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Meghan Young LBST 1110 Professor Doom April 29, 2013

Nurses in World War Two Although, the Army Nurse Corps was established on February 2, 1901 the role of women in the military did not really begin until April of 1917 when the United States entered World War one. The role of women nurses in World War One was small because the idea of using women in the armed forces was so new. As a result women Nurses only worked in 6 base hospitals, troop trains and transport ships during the First World War One. In March of 1918 there were 2,008 American Nurses in France, but at the end of World War One the governments demobilization plan reduced the number of Armed Forces Personnel allowing the Army Nurse Corps to only keep 85l member on active duty.1 Throughout the next five years the number of Nurses in the Army Nurse Corps kept decreasing due to the fact that women who wanted to volunteer had to be a Registered Nurse with two years hospital training as well as a United States citizen. When the American build up in Britain occurred in 1943, the Army Nurse Corps sent a number of volunteers to the country to help, but since these women had little training the found themselves useless and lonely in an unfamiliar country. Months went by with these nurses working few hours in the hospitals that
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WW2 US Medical Research Centre, The Army Nurse Corps. http://www.med-dept.com/anc.php

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were only partially filled with patients and the activities outside work were not very interesting either. But after D-Day on June 6, 1944 the work of these nurses rapidly increased. With the increase of patients the nurses positions were revised and their rankings were changed to full commissioned status. Suddenly the nurses overseas felt like they had meaning and soon members of the Army Nurse Corps were serving all over the world.2 In World War Two a total of 59,000 nurses served in the Army Nurse Corps. The job of a nurse was not easy in any way. These women often lived and worked under dangerous condition. They were often exposed to disease while treating patients and had to adapt to weather conditions in all areas. The women had to adjust to using inadequate supplies and their uniforms were not always perfect for the weather. Nurses came under fire, some were taken prisoner, and some barely escaped from death, but this was unavoidable due to dangerous working conditions. As the war went on the safety of nurses became more and more important. In order to provide fast service to soldiers, nurses had to be close to the front lines, but that did not mean they could not be protected. The Army provided the nurses with certain medical assistants that were able to enter the war zone quicker while protecting themselves and providing on site. If the soldier wounds were greater than what could be cared for on the battle field the medical assistant soldiers brought the patient back to the nursing stations that were placed in safety zones for further care. Another change occurred in the uniforms that were previously seen as unfit for multiple parts of the job were soon replaced with the more well-known white dress accompanied by the white hat, white shoes. The women serving in the Army Nurse Corps worked hard day and night and it paid off. After World War Two it was recorded that less than four percent of soldiers that received aid
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WW2 US Medical Research Centre, The Army Nurse Corps. http://www.med-dept.com/anc.php.

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from the Army Nurse Corp died of wounds or disease. Through this the work of a nurse was no longer overseen as privilege it was now a necessity. With the increase in demand of service came proper ranking, retirement benefits, and equal pay. Once World War Two was over society was completely redefined along with the status and opportunities of the professional nurse.3 An article titled Nursing Heroes was written by Nancy Mueller. In this article Mueller expresses how nurses are heroes through a story she was told from the book We Band of Angels. The story talks about nurses from World War Two that were held as prisoners of war in Bataan and Corregidor. Mueller tells the story of these women and shows what they had to face every day but through it all they never stopped helping wounded soldiers. They were battling starvation, disease, and death for 3 years before they were rescued in 1945, but every day they got up and went to work because they still saw it as their job.4 The author uses this story to show how nurses in World War Two were seen as heroes. She also tells this story to bring to reality the trying conditions nurse faced while on duty in World War Two.

Mildred Manning was also a nurse that was held for two years captive during World War Two in Bataan and Corregidor. She was one of eleven nurses and one of the three nurses that survived being held prisoner. Last year she passed away and on her obituary she stated I have never been bitter about what happened, also she was recorded saying If I could survive that I could survive anything.5 The story of Mildred Manning shows just how strong the women who served as nurses were. Many nurses were scared going to the frontlines of the battlefield not
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Bellafaire, Judith. "Army Nurse Corps." The Army Nurse Corps. www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/72-14/7214.HTM (accessed April 29, 2013). 4 Mueller, Nancy M. 2004, "Nursing Heroes," Urologic Nursing 24, no. 5: 368-386, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 25, 2013). 5 Rawlings, Nate 2013. Mildred Manning. Time, March 25. 12. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 26, 2013).

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knowing what they would see, but soon enough they became some of the braver soldiers in the war efforts.

The role of a nurse in the Army Nurse Corps was not only seen as a heroic job by the United States. According to an article written by Alison While, entitled Nurses Serving on the Frontline, in the British Journal of Community Nursing it was considered as an established nurses tradition as a part of Queen Alexandras Royal Army Nursing Corps to provide exemplary service to injured service personnel. This meant that if you were a nurse part of the Queen Alexandras Royal Army Nursing Corp it was mandatory for you to go help wounded soldiers during the time of war.6 Being that the people of Britain believe so strongly in the morals of honor and loyalty this task was seen as more of an opportunity than a burden. There for the nurses serving in Queen Alexandras Royal Army Nursing Corps were seen as heroes by the nation, and the soldiers who they provided aid for.

All the information on this topic seems to have the same general point at the end. Each article and book has the comment that World War Two drastically changed the outlook on women serving in the military. The work of nurses opened the window and door to women serving in the military not only in the United States, but in throughout the world.

To be a nurse in the Army Nurse Corps and to serve the United States was no small task. Often nurses were called into duty during odd hours of the night, trapped in an enemy zone, taken prisoner, or killed by disease. I hope my paper casts a light on these things and gives the audience a better idea of what it was like to serve as a nurse during World War Two.
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While, Alison. 2009. "Nurses Serving on the Front Line." British Journal Of Community Nursing 14, no. 10: 458. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 25, 2013).

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Works Cited Bellafaire, Judith. "Army Nurse Corps." The Army Nurse Corps. www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/72-14/72-14.HTM (accessed April 29, 2013). Mueller, Nancy M. 2004, "Nursing Heroes," Urologic Nursing 24, no. 5: 368-386, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 25, 2013). Rawlings, Nate. 2013. Mildred Manning. Time, March 25. 12. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed April 26, 2013). While, Alison. 2009. "Nurses serving on the front line." British Journal Of Community Nursing 14, no. 10: 458. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 25, 2013). WW2 US Medical Research Centre, The Army Nurse Corps. http://www.med-dept.com/anc.php.