Book description
"Weaving together information from official sources and personal
interviews, Barbara Tomblin gives the first full-length account of the
U. S. Army Nurse Corps in the Second World War. She describes how over
60,000 army nurses, all volunteers, cared for sick and wounded
American soldiers in every theater of the war, serving in the jungles
of the Southwest Pacific, the frozen reaches of Alaska and Iceland,
the mud of Italy and northern Europe, or the heat and dust of the
Middle East. Many of the women in the Army Nurse Corps served in
dangerous hospitals near the front lines -- 201 nurses were killed by
accident or enemy action, and another 1,600 won decorations for
meritorious service. These nurses address the extreme difficulties of
dealing with combat and its effects in World War II, and their stories
are all the more valuable to women's and military historians because
they tell of the war from a very different viewpoint than that of male
officers. Although they were unable to achieve full equality for
American women in the military during World War II, army nurses did
secure equal pay allowances and full military rank, and they proved
beyond a doubt their ability and willingness to serve and maintain
excellent standards of nursing care under difficult and often
dangerous conditions.
"Provides a comprehensive and inspiring picture of the
competence, dedication, and unparalleled bravery under fire of the
60,000 Army nurses and 14,000 Navy nurses who brought caring, comfort,
and compassion to thousands of wounded servicemen." -- Bulletin
of the History of Medicine
