Nurses
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(Soldier Stories)
At the start of World War One, 4,093 women were active nurses. By the end of WWI, 21,480 women served as nurses in the Army Nurses Corp. Many women joined the Red Cross and the YMCA. These organizations employed nurses and supplied hospitals with the materials needed to do medical work on wounded soldiers. American nurses, considered some of the finest in the world, served in countries including France, Italy, and England (“Solider Stories”). Although nurses weren’t killed by enemy fire, 272 nurses died of diseases including influenza and pneumonia. Women serving as nurses spent countless hours working to dress soldiers wounds, assist in surgery and other efforts to keep soldiers alive. For their strong efforts in the war, a select few nurses were awarded for their service. Three women earned the Distinguishing Service Cross which is the army’s second high award. Other awards included 24 women awarded the Distinguishing Service medal and 29 women awarded the British Royal Red Cross award (“Solider Stories”). Nurses proved themselves to be overwhelmingly important throughout the war with soldiers coming in wounded daily.
Many women kept diaries during their time serving as nurses. Emma Weaver, a nurse serving in France’s Base Hospital #20 is one of these women. In her diary, she describes the hard conditions she worked in and painfully describes the traumatizing appearance of many badly burned and mutilated soldiers. A lot of what she tells in her diary is extremely graphic and she also explains just how busy hospitals were- “July and August, we were terribly busy, patients coming in from all fronts, many direct from the battle fields. In July the work was very heavy in Ward A. I had charge of the dressing room & assisted the surgeon all day long doing dressings. It takes an inexhaustible amount of dressings, gauze sponges, large & small bandages, binders, slings”. (Weaver, 1919).
Nurses in World War One proved themselves as hard working, determined individuals. These women experienced the horrors of the war and offered whatever assistance they could to the troops. Women might not have been out fighting on battlefield, but by serving as nurses women once again added to the war efforts. Without women stepping up and serving as nurses, many soldiers would’ve lost their lives.
Many women kept diaries during their time serving as nurses. Emma Weaver, a nurse serving in France’s Base Hospital #20 is one of these women. In her diary, she describes the hard conditions she worked in and painfully describes the traumatizing appearance of many badly burned and mutilated soldiers. A lot of what she tells in her diary is extremely graphic and she also explains just how busy hospitals were- “July and August, we were terribly busy, patients coming in from all fronts, many direct from the battle fields. In July the work was very heavy in Ward A. I had charge of the dressing room & assisted the surgeon all day long doing dressings. It takes an inexhaustible amount of dressings, gauze sponges, large & small bandages, binders, slings”. (Weaver, 1919).
Nurses in World War One proved themselves as hard working, determined individuals. These women experienced the horrors of the war and offered whatever assistance they could to the troops. Women might not have been out fighting on battlefield, but by serving as nurses women once again added to the war efforts. Without women stepping up and serving as nurses, many soldiers would’ve lost their lives.