Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 459

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—Oct. 2, 1942: Troop ship RMS Queen Mary collides with Curacao, cutting it in half; 338/364 killed. US Marines occupy Funafuti in Ellice Islands.

Army Nursing in World War II - Uniforms

Since my new World War II novel, With Every Letter (Wings of the Nightingale book 1), features nurses, I'm conducting a blog series on Army Nursing during the war. Earlier we looked at requirements to serve in the Army Nurse Corps. Last week, we discussed the training the nurses underwent and rank in the Army Nurse Corps. Today, we'll look at uniforms, and next week at general nursing practices.
Ward and Service Uniforms

On the job, nurses wore a white ward dress with the white nurse’s cap. For outdoor use, they were also issued a set of “dress blues,” a dark blue service jacket and a medium blue skirt, a white or blue shirt, black tie, black shoes, and a dark blue garrison cap or service cap. This uniform is pictured on the cover of my second novel, A Memory Between Us. A dark blue cape lined with red and an overcoat were also used for outdoors wear.

Starting in July 1943, the blue uniform was replaced with an olive drab service jacket and skirt and cap, khaki shirt and tie, and brown shoes—but implementation was slow and sporadic. It was first issued for overseas use, and later for stateside use.

Field Uniforms

In combat areas, white ward dresses and skirted suits were absurdly impractical, but the Army was slow to provide appropriate clothing for women. In 1942 during the early campaign in North Africa, the women resorted to wearing men’s herringbone twill fatigues and boots—in men’s sizes.

The Army then provided brown-and-white seersucker ward outfits. Although seersucker is easily laundered, the nurses didn't care for it, since seersucker was traditionally worn by nurse trainees. The wraparound dress was unpleasant to wear in windy conditions, so a skirted outfit and a trousers outfit in seersucker were provided by August 1943. A matching jacket was issued to convert to outdoor use. The seersucker uniform was worn with brown shoes and hat.

The nurses were eventually issued WAC (Women’s Army Corps) field uniforms and the popular Parson’s field jacket, which were better accepted.

Insignia

The dress uniforms had maroon piping on the garrison cap, epaulettes, and cuffs. The rank insignia (a single gold bar for second lieutenants, the vast majority of nurses) was worn on the epaulettes. A gold "U.S." pin was worn on each collar, and a gold caduceus with a red N was worn on each lapel.

For fatigue uniforms, ward dresses, or whenever the service jacket wasn't worn, the rank insignia was pinned to the right collar, and the caduceus on the left.

Sources:
http://history.amedd.army.mil/ANCWebsite/anchome.html(The official website for Army Nurse Corps history.)Brayley, Martin. World War II Allied Nursing Services. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2002. (Detailed description of military nurses’ uniforms).

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—Oct. 1, 1942: Japanese ship Lisbon Maru sunk by US sub Grouper; 840 British/Canadian POWs killed. Golden Books first sold (25 cents each): original titles include Scuffy the Tugboat and The Poky Little Puppy.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—Sept. 30, 1942: US begins rationing men’s rubber boots and work shoes.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—Sept. 29, 1942: RAF Eagle Squadrons (American volunteers) officially converted into US 4th Fighter Group of the US Eighth Air Force, flying Spitfires. Japanese Zero fighter plane launched from sub I-25 drops bombs at Port Orford, Oregon.

Winners from the With Every Letter e-Reader Giveway and Facebook Party

Thank you to the 2406 (!!!) people who entered the With Every Letter e-Reader Giveaway, and to the many people who joined me for the Facebook chat party last night. We had fun, didn't we?

I am indebted to Amy Lathrop, Audra Jennings, and the rest of the wonderful Litfuse Publicity Group for putting together this contest and the blog tour, and for running the Facebook party. You ladies rock!

I'm proud to announce the winner of the e-Reader...Marek Wiacek of Washington! Congratulations, Marek! You will be contacted by e-mail for your mailing address, or you can contact Litfuse directly.

At the Facebook party, we held lots of giveaways for books, "Mellie's First Aid Kits," and gift certificates. A full list of the winners can be found HERE. While the party is over, you can still visit the Facebook Party Page and follow the fun discussion we had.

At the party, we also posted trivia questions about World War II and about me (the author questions could be answered from my website). We promised to post the answers here today...So here they are.

World War II Trivia:

1. Before the Americans and British landed in North Africa in November 1942, Algeria was occupied by the Germans. True or False?
False. Vichy France, which collaborated with Nazi Germany, controlled French Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia at the time. The Germans landed in Tunisia after the French surrendered.

2. Medical air evacuation with flight nurses was first performed in World War II. True or False?
True!

3. North Africa is hot and dry year-round. True or False?
False. It can be quite chilly and rainy in the winter. Mud was a constant problem for the troops.

4. The Battle of Kasserine Pass was a defeat for the Americans. True or False?
True. In February 1943, Rommel's forces pushed the Americans back a good fifty miles and took 2400 POWs. While humiliated at the time, the Americans learned many good lessons, shook up leadership, and quickly regained the lost territory.

5. Medications available in 1943 included sulfa antibiotics, epinephrine, and morphine. True or False?
True. These saved many lives.

 My family at the UCLA game at the Rose Bowl, September 22
Left to right: Husband (Dave), Matthew, Stephen (the Bruin), and Anna Author Trivia:

1. I belong to a book club. True or False?
True. I've belonged to the Bibliovores book club since 2004. Love those ladies!

2. I met my husband at UCLA. True or False?
Trick question :) My husband and I both attended UCLA - and our son is a student there now - but we didn't meet there. We met while attending UC San Francisco School of Pharmacy. But we're both big Bruin fans!

3. The first novel I wrote was 750 pages. True or False?
Sadly, this is true. It will never, ever be published. Nor should it be. You do NOT want to read it. Really, you don't.

4. I teach Sunday school to third-graders. True or False?
Close...but false. I teach fourth- and fifth-graders. And they keep me hopping. What a great age!

5. I’m related to Rod Stewart. True or False?
Another trick question :) My great-uncle, Roderick Stewart, was a B-17 pilot in World War II, and he went by Rod. And he was around long before the singer.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me celebrate the release of With Every Letter ! I appreciate each one of you!

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—Sept. 28, 1942: Australians take Ioribaiwa in drive back up Kokoda Trail on New Guinea.

With Every Letter Facebook Party Today!

Join me today (Thursday, September 27) on Facebook for the With Every Letter Author Chat Party! We're meeting on my Facebook author page from 5-6 pm PDT (starting at 6 pm MDT, 7 pm CDT, 8 pm EDT).

During the party I'll be connecting with readers and hosting a book club chat about With Every Letter. There will also be a trivia contest (how much do you know about WWII?) and some fun giveaways - books, Mellie's First Aid Kits (pictured to the right) and gift certificates. Oh, and of course the winner of the eReader Giveaway will be announced!

**But, wait - there's more!** One party-goer will win a Book Club Prize Pack and receive ten copies of With Every Letter for their book club or small group AND a live chat Author Chat with me (via Skype, Video or phone). Fun.

Please note: Everyone is welcome at the party, whether or not you've read the book or entered the giveaway. Come join the fun!

Don't miss a minute of the romance! And tell your friends!

Since September 10th, With Every Letter and I have been traveling across the country on a virtual book tour through Litfuse Publicity. (See what people are saying here: http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/with-every-letter-by-sarah-sundin-kindlenook-giveaway-facebook-party-and-blog-tour). 

Thank you to everyone who blogged, tweeted, and Facebooked about the book, giveaway, and the party!

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—Sept. 27, 1942: Glenn Miller and his orchestra perform together for last time before Miller enters Army Air Force, at Central Theater, Passaic, NJ. Liberty ship Stephen Hopkins sinks German auxiliary cruiser Stier off South Africa, but sinks too; 15 US survivors make 31-day lifeboat trip to Brazil; first US ship to sink German surface vessel in war.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—Sept. 26, 1942: US War Labor Board makes a directive for women to have equal pay for equal work (not implemented until April ‘43). New song in Top Ten: “Serenade in Blue.”