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In
1940, Dean Sollman of
the Western Reserve
School of Medicine, in
Cleveland, received a
letter requesting the
establishment of a
medical unit with a
professional staff. At
the same time hundreds
of men entered the army,
assigned to the medical
corp. They learned about
the workings of the
hospital from record
keeping to x-ray film.
Sunday,
December 7, 1941 will
live in infinity. Soon,
men of the USA began
enlisting in the Armed
Forces. But did you know
that several thousand
women enlisted also?
On
December 24, 1941, the
Surgeon General of the
United States called the
director in Cleveland
offering the opportunity
to be the first general
hospital personnel to be
sent to foreign duty in
WWII. On January 23,
1942, the doctors and
nurses left the New York
Harbor for Melbourne
Australia. After 37 days
at sea, they began
di'sembarking and went
to the Royal Melbourne
Hospital, still under
construction. It would
be finished by the
United States and rented
for three million
dollars a year. On April
6, 1942, the first
patient was admitted.
Marines from the battles
of Guadalcanal, the
Society Islands, the
Coral Sea Battle, the
Bismarck Battle and
others would send the
wounded there.
As
the United States and
the Army were
establishing the first
military hospital,
Mildred Herren had
graduated from Nursing
School and was working
in a Wichita Kansas
hospital. Becoming a
little bored and
restless, she called her
roommate and said, "go
into my bedroom, there
are two envelopes, mail
one of them." When she
got home that night, she
asked her roomie, "which
one did you choose?" "I
put you in the Army
Nurse Corp. I chose that
one because the Navy
nurses must wear black
hose when they dress
up."
Two
months later, I was om
Basic training camp was
at Camp Phillips, in
Kansas with the 94th
Division...a field
artillery group. We
learned to identify air
craft, we were given gas
masks training in
chemical welfare. We
drilled and practiced
with the gas masks ( the
gas mask was to be a
permanent accessory,
with you at all times).
The Army Nurse Corp
troops trained right
along side of the men of
the 94th.
After
boot camp, we got our
orders, we were going
overseas. We left Kansas
on a troop train bound
for San Francesco, where
we were orientated for
foreign duty. From
there, we went by train
to Camp Shanks, in
upstate New York on the
Hudson River. Everything
was top secret. We asked
where we were going..no
answer. I was just given
a shipping number, my
luggage went to ship #
RS625D. On the troop
train, we were given
field packs, a gas mask
and we carried our own
luggage. Our field packs
(a backpack) consisted
of two canvas halves,
(to make a tent), four
poles, ten stakes, the
dinner plate was metal
and the silverware was
attached to the plate
and all had a cover. The
covered plate and the
gas mask were our
constant companions. We
rode the train,
following the Hudson
River, to the Staten
Island Ferry then to the
ship, the USS Uruguay.
It was a Moore McCormick
luxury liner, that had
been stripped of all
luxuries, and made into
a troop ship. My
"stateroom" had sixteen
bunks for the nurses. At
one time, it had been a
lovely, large stateroom.
There were 5000 troops
on our ship. There were
very few ships that
accommodated women. Our
"stateroom" was on the
top, near the captain's
quarters. We followed
the United States coast
line to Cuba, the
Caribbean, through the
Panama Canal, down the
coast of Brazil and out
into the Pacific Ocean.
While on board, we had
to carry our life
preservers with us
everywhere. We called
them our "Mae West". The
nurses were all given
cyanide pills. The
Japanese had a horrible
reputation for torture,
so nurses carried
cyanide tablets and
morphine tablets, too be
taken if we were
captured.
Nurses'
hair could not touch
their collars, so we
wore our hair in
"up-dos". The tablets
were in a small water
proof metal box. We
would brush our hair out
in the morning, the
brush would have hair in
it, we would clean the
brush, taking the hair
and form a baIlor "rat"
and place the metal pill
box in the "rat" and put
it in the "up-do" on top
of our head.
In
the Pacific, we stopped
at Bora Bora, to refuel
and get fresh water. We
were two days out of
Bora Bora, orders were
given to sleep in our
clothes and leave our
shoes on, keep a canteen
of water and a hat. If
we were ordered to leave
the ship, go to a
lifeboat, not a raft. I
found out from a second
mate that a Japanese
submarine had been
following us for four
days, we experienced no
trouble from them.
During
the trip, we were busy
inoculating troops and
doing nursing duties. As
we approached land, we
found out it was
Brisbane, Australia. We
were given booklets on
Australia, the language,
although English, terms
were different, the
local customs, etc.
After two months, we
finally knew where we
would be stationed. When
we landed at Brisbane,
we got off the ship and
were taken by convoy to
a secret place. It was
near Ipswitch and it was
a training camp for the
OSS, they were the
Special Forces, later to
be called the CIA. We
had always heard about
Tokyo Rose. We were all
gathered around a big
pot belly stove in our
big tent, listening to
the radio. (It is July,
but it is winter in
Australia.) She came on
and said she wanted to
welcome the sixty nurses
who had just embarked
from the USS Uruguay at
Brisbane. She wanted to
especially welcome the
startling redhead. I was
the only redhead. She
wanted me and the others
to know that the planes
were bombing Townsville
and that was not too far
from where we were. She
also dedicated a song to
me. I had an eerie
feeling that night. Red
hair was a novelty. They
were called "blueys" by
the Australians.
Throughout the two years
of service, wounded
soldiers would tell me,
"You are the one Rosie
talks about, nice to
meet you!"
We
began our duties. One of
my patients received the
Congressional Medal of
Honor. His name was
Mitchell Paige. He had
held off several
thousand Japanese, when
all of his own crew was
injured or dead. His
hands were burned
because he crawled from
place to place with one
soldier who supplied the
ammunition. They killed
lots of Japanese
soldiers that day. My
first year we took care
of Navy and Marine
troops. I did not see
soldiers from the Army
until we moved to New
Guinea.
I
met my future husband,
Frank, in Australia. He
was in communications at
McArthur's headquarters
in Melbourne. He had
fallen from a telephone
pole while putting up
communication lines. He
had shattered his knee
cap. The surgeon wanted
to write a surgical
medical paper on the
procedure. I went to the
utility unit for
blankets for a malaria
patient, and this
soldier followed me
there. He asked my name
and then said, "Well Lt.
Herren, I think I will
marry you someday." I
had only known him for
fifteen minutes. I
thought he was arrogant
as all get out. "I have
plans but they don't
include you." We did not
have a first date until
several months later.
Soon after we were
married, he shipped out
the next day. We had
orders to leave
Australia.
After
serving time in
Melbourne, the war was
moving north. We packed
up and moved to New
Guinea. I was walking up
the gang plank and some
guys yelled, "Hey Red,
are you the one Rosie
told us about?" His
buddy said, "Yeah, she
went through here last
year at this time."
Our
uniforms were safari
jackets and slacks and
Boon-Dockers, a work
boot. The sleeves and
leg holes had draw
strings, we kept them
tied at all times,
guarding against
mosquitoes and
bugs.
Snakes
and lizards were
constant companions in
our tents. A lizard
lived in my steel
helmet. Snakes would be
curled up by our feet or
in the rafters. One of
the guards would come in
and remove them.
My
army pay was $88.00 a
month. We had to pay our
laundry bills out of
this. My one dress
uniform was wool, which
did not catch up with me
until I was home. The
khaki uniform was
designed by our head
nurse and made by an
Australian company. We
had brown shoes and a
brown purse.
When
nurses were discharged
or sent home, they were
accompanied by a fellow
nurse. I accompanied a
woman home to Cleveland.
She had contracted
jungle rot. It is a skin
disease, the lesions
become abscessed and the
skin literally falls
off. She was wrapped in
gauze, like a mummy.
After we set sail and
she had sunshine and
fresh water, she began
to get well. By the time
we crossed the equator,
she was much better. We
continued on to San
Francisco and crossed
the country to
Cleveland. She returned
to her family and I went
home to Kansas. I was
not officially
discharged but my tour
was over. I was in the
Reserves, and could be
called back at any time,
In 1950, after the birth
of my third child, I
contacted the Surgeon
General and received my
honorable discharge.
I
had an uncle who lived
near an Indian
reservation in New
Mexico. His fishing
buddy was Kenneth
Lively. One day, Kenny
came to pick up my
uncle. He was sitting in
the living room and
looking at pictures on
the piano. He picked up
my picture.."1 know her.
This is Lt. Herren, she
patched me up overseas."
Kenneth was a Navajo
Code Talker during the
war. They played a very
important part in the
war. They used their
native language to send
and receive military
information. Each code
talker had their own
body guard. No code
talker would'ever be
captured alive. The
Japanese never did break
that code!
The
young men and women who
trained, fought and
survived and those who
perished deserve our
gratitude and thanks.
They were far from home,
in places they had never
been and would never go
back to. We, Americans,
owe our Veterans, the
men and women many
thanks. We will forever
be in their debt.
Mildred's
name and story are in
Washington DC, part of
the Nurses' Memorial and
her story is in the
Library of Congress. She
is very honored to be a
part of that group.
Mildred's
Travel Schedule:
- April
27, 1943 Camp
Phillips, Kansas
- April
30, 1943 Camp
Stoneman, San
Francisco
- May
14, 1943 Camp Shanks,
Upstate, New York
- May
14, 1943 Staten
Island, Boarding the
USS Uruguay May 21,
1943 Panama Canal
June 4, 1943 Bora
Bora
- June
10, 1943 Crossing the
Equator
- June
14, 1943 Pinkemba
Warf, Brisbane
Australia, Camp
Columbia
- July
15, 1943 Melbourne,
Australia 4th General
Hospital
- March
25, 1944 Hospital
moving to New Guinea
- Left
Melbourne by train to
Camp Columbia,
Brisbane April 3,
1944 Board the USS
Palaras for New
Guinea April 6, 1944
Land in Townsville
April 8, 1944 Great
Barrier Reef
- April
10, 1944 Coral Sea,
China Straits,
landing Milsie Bay
April 11, 1944 Buna,
New Guinea
- April
15, 1944 Arrive in
Finschaven, New
Guinea and Papua, New
Guinea
- Homeward
Bound, 1945 the USS
Tasman Hospital Ship
to Miline Bay. Must
wait for ship that
accommodates women.
Set sail on the USS
Montavay, bound for
San Francisco
On
December 7, 1941, the
Army Nurse Corp listed
fewer than 1000 nurses.
Eighty-two of them were
stationed in Hawaii at
the TripIer Army
Hospital.
In
July, 1942, 12,000
nurses were on duty in
the Army Nurse Corp. The
nurses were registered
nurses and going through
four weeks of basic
training. Most had no
military connection and
knew nothing of military
protocol.
1943
- 1945 there were 27,300
newly inducted nurses
graduating from fifteen
Army training centers.
59,000
American nurses served
close to the front
lines; serving under
fire in the field
hospitals and evacuation
hospitals, hospital
ships and flight nurses
aboard airplanes.
Thank
you to the dedicated men
and women of the Army
Nurse Corp for your
dedication and service
to soldiers and to us at
home.
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