Candace Rogers April 8, 2013 The Impact of Women Nurses During World War Two Women have certainly

come a long way since World War Two. Women hardly had a choice in what they wanted to do with their lives; their only options basically were to be either nurses or teachers. These days, women are free to take on a wide variety of careers-and the decision is totally up to them. Back when women were serving, not only as nurses, but for the WAC, WAVES, and Womens Marine Reserve as well, they hardly were recognized at all. Women served in

previous wars such as the Civil War, but did not actually become deemed part of the United States Army. It has taken sixty years to build a memorial for the men who died in World War Two, but it will probably take another sixty years for the women who died with them to get any kind of recognition.1 Women were severely needed during World War Two and were still treated poorly and looked down upon by their male coworkers. If it were not for women during these times, who knows how the world would be today. During the Second World War, there were an estimated 59,000 American women serving in the Army Nurse Corps.2 It was crucial for women to serve more than ever. They worked in less than poor conditions, attending to wounded soldiers in hospitals with not enough resources to go around. In fact, the only resources they really had were the ones in which they carried with themselves on the boats. There were not enough beds for all of the patients, therefore resulting in numerous bleeding soldiers lying on the concrete floors. Most of the time their only source of light came from flashlights held by nurses as
1

2004. "Women at the Front: American Nurses." War, Literature & The Arts: An International Journal Of The Humanities 16, no. 1/2: 261-268. 2 Bellafaire, Judith A. "The Army Nurse Corps." U.S. Army Center Of Military History.

Candace Rogers April 8, 2013 doctors worked under them. Conditions were bad yet fewer than 4 percent of the American soldiers who received medical care in the field or underwent evacuation died from wounds or disease.3 They found ways to make the terrible conditions somewhat bearable and they braved through it all. They themselves came down with illnesses but still continued to attend to wounded soldiers. Women nurses were fearless, selfless, and brave. This is why I believe it is so unfair that the women of the wars did not receive the same attention; they were just as needed as the soldiers themselves. Even other male nurses did not respect women nurses-sometimes they would refuse to take orders from

women nurses because they felt they were inferior. To this day, there are only two nurses whose names really stand out: Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale, neither of which served during World War One or Two. Clara Barton was known for serving as a nurse during the Civil War and later founding The Red Cross Association, whereas Florence Nightingale served as a nurse in the Crimean War. This is an issue because the rest remain invisible when they were indeed a huge part of history that seems to be easily overlooked. Another issue to address is black women and how they had restrictions put on them when they were only trying to help out the war effort. Only a few black nurses had been accepted into the Army Nurse Corps, and even then they were limited to only working with black soldiers in black wards or black parts of the hospitals because the military was still segregated. Fortunately, that quota system ceased in 1944 when public

Ibid.

Candace Rogers April 8, 2013 reactions became so out of hand that the Army had no other choice.4 A large amount of

black women enrolled into the Nurse Corps program, which obtained its funds by federal funding. The uniforms that nurses wore during World War Two changed very often. The first uniforms consisted of a white dress and a white cap for indoor use. When outside, they wore a dark blue jacket, white or blue shirts, a dark blue skirt to match the jacket, a black tie, black shoes, and a dark blue hat. They also had a dark blue cape with red outlining and an overcoat for cold conditions. Later, in July 1943, the color changed from dark blue to olive with a service jacket, skirt, and cap. Their shirts and ties were khaki and they had brown shoes. The next change in the uniform came two months later and consisted of brown seersucker pattern that the women did not typically like; brown seersucker is what nurses in training wore. The dress was wraparound and that didnt do much good for the nurses when it was windy, so they were provided with a skirt outfit and also with a trousers outfit. With that they wore a brown hat and brown shoes.5 Women couldnt even wear the kinds of uniforms they wanted. There was no compromising and they were always seen as less important than males, even when it came to uniforms. Sometimes male personnel refused to take orders from women nurses because they felt they were inferior and shouldnt have to take orders from them. Even women who were ranked did not have badges or insignias to indicate so.6 Of course, war wasnt easy for anyone and things worsened for those serving in
4 5

Ibid. 2009. Field Uniforms From WWII-2000. U.S. Army Medical Department Office of Medical History. 6 2006. The Army Nurse Corps. WW2 US Medical Research Centre.

Candace Rogers April 8, 2013

the Philippines after the Pearl Harbor attack. Men, women, and children in the area of Manila became prisoners of war by the Japanese and were sent to an intern camp at the University of Santo Tomas.7 The school became overcrowded as the Japanese began to bring more people in. Nurses were lacking resources and there were too many patients to take care of. So many people were becoming ill, but there wasnt much they could do about it. Life for those captured wasnt necessarily horrible; they were fed regularly and had places to sleep. But when the Japanese military took over the camps, the lifestyle changed significantly. Civilians were not being fed as well, if at all, and nurses were moved from their spacious dormitories into much smaller apartments. The American troops tried to take over and the Japanese did not like that, so they continued to make life worse for those in the camps. In 1945, it appeared that this was coming to an end, as American troops invaded the camps. The freedom only lasted a week until the Japanese came back. But eventually, with much planning, all the surviving captured men, women, and children were released for good and returned home.8 The nurses had been scared for their own lives, but that didnt stop them from trying to save others during this troubling time. These nurses put on a brave face and kept doing what they knew best- helping others. 350,000 women total served during World War Two.9 There were several reasons why women wanted to enlist: some didnt feel as if they were doing enough in their regular lives, others wanted to get the war over with as quickly as possible, some had
7

2000. "Oral Histories - U.S. Navy Nurse Prisoner of War in the Philippines, 19421945." Naval History and Heritage Command. 8 Oral Histories 2000 9 Campbell, D'Ann. 1990. "Servicewomen Of World War II." Armed Forces & Society

Candace Rogers April 8, 2013

husbands or brothers fighting or they were prisoners of war, so they have a more patriotic viewpoint. But others just wanted to escape boring jobs or their life at home, whether it was family issues or being the only women in the family, feeling the need to join. Enlisting in the military is such a brave thing to do you dont know if youll come back or not. It takes a lot of courage to do so. How were women not applauded and honored for their pride in their country? Of course, when men went overseas they were being courageous, but when women decided to help out, they were seen as cowards for running away from their lives at home. But on the other hand, nurses joined because they knew their skills had been needed. One nurse joined because her uncle died during war from lack of health care.10 She wanted to do something about this. She knew that her skills would be very helpful and could save many lives. How could a woman not join knowing that many are dying because there arent enough people to help them? But some of the others just joined for adventure, or because their friends were joining as well. There were a variety of reasons why women wanted to be a part of lending a hand during the war. Some truly wanted to help their country, others were just bored. These women have been an inspiration for women today. Although it appears that even in present time, women in the military are still seen as weaker than males, more and more join everyday because they know that they can do just as much as males. How would World War Two have turned out if not for the nurses? The number of fatalities would have been significantly increased, and there possibly could have been a different outcome of the war- the United States may not have been victorious. Either way, each and every woman who was brave

10

Campbell, D'Ann, Servicewomen of World War II

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enough to enroll herself and risk her life for the greater good benefitted the war effort, and that is something that we should be thankful for and should not be taken for granted.