice Pfeiffer: Well, because, because, uh, uh, this, this is, uh, you know, for service people and retired and I thought it would, well, you don’t have anybody to take care of you, so this is a good place to go! Ruth Stewart: [18:40] Mm-hm. So, you’ve been here ever since? And you, apparently, are active here – you’re going to a luncheon today! Alice Pfeiffer: Oh, well, this is, this is, this is what we have. We have, uh, uh, a group that will host this and we have, you know, groups that will host evening parties and, or host luncheons and things like that. Ruth Stewart: [19:10] So, how is your life going now? Comfortably? Alice Pfeiffer: Uh, I don’t know. I guess it’s all right. You know, you, you… Ruth Stewart: [19:21] Okay. Do you have any particular memories of your time in the service, in the nursing and the air force, the army air force and then the air force, that stick out in your memory as interesting or challenging? Alice Pfeiffer: My, no, uh, because I, I don’t think that mine was any, any, any different than just everyday life. Ruth Stewart: [19:52] Okay. Alice Pfeiffer: Nothing. Ruth Stewart: [19:55] And no funny things that happened that [inaudible 19:57]? Alice Pfeiffer: Well, if there, if it was, I just can’t, I just can’t recall, because sometimes I thought, “Oh, I’ll erase, I’ll erase all of this and I won’t remember it.” Ruth Stewart: [20:07] Okay. Okay. Alice Pfeiffer: Maybe that’s the wrong attitude to take, but, uh, you know, some people you just, you, they rub you the wrong way and so you don’t want to remember anything connected with them. Ruth Stewart: [20:25] Okay. So then, um, do you have anything special to add or anything you want to add to this tape before we close it off and let you go to your luncheon? Alice Pfeiffer: I don’t think of anything, thank you. Ruth Stewart: [20:40] You don’t? Okay. Well, we really do appreciate so much your taking the time, and I know it hasn’t been easy for you, and with your health today… Alice Pfeiffer: Well, no, well, I, it’s because, because I just don’t have anything interesting to say, you know? And, uh, I just, you do that and, you know, now, the girls that were in the, um, uh, over there in France, living in tents and things like that, well, that’s different. You know? And I think the, uh, the girls that were in the beginning, uh, uh, they were transporting the wounded even before the, uh, flight nurses, uh, started. Because I know that, uh, well, she’s deceased, Edith [Rothenberg 21:30], she was one of those girls that, uh, she was, uh, before the flight nurse, uh, nurses’ organization ever, ever became. And, uh, so – things like that are interesting. Just to be, just to be where I was, not very interesting. Ruth Stewart: [21:49] Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: And, uh, I just can’t remember, remember anything. I know I taught myself how to ride a bike over in England. [laughter] Ruth Stewart: [22:03] That was part of your recreation, then? [laughter] Alice Pfeiffer: We never, I don’t think we ever managed to go up a hill. I always walked the bike up the hill. ‘Cause it was so hilly. And then, when you went down, you had to be careful putting the brakes on all the time when you’ve, uh, uh, although I don’t recall that I ever fell off. Ruth Stewart: [22:27] Well, that was remarkable! Alice Pfeiffer: You know? And I know I, and I taught myself to ice skate in Iceland, I mean, in Alaska. Ruth Stewart: [22:35] Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: But you could hold onto the, you know, the, uh… Ruth Stewart: [22:40] The railing? Alice Pfeiffer: Railing, and, uh, and then have to, and then when you got there, they only had, uh, you know, those little, those little stoves that only stand about like that? Ruth Stewart: [22:55] Yeah. Alice Pfeiffer: And then, 9 times out of 10, there was no wood or anything in there and there you’re having to get your shoes off to put your ice skates on and you’re freezing before you get out on the rink. Ruth Stewart: [23:07] Right. Alice Pfeiffer: But, uh, it was, it was easy to teach, teach yourself how to do it because you could hold onto the rail. Ruth Stewart: [23:14] Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: And I never fell. Ruth Stewart: [23:16] Mm-hm. Alice Pfeiffer: I don’t know how come because I’m not, I’m not, um, I’m sort of an awkward individual but, uh, um, it was, it was, uh, and see, you know, nobody, nobody, uh, uh, really had, had cars, you know, and [despite 23:35] down during the war in Florida, I think there was one girl that had a car and, uh, that was, uh, that was about it. But then most, but we did get, I, I’m not a, a, a beachgoer, but, uh, some of’m stayed down there for so long they got sunburned, you know? I didn’t go, I didn’t, I went once in a blue moon and that’s it because I’ve always had ear trouble and I wasn’t supposed to even go wading but I did a couple of times. Oh, I forgot, we had a pet skunk. Ruth Stewart: [24:14] Had a what? Alice Pfeiffer: A pet skunk. Ruth Stewart: [24:16] Skunk! Interesting. [laughter] Alice Pfeiffer: And his name was Skunky! Ruth Stewart: [24:23] [laughter] Skunky [laughter]! Alice Pfeiffer: That’s what we called him. And there was a sergeant out on one of the auxiliary fields and he, um, he asked, oh, he took a shine to Ruth [Zuber 24:36] and he asked her if she wouldn’t, he said, “Do you the girls would like a skunk?” Ruth Stewart: [24:42] [laughter] Alice Pfeiffer: And we said, “Sure!” And so he said skunk, and he said it was de-skunked. Well, Skunky just loved all of us and one night there were only about 3 of us in the quarters and the rest of’m came home and, about midnight, and Skunky was so glad to see them that somebody accidentally stepped on his tail. Ruth Stewart: [25:13] Ooh. Alice Pfeiffer: He wasn’t completely de-skunked. Ruth Stewart: [25:17] [laughter] Oh dear! [laughter] You found out the hard way! [laughter] Alice Pfeiffer: And, and we were pouring cologne to, all the cologne we had, out in the hall. Ruth Stewart: [25:32] Yeah. [laughter] Alice Pfeiffer: And, of course, Skunky had to go back to the auxiliary field and Ruth went out there to see him a couple times and he didn’t like the boys! Ruth Stewart: [25:44] Yeah. Alice Pfeiffer: And he died of a broken heart. Ruth Stewart: [25:46] Aww. Interesting tale, though. Yeah. [laughter] Alice Pfeiffer: [laughter] He would, because I remember, uh, was it last year? I think [inaudible 25:56] or [Woody 25:58] museum we went into and we were going in the door and here, this, ‘cause there’s a, a, you know, a sort of lot of trees back there that and, and it was a good place for those animals. And, so here comes this skunk and I don’t know, he was coming right by us and then I said, “Oh, Skunky!” [laughter] Ruth Stewart: [26:23] Yeah! [laughter] Aww, interesting. Alice Pfeiffer: Oh, anyway, I, but, uh, you know, I almost, I remember, I remembered that because he was, oh, he was such a nice pet. [laughter] Ruth Stewart: [26:41] Yeah. And they’re pretty! Alice Pfeiffer: Oh yeah, they are! This, this one out there was real pretty, too! It reminded me of Skunky! Ruth Stewart: [26:48] Yeah. [laughter] Alice Pfeiffer: So, anyway, uh, that, that, that’s the extent. ‘Cause I know, uh, uh, I don’t, I guess it didn’t, you know, ‘cause usually, you know, you can’t have pets but that was different. That was different. You know, they weren’t so strict then. Ruth Stewart: [27:12] Yeah. Uh-huh. Alice Pfeiffer: And we were glad to have him and we all felt sad, uh. Well, anyway. My allergies. So anyway. Well, uh, have you got anybody…? /ab