Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 205

Today in World War II History—Oct. 7, 1943

Memorial for the 98 US civilian contract POWs who were executed by the Japanese on 7 Oct 1943; an unidentified prisoner escaped and chiseled “98 US PW 5-10-43” on this rock before he was executed himself (US Air Force photo)

75 Years Ago—Oct. 7, 1943: Japanese execute all 98 US civilian construction POWs on Wake Island in reprisal for US air raids.

First German time bomb explodes in Naples, in the main post office, leading to 70 casualties; more bombs will explode over the next 3 weeks.

Movie premiere of Lassie Come Home, starring Roddy McDowall & Donald Crisp.

Today in World War II History—Oct. 6, 1943

Destroyers USS Selfridge (bow shot off) and USS O’Bannon at New Caledonia for repairs after Battle of Vella Lavella (US Navy photo)

75 Years Ago—Oct. 6, 1943: Naval Battle of Vella Lavella: US fails to prevent Japanese evacuation of the island; US and Japanese each lose one destroyer; last surface engagement in the Solomons and last clear-cut naval victory for the Japanese.

US Fifth Army reaches Volturno River in Italy.

Today in World War II History—Oct. 5, 1943

USS Minneapolis, USS San Francisco, and USS New Orleans bombard Wake Island, 5 Oct 1943 (US National Archives)

75 Years Ago—Oct. 5, 1943: US Navy Task Force 14 strikes Wake Island, and its aircraft destroy 61 Japanese planes.

US Fifth Army declares Naples secure.

Today in World War II History—Oct. 4, 1943

Pier built by US Army engineers over hull of sunken ship, Naples, 1943 (US Army Center for Military History)

75 Years Ago—Oct. 4, 1943: Only US fleet carrier action in north Atlantic: in joint action with Royal Navy, aircraft from USS Ranger attack two German convoys at Bodø, Norway, sink 5 ships.

Free French secure Corsica.

First Liberty ship docks at Naples’s wrecked harbor.

Today in World War II History—Oct. 3, 1943

Map of the Solomon Islands area, WWII (US Army Center of Military History)

75 Years Ago—Oct. 3, 1943: Japanese finish evacuating Kolombangara, their last air base in the Solomons, after the island had been bypassed and isolated by the Allies.

Today in World War II History—Oct. 2, 1943

Australian transport company unloads supplies at Finschhafen, Oct. 1943 (Australian War Mermorial)

75 Years Ago—Oct. 2, 1943: Australians take Finschhafen, New Guinea.

Nazis arrest Danish Jews, but 7000 have been safely transported to Sweden and only about 500 remain in Denmark.

NFL season opens with new team, the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Combine, the “Steagles,” since the Steelers and the Eagles had been decimated by the draft.

New song in Top Ten: “Pistol Packin’ Mama.”

Army Nursing in World War II – Who Could Serve

During World War II, members of the US Army Nurse Corps took care of the sick and wounded throughout the world, often in dangerous and difficult conditions. These brave women inspired four of my novels (A Memory Between Us and the Wings of the Nightingale series), so I’m sharing a four-part series on US Army nursing during the war. Today we’ll look at who could serve in the Army Nurse Corps. In the following weeks, I’ll discuss the training the nurses underwent and rank in the Army Nurse Corps, uniforms, and general nursing practices.

During World War II, 57,000 women served in the US Army Nurse Corps (ANC), 11,000 in the US Navy Nurse Corps (NNC), and 6500 in the US Army Air Forces. More than two hundred nurses died serving their country.

Requirements

To serve in the Army Nurse Corps, women had to be 21-40 years old (raised to 45 later in the war), unmarried (married nurses were accepted starting in October 1942), a high school graduate, a graduate of a 3-year nursing training program, licensed in at least one state, a US citizen or a citizen of an Allied country, 5’0”-6’0,” have a physician’s certificate of health and a letter testifying to moral and professional excellence.

US Army Nurse Corps recruiting poster, WWII

Discharge

Pregnancy was the main cause of discharge from the Army Nurse Corps, or as the women called it, PWOP (Pregnant WithOut Permission). To discourage pregnancy, the Army had a cumbersome process to gain approval for marriage. To prevent pregnancy, the Army discouraged drinking, encouraged the women to socialize in groups, and took care with the location of nurses’ quarters. The second main reason for discharge was “neuropsychiatric,” also called combat fatigue (now called post-traumatic stress disorder).

US Army Nurse Corps recruiting poster, 1945

Discrimination

Discrimination based on gender and race was rampant in the 1940s. Male nurses were not allowed in the ANC during World War II, just as female physicians were not admitted to the Medical Corps. In October 1940, a small quota of African-American nurses were admitted to the ANC. Despite a large number of black registered nurses in the United States, fewer than five hundred were allowed to serve, and then only to care for black patients or for prisoners of war. In July 1944, the Army removed this quota limiting the number of black nurses who could serve.

African-American US Army nurse Lt. Florie E. Gant tending a prisoner-of-war patient, England, 7 Oct 1944 (US National Archives)

Sources:

http://history.amedd.army.mil/ANCWebsite/anchome.html (The official website for Army Nurse Corps history)

Sarnecky, Mary T.A. History of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. (A comprehensive history with a thick section on WWII).

Tomblin, Barbara Brooks. G.I. Nightingales: the Army Nurse Corps in World War II. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1996. (A wonderful history, including all theaters, full of personal stories).

Today in World War II History—Oct. 1, 1943

Poster for US Third War Loan Drive, Sept. 9-Oct. 1, 1943

75 Years Ago—Oct. 1, 1943: In Italy, US Fifth Army and British X Corps enter Naples, while British Eighth Army occupies Foggia and its airfields.

US Third War Loan Drive ends, raising $19 billion (quota $15 billion).

1st King’s Dragoon Guards at the town hall in Naples, 1 October 1943 (Imperial War Museum NA 7433)

Today in World War II History—Sept. 30, 1943

Danish Jews crossing from Denmark to Sweden, Sept-Oct 1943 [Museum of Danish Resistance (Frihedsmuseet)]

75 Years Ago—Sept. 30, 1943: Danish Resistance begins smuggling over 7000 Jews by fishing boats to Sweden, including half-Jewish Nobel Prize-winning atomic physicist Niels Bohr.

As the Allies advance in Italy, the Germans begin evacuating Naples, destroying facilities and leaving booby traps.

Today in World War II History—Sept. 29, 1943

Italian Premier Pietro Badoglio and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower on battleship HMS Nelson for Italian surrender to Allies at Malta, 29 September 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)

75 Years Ago—Sept. 29, 1943: Gen. Dwight Eisenhower and Italian premier Pietro Badoglio sign official Italian armistice on battleship HMS Nelson at Malta.

US 100th Infantry Battalion (Japanese-Americans primarily from Hawaii) is attached to US Fifth Army in Italy.