ON DECEMBER 7TH, 1941; JAPANESE PLANES BOMBED PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII
It had been 5 months since Jack's recruitment. He was settling into a troop of men stationed in Somerset, England and I was more than worried. I didn't think that he would come home alright, but I had no idea the dangers he would be facing. Maybe a gun, maybe a bayonet, maybe a tank. He could handle it, maybe. That's when I heard about the Japanese. They had bombs. And they dropped them out of planes at innocent people. And then they just flew away and took hundreds of lives away with them. And that could've been him.
I never knew much about the war until that day. I didn't know that there were only 82 nurses stationed in all of Hawaii, and only one hospital on all of Oahu (with less than 40 staff members). I didn't know that Army Nurses were desperately needed and less than 1000 were then working for the ANC. I got interested and bought newspapers, avidly listened to radio programs about that day, and tried to learn as much as I could.
I heard the horror stories, and they opened my eyes to the blatant reality and hostility of war. I heard about the blood splattered stairs and crowded rooms at Tripler Army Hospital. I read the articles on the hundreds of wounded soldiers laying on the floor waiting for surgery. I knew that local nurses and doctors were forced to help work alongside ANC workers. That the shortages were ridiculous- not enough instruments, suture material, and sterile tools. That the situations were extreme- the workers passed scissors around from one table to another to perform major surgeries on needy patients. That cleaning rags were used as face masks and most nurses didn't have gloves to wear. I thought of my students and how great it made me feel to help them.
So I applied. As a Army Nurse. I was going to leave the country and find Jack. If he was getting hurt I was going to be the one to save him. And that was the first brave thing I've ever done. The application had hundreds of locations. Hundreds of locations and less than a thousands nurses. I looked and found it! Nissen-Hut Station hospital in Somerset, England. I later learned that just 6 months after Pearl Harbor, the Army Nurse Corps hired 1,200 nurses and recruited them all over the world. I was one of them.
FACT: After the December 7th tragedy (from January to July '42), LOTS of hospitals opened up overseas in an attempt to reach out to troops. In Australia, 2 evacuation, 2 surgical, 4 general, and 14 station hospitals were all opened! In the South Pacific, 2 evacuation, 2 general, and 2 station hospitals were all opened! In the Central Pacific, 2 station hospitals were all opened! In Northern Ireland, 1 general and 1 station hospitals were opened! In Iceland, 1 general hospital was opened! In England, 2 general and 3 station hospitals were all opened! Even more were opened in India and Northwest Canada. It is so amazing how the attack opened the eyes of people around the world and empowered them to start caring more for their troops!
FACT: After the December 7th tragedy (from January to July '42), LOTS of hospitals opened up overseas in an attempt to reach out to troops. In Australia, 2 evacuation, 2 surgical, 4 general, and 14 station hospitals were all opened! In the South Pacific, 2 evacuation, 2 general, and 2 station hospitals were all opened! In the Central Pacific, 2 station hospitals were all opened! In Northern Ireland, 1 general and 1 station hospitals were opened! In Iceland, 1 general hospital was opened! In England, 2 general and 3 station hospitals were all opened! Even more were opened in India and Northwest Canada. It is so amazing how the attack opened the eyes of people around the world and empowered them to start caring more for their troops!