Nurses

Mary McHugh—Flight Nurse

Read more about the article Mary McHugh—Flight Nurse

Unexpected Characters

John and Mary McHugh were  strangers to me when I began writing OUR DUTY.  One of my daughters had met (now) Father John  at a wedding and was enthralled with his story. Due to her insistence, I contacted this elderly priest and learned more about his experiences during World War II.  Through letters and phone calls with me yelling at him, (communicating over the phone with someone who is almost deaf is challenging, to say the least),  Father John’s  story dug into my heart and jumped into my book. When I visited him personally to discuss the book , I wanted to focus on Father, but he was such a humble man, he always wanted to talk about other people,  including his sister Mary. At the time, she was just incidental to the main event.

First flight nurses with crew of one of the future Medical Transports. Mary is on the far right. Only one nurse tended 28 wounded on flights.

.

Beauties Get More Attention

A cyber friend directed me to a photo collection of some of the very first flight nurses. Mary McHugh was the focus of many of the pictures. Her sweet beauty shone in the photos even dressed in the heavy clothing needed while flying at higher altitudes over Europe .  I was happy that I had asked a few questions about Mary and wished I had inquired more as she was now sneaking into the book.

Mary Accumulated Thousands of Frequent Flyer Miles

Mary McHugh– Dec 43 loading C-47

 

Mary McHugh had made more than 10 trans-Atlantic flights caring for wounded soldiers under dire conditions during WWII. She also helped transport wounded from field hospitals to better facilities in Europe for treatment before the long trip back to the States. During the latter part of the war, she served  with a broken heart after hearing her brother, a bombardier, had been killed when his plane exploded over Germany. The ten plus hour trips to America were busy as LT. McHugh and one med tech had the lives of 28 to 30 wounded men  in their hands. The long flights back to the war zone offered time for rest, but the conditions on these planes was anything but  relaxing. She must have spent many hours fighting anxiety of returning to combat area and concern for her parents who were also broken-hearted about the loss of their son.

Flight Nurses—Not Romance and Glamour

The life of a flight nurse was anything but the comfortable romantic adventure portrayed by Hollywood in a propaganda film. The nurse starring in this film, Helen Smith,  was embarrassed to have been a part of the project. (source)

Helen “Taffy” Smith from Dulcinea Productions on Vimeo.

From the opening scenes, a viewer familiar with the reality of the flight nurses’ career would know that the depiction of their work  was fictionalized. After the opening scenes,  you can skip to part about Taffy’s time as a nurse if the rest is not of interest to you.

Pin for Later!

Mary McHugh

 

Continue ReadingMary McHugh—Flight Nurse

Lt. Elsie Ott—First Flight Nurse of WW2

Read more about the article Lt. Elsie Ott—First Flight Nurse of WW2

Elsie Ott First Flight Nurse of WW II

Lieutenant Elsie Ott had never flown before being assigned to the first medical evac. flight.

On that flight Lieutenant Ott would have the  lives of several soldiers in her hands. Doctors did not even clear the patients for air travel, much less a trip that would take them almost half way around the world.

Lieutenant Elsie Ott was a nurse at a military hospital in Karachi, India (now Pakistan) in January 1943. She had never flown and had no training about the effects of high altitude on any type of injuries or illness. However, she was given orders to accompany five soldiers in serious condition to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.

She was given no list of supplies needed or directions as to what to expect—just to be ready to leave the next day. Lt. Ott used her nursing intuition to gather basic medicine and equipment she felt might be necessary during the flight that would take an entire week. “Ott was responsible for the medical care of five casualties during the flight. Two patients were paralyzed from the waist down, one had tuberculosis, one had glaucoma and          

 another patient had manic-depressive psychosis. She collected a bedpan, urinal, aspirin tablets, and other medical supplies during her flight preparations. She also received blankets, pillowcases, sheets, two Army cots and two mattresses. ‘A medical department staff sergeant with chronic arthritis, who had recently been a patient himself, accompanied Ott on the flight as her medical attendant’.” (Source)  Because the Germans controlled Europe and Northern Africa, the flight had to take a course across the middle of Africa. Along the way 11 more patients were added.

A detailed description of the flight with it’s many stops for refueling and overnight layovers is a testament to the human spirit to overcome sleep deprivation, inept officials, and multitude of diverse tasks to complete the job. Judith Barger’s book BEYON.D THE CALL OF DUTY  Army Flight Nursing in World War II,  details Lt. Elsie Ott’s odyssey. This wonderful book is a tribute to flight nurses, and Barger gives a vivid picture of the terrible ordeal of Lieutenant Ott. Years later,  Elsie  told an interviewer that she was so tired when the flight arrived in Washington, she was unable to answer simple questions and requested permission to fill out paperwork the next day. She couldn’t even remember her name and had to sneak a peek at her dog tags to provide that information.

As a result of the success of her mission, the bureaucrats who thought medical evacuations and a flight nurse program were ridiculous to consider had a change of heart. This mission would have taken at least two months by air and ship;  therefore the first school for training flight nurses was soon opened at Bowman Army Air Field in Kentucky.  Due to her actions,

Lt. Elsie Ott was the first woman to be awarded the Air Medal by the United States Army.

Lt. Elsie Ott receives Air Medal from Brigadier General Fred  Borum

The citation accompanying the award read:

Second Lieutenant Elsie S. Ott, Army Nurse Corps, United States Army.  For meritorious achievement while participating in an aerial flight from India to the United States January 17 to 23, 1943. During this flight Lieutenant Ott served as nurse for five patients who were being evacuated from India to Washing D.C. This was the pioneer movement of hospital personnel by air over such a great distance. Several of these patients were suffering from serious ailments which required constant attendance and vigilance on the part of Lieutenant Ott. In addition to her nursing duties, she was responsible for arranging for the feeding and housing of the patents en route, the transportation and stowing of their baggage, as well as making all financial arrangements involving their feeding and care while at ground bases not under the control of the Army Air Forces. The successful transportation of these patients was made possible by the efficiency and professional skill of Lieutenant Ott and her unflagging devotion to duty. It further demonstrated the practicability of long-range evacuation by air of seriously ill and wounded military personnel from theaters of operations and reflected great credit upon Lieutenant Ott and the Army Nurse Corps. (Barger, 33-34)

In addition to all of the work mentioned in the citation, Lt. Ott also kept extensive notes about practical needs that were lacking on her flight. These would be of great benefit to the patients as well as the staff on future flights. She said it would be especially helpful for nurses to wear slacks instead of a dress or skirt. After this ground-breaking flight she was required to attend the second class of flight nurses training at Bowman.  She continued in this work through her time in the Army Air Corps. Before leaving the military in 1946 to marry, Lt. Ott was promoted to Captain.

Lt. Elsie Ott would have been very pleased to have been able to wear slacks during her history making flight. At that time, nurses were required to ALWAYS wear dresses or skirts.

  1. Honoring the American Heroine: The Story of 2nd Lt. Elsie S. Ott; Purple Heart Foundation; https://purpleheartfoundation.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/honoring-the-female-heroine-2nd-lt-elsie-s-ott/; 15 March 2017; 9 July 2018.
  2. Barger, Judith. Beyond The Call of Duty. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. 2013.

Pin for Later!

World War 2 Flight Nurses

Continue ReadingLt. Elsie Ott—First Flight Nurse of WW2

BEAUTIFUL ARMY AIR CORPS FLIGHT NURSE, GRACIOUS LADY , WONDERFUL FRIEND

Read more about the article BEAUTIFUL ARMY AIR CORPS FLIGHT NURSE, GRACIOUS LADY , WONDERFUL FRIEND

I inherited Aggie from my mother.

That’s Mom, (Pauline Garrity Wetta) in the picture to the left. It’s amazing that Aggie  is such a dear friend considering our age difference. I think that Aggie is my inheritance from my mother. They became best friends in nursing school during WW II. Without Aggie, Mom may not have graduated because she was quite the rebel.  After becoming an RN (registered nurse), Aggie joined the Army where she qualified to be a flight nurse so she became part of the Army Air Corps.

She is such a humble lady that she never discusses this part of her life unless prodded. Then her usual comment was, “Oh I don’t remember much. We all just did what needed to be done.”

She helped keep 28 wounded soldiers and crew safe when the flight had to ditch over the Pacific.

When her twinkling eyes try to bluff as they look over the top of a hand of cards, you’d never guess the things she has done and seen. One dark night she helped keep 28 wounded soldiers and crew safe when their two engine plane lost one over the Pacific, and had to ditch. This occurred shortly after the war ended, and the men were being air-lifted from far-outlying islands to Hawaii. The flight was blessed with a pilot who had flown the route so often that he was able to find a deserted atoll to set down on.  

Because most of Aggie’s service, during the action, was spent on medical flights within the US, she always down-played her work saying the nurses in the battle zones were the angels. Transporting the wounded in the States may not have been as dangerous as in the areas of conflict, but it was still difficult and required constant work with multiple types of injuries. The first soldiers Aggie treated were returning from hospitals in Europe where they had received basic treatment after suffering horrible wounds on the battle fields. Some of the worst were  mutilations suffered during the horrible, freezing Battle of the Bulge. Many men still required extensive hospitalization and care once shipped to the US.  Aggie said that the burn victims, amputees, and psyche cases broke her heart the most. The latter because she knew very few people in the ‘40s understood mental illness at all.

Some of the worst were the injuries and mutilations suffered during the horrible, freezing Battle of the Bulge.

At first Aggie was stationed at in Florida where her flights originated. They would fly to Washington so men could be treated at Walter Reed, then on to New York, Chicago and out to San Diego. At each stop they delivered wounded to hospitals closer to home, and picked up others to transport to facilities farther west.

Aggie was bound for Hawaii aboard a solitary troop transport from Seattle when Japan finally surrendered.  Because of the constant threat of attack from Japanese, all were on high alert.  When the whistles started sounding and “All hear this,” came over the ship’s loud speakers, the crew and nurses being trasported were sure they were being attacked— until the wonderful announcement that the war was over. The ship burst into noisy celebration.

12 to 15 hour flights from islands as far away as Japan and the Philippines were the norm as the last fighting occurred in the far east of the Pacific.

Once the nurses reached Honolulu, they went through a quick orientation and began flying to islands where many men were awaiting medical attention. 12 to 15 hour flights from islands as far away as Japan and the Philippines were the norm as the last fighting occurred in the far east of the Pacific.  Because of restrictions on how long crews could fly in one day, sometimes they flew to Haneda Air Base in Japan with a plane filled with supplies and then picked up wounded on the way back to Hickam Air Base. Each flight had 25-30 men with various wounds, some of them quite critical. They were flown to Hawaii for assessment and stabilizing care before being flown to the States.  Aggie also accompanied five of those long flights to California during her service. She said the celebration was almost holy as they flew over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Last year Aggie moved to Arizona to live with her daughter because her advanced glaucoma prevented her driving and was slowly stealing her independence. Also her daughter had retired and wanted to spend more time with her mother. (Imagine that!)  A couple of weeks ago, during our weekly phone call, Aggie was frustrated that their pool was not yet warm enough to get in each morning for a relaxing swim. “The nights are still too cool so the water doesn’t warm up enough.”   I hope when I am 97, I will be as full of life and as much fun to be around as this wonderful lady who helped earn the title of “Greatest” for her generation.

Aggie was 97 on May 27th.

Continue ReadingBEAUTIFUL ARMY AIR CORPS FLIGHT NURSE, GRACIOUS LADY , WONDERFUL FRIEND