Women of The World Wars:
World War I
World War II
Addie Hunton
Born: 11 June, 1870 in Norfolk, VA.
Died: Unknown
Addie Hunton was a black nurse during World War I. She worked overseas in France, and was sponsored
by the YMCA. She grew up very educated and was the first black woman to graduate from the Boston
Latin School. She later became the Dean of State Normal and Agricultural college of Alabama.
In 1893 she married William Hunton and at this time she became involved with the YMCA as a nurse.
She was denied her first request to go to war when the war broke out, however she was eventually
sent to work in the war efforts. She however, along with the other black nurses, was faced
with an enormous amount of prejudice from the Americans when she arrived in France. The French
did not treat them the same however. They treated the black nurses as if they were people. During
this time the black nurses only helped the black soldiers, and the white nurses only helped the
white soldiers. The only time when the black nurses aided the white soldiers was when it was absolutely
necessary, for example during the spread of the influenza epidemic.
All of the nurses, black and white were very disappointed to learn that they would not be able to work
on the war front. While the white women were able to treat the troops, the black nurses were confined
to treat the noncombantants of the war, and the black soldiers.
During the war the black nurses formed a reading and reception room, where all the soldiers waited to
be treated. Here is where they talked about current events besides the war and the army. They
talked about universities, and education, however most of the soldiers were not educated. The
nurses set out to educate the soldiers, showing them how to write their own names and to read, and even
lent them book for them to read. Some had aspirations to attend French colleges after the war.
Helen Burrey
Born:1892 in Pittsburgh, Pn.
Died:1987, at the age of 95
Helen, of Irish and Alsace-Lorraine decent, was born in 1892. She had 8 brothers, and sisters, only two
of which survived into adulthood. At the age of 14, she began to work in a department store (Pogues) in Pittsburgh.
Later on she quit her job, and began attending nursing school at St. Francis Hospital.
At the age of 22, World War I broke out, and Helen graduated from St. Francis Hospital, where she began
volunteering as a reserve army nurse for the Army Nurse Corps, and was a member of the nursing staff
at the United States Army Base Hospitals, in Angers, France. She was one of the first female nurses to be sent to France, where
she worked on a hospital troop train. The first official order for army nurses was placed on July 14,
1917. Helen, along with two other army nurses (Edna Cooper, and Grace O Donnell) was assigned to the train
The train was stationed at Port Boulet, France. They arrived at their stations on July 15, 1917 an reported
to Captain Goodwin, the commanding officer. They worked on the train for a total of five months, caring for
a total of 400 beds. The nurses shared one coach which contained a dining room, two sleeping rooms,
and a lavatory.
On July 17, 1917, the nurses began their journey in saving lives. They passed through many different
French regions, stopping at different base hospitals and filling their train with numerous wounded men, who
would then be taken to the base hospital in Savenay, France. During these times the nurses had to deal
with uncanny conditions. They dealt with soldiers who had amputated legs, and arms, as well as numerous other
wounds which required constant attention from the doctors and nurses. This made for very tiring work.
They also had to deal with conditions such as numerous flies, and horrible odors, which derived from
the uncared for wounds.
At one point when the train needed to travel up into a mountainous region, the train had to be divided
into two sections so they would be able to travel up the mountain easier. Helen found herself in the second
car alone with 200 patients, while the other two nurses attended to the other 200 patients. Unfortunately, Helen's
train was accidentally attached to another engine, which began to pull them away to another direction. She was stuck with
200 patients during this time, and without the supply or kitchen cars. These cars had been pulled with
the other half of the train. She was forced to endure this for 8 hours straight until finally her half of the train was able to meet
up with the other half of the train.
The war ended in 1918, and in 1931 at the age of 39, Helen married a 44 yr old bachelor, with whom she started a
family. Her marriage was a happy one considering that for the first few years of her marriage they
had to endure the depression. In 1987, at the age of 95, Helen died.
Helen Fairchild
Born:21 Nov, 1885
Died:18 Jan, 1918
I do not have too much information of this wonderful nurse who served during World War I, however if you visit
Nurse Helen Fairchild:My Aunt,
My Hero, then you can read her personal letters during the war. These letters were published
in the Daughters of the American RevolutionMagazine in November 1997, VOL. 131, No. 9.
Jane Delano
Born:March 12,1862, near Townsend, Schuyler County, New York
Died:April 15, 1919
Jane Delano had numerous encounters with wars. Her father had died in the civil war, and during the
Spanish-American War, she became involved with the Red cross as a volunteer nurse. In 1909,
Miss Delano was appointed superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps. For so dynamic a woman, one
challenge is not enough. The same year, she was named chairman of the National Committee on Red
Cross Nursing Service and worked simultaneously as president of the American Nurses' Association
and as chairman of the board of directors of the American Journal of Nursing. Twenty years of
innovative nursing had given Miss Delano an understanding of the country's need for more trained
nurses, particularly for service in isolated areas and in emergencies. She urged a plan that
would place responsibility for recruiting nurses--for emergency service with the Red Cross--
entirely in the hands of nurses themselves. State and local committees were set up under the
plan, which worked so well that by 1911 there were 1,300 nurses enrolled.
From 1909, when the Red Cross Nursing Service was founded, until 1917 when the United
States entered the first world war, Miss Delano created programs of powerful significance in
American life. The Red Cross course in elementary hygiene and home care of the sick for which
Miss Delano and Isabel McIssac wrote the first textbook, gained great popularity. Classes in
home dietetics followed. In 1912, the Red Cross Town and Country Nursing Service was established
to provide skilled nursing care and health instruction in remote rural regions. The same year,
Miss Delano resigned from the Army Nurse Corps to devote herself full time as a volunteer to the
Red Cross.
Miss Delano remained on the home front during the war to handle the administration of the
overseas nursing operation and to design an expanded postwar domestic Red Cross nursing program.
Following the Armistice in November 1918, she went to Europe to make a tour of inspection and
to attend an international nursing conference. Exhausted as she was by years of hard work she
nonetheless set about, immediately upon her arrival in France, to make visits to the hospitals
where American nurses were serving. In the severe weather of January 1919 she became ill with an
ear infection. After treatment, she rallied briefly and continued her work. Later, several
mastoid operations were performed, but her condition steadily worsened and she died on April 15,
1919. Her last words were, "I must get back to my work."
Miss Delano was buried in the American military cemetery at Savenay, France. Seventeen months
later her body was brought home for interment on a hillside in Arlington National Cemetery. Her
grave is surrounded by the white markers of other nurses, who share honors with America's soldier
dead.
The Above Exert was taken from Jane Delano;
Innovator in Nursing. If you would like to find out some more background information concerning
her please visit this page.
Jane Delano was posthumously awarded the Red Cross Distinguished Service Medal in gold, and
A monument was constructed in her honor, which stands in the Arlington National
Cemetery over the nurses section.
Mary Robert Rinehart
Born:Unknown
Died:Unknown
America's first woman war correspondent during World War I for the
Saturday Evening Post; wrote mystery novels, including The Circular Staircase and The Bat;
in 1921 was referred to as "America's Mistress of Mystery."
Lt. Ollie Josephine B. Bennett
Born:Unknown
Died:Unknown
Pioneer woman Army doctor during World War I.
Prominent women who lost their lives during WWI:
Army
Edith Ayers; Nurse; Attica, Ohio
Helen Burnet Woods; Nurse; Burnet Woods, Evanston, Ill.
YMCA
Marion G. Crandall; Volunteer; Alameda, California
Winona Martin; Volunteer; Rockville Center, NY
Red Cross
Ruth London; American Red Cross Worker; New York City, NY
Lt. Col. Florence Aby Blanchfield
Born:Unkown
Died:1971
Nurse Corps Supervisor Struggled to Win Proper Recognition, Privileges for Army Nurses
By Bethanne Kelly Patrick
Military.com Contributing Writer
Of the many thousands of women who served as military nurses during World War II, not one received the same rights, privileges or pay as her male counterparts of equal rank. The comptroller general declared that, under the laws which governed military pay, "Women were not persons." This did not sit at all well with Lt. Col. Florence Aby Blanchfield, the formidable supervisor of the Army Nurse Corps. While the government may have considered Blanchfield to hold rank in name only, she did not agree. She struggled to achieve full military rank and privileges for herself and all military nurses.
Blanchfield, born in West Virginia, attended nursing school in Pittsburgh, Pa., and nursed in the Panama Canal Zone and for U.S. Steel, among others, before joining the Army in 1917. She was sent to France with Base Hospital #27, eventually serving as Acting Chief Nurse of Combat Hospital #15 before separating from the Army in 1919.
Blanchfield re-upped in 1920 and accepted tours of duty in the U.S., the Philippines, and China before coming to Washington, D.C., as a staff officer for the U.S. Surgeon General in 1935. In 1943, she was named the supervisor of the Army Nurse Corps (she had been Col. Julia Flikke's second-in-command).
It was under Blanchfield's administration that the Army Nurse Corps expanded from 1,000 to 57,000. Nurses served in theaters in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific -- and suffered the highest casualty rate of all the war's servicewomen. Eighty-three were taken prisoner of war, and 201 nurses died, 16 as the direct result of enemy action. Some 1,600 nurses were decorated for their wartime service.
In 1945, Blanchfield was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. She must have found it ironic that in 1944, Congress nearly voted to draft women into the nurse corps -- yet did not consider them worthy of real military status.
At long last, in 1947 the Army-Navy Nurse Act declared that nurses would receive all the benefits of military rank. On July 18 of that year, Col. Florence Aby Blanchfield became the first woman to receive a regular Army commission. She was "pinned on" by none other than Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Blanchfield retired from active duty soon after, but continued her efforts in nursing education. She was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery in 1971, and has a hospital named for her at Fort Campbell, Ky.
This article was found in the Military Legends from Military.com. Please visit this place if you are interested in Military History as well as current military news. This is a wonderful page for those who are active military members.
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Admiral Grace Murray Hopper
Born: 9 Dec, 1906 in New York, NY
Died: 1 Jan, 1992 at the age of 94
Quote: "A Ship in Port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Sail
out to sea and do new things"--Grace Hopper, Computer Pioneer.
Grace, the oldest of three children, at the young age had the knack for
dealing with gadgets, and tore apart seven alarm clocks just so she could
see how they worked. The best way to detail all aspects of this remarkable
womans life is to make a time line. Admiral Hopper achieved many things in
her life which need to be recognized.
1918
Phi Beta Kappa
1928
At the age of 22, Hopper graduated from Vassar College, where she earned a BA in
Mathematics, and Physics. She then joined the Vassar faciity, where she remained until 1943
1930
She obtained an MA in Mathematics, and Physics.
1931-1943
Instructor to Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics,Vassar College
1934
Obtained a PHD from Yale University in Mathematics; Membership of SigmaXi.
1943
Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Barnard College
Hopper wanted to assist in the war effort, therefore she joined the Naval Reserves. She had problems
entering at the begining since she was 34 years old, and only weighed 105 lbs. This was way past the age
limit, and way under the weight limit for Naval standards, and her degree in Mathematics was thought
to have been useless to the Navy. However she was still admitted. She enrolled into the Midshipmens school.
1944
Commissioned as LTJG, assigned to the Bureau of Ordanance Computation at Harvard University, and worked with the Mark1,
which was used to calculate aiming angles for Naval guns in a variety of weather conditions. She
was only the third person to work on this project. This project won her the Naval Ordanance award for her work on Mark I, II, III.
1945
At the age of 40, the war came to an end, and Hopper was too old to continue with an active military career. She retired.
She became a member of the Harvard University Faculty.
She was divorced but kept her married name.
1946-1949
Research Fellow in Engineering Sciences and, Applied Physics, Computation Laboratory,Harvard University
Naval Ordnance Development Award
1949
She was employed in a private industry, and retained the Naval Reserve Affiliation award. She also obtained
commander before retiring in 1966.
Senior Mathmetician at the Eckert Mauchly Computer Corporation.
1952
Developed the first computer compiler for UNIVAC computer. This was used in normal business operations.
1959
Invented the computer Language COBOL, which was the first user friendly business software program.
Visiting Lecturer to Adjunct Professor, Moore School of Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
1962
Fellow IEEE
1963
Fellow American Association for Advancement of Science
1964-1971
Staff Scientist, Systems Programming,UNIVAC Division of Sperry Corporation,(on military leave 1967-71) retired 1971
Society of Women Engineers, SWE Achievement Award
1967
In August of this year, Hopper was recalled to active duty by President Lydon B. Johnson,
and was assigned to the Commander of Naval Operations as the director of the Navy Program Language
group.
Activity duty, U.S. Navy,serving in the Information Systems Division,as OP-911F
1968
IEEE Philadelphia Section Achievement Award
Connelly Memorial Award, Miami Valley Computer Association
1969
First person to ever receive the Computer Science, Man of the Year Award from the Data Processing
Management Association.
1970
Upsilon Pi Epsilon, Honorary Member, Texas A&M, Alpha Chapter
American Mothers Committee, Science Achievement Award
American Federation of Information Processing societies-Harry Goode Memorial Award
1971-1978
Professional Lecturer in Management Sciences, George Washington University
1972
Honorary Doctor of Engineering, Newark College of Engineering
Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal, Yale University
1973
Hopper is promoted to Captain
Epsilon Delta Pi, Honorary Member, SUNY Potsdam Chapter
Honorary Doctor of Science, C.W. Post College, Long Island University
Elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society
1974
Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Pennsylvania
1976
Distinguished Member Award, Washington D.C. Chapter, ACM
Honorary Doctor of Science, Pratt Institute
W. Wallace McDowell Award, IEEE Computer Society
1977-1986
Active duty, U.S. Navy, serving as NAVDAC-OOH
1980
3 Honorary Doctorates
Meritorious Service Medal
1981
3 Honorary Doctorates
1982
With the retirement of Admiral Hyman J. Rickover, Admiral Hopper became the oldest officer
on active duty in the armed service, which she remained until her retirement in 1986.
2 Honorary Doctorates
1983
Hopper is advanced to Commodore
5 Honorary Doctorates
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Computer Pioneer Medal
Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement, California
American Association of University women Achievement Award
Federally Employed Women Achievement Award
March 1983 60 Minutes interview
Association of Computing Machinery Distinguished Service Award
1984
8 Honorary Doctorates
Living Legacy Award, Women's International Center, California
Woman of the Year Award, Young Women's Christian Association of the National Capitol Area
1985
7 Honorary Doctorates
On 27 September 1985, the Navy Regional Data Automation Center (now the Naval Computer
and Telecommunications Station), San Diego, broke ground on a 135,577 square foot data processing
facility, The Grace Murray Hopper Service Center. The building contains a data processing center
as well as training facilities, teleconferencing capabilities, telecommunications and
expanded customer service areas. A small room-sized museum contains numerous artifacts,
awards and citations that Hopper received during her lengthy career. The guest visitor's book
contains the names of some prominent people paying homage to the computer pioneer. There is
also a Grace Murray Hopper Center for Computer Learning at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro,
New Hampshire, where she spent her childhood summers.
1986
Hopper retires from Naval service, however remains active in industry and education until her death
4 Honorary Doctorates
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Senior Consultant to the Digital Equipment corporation
First woman to receive the National Medal of Technology
Meritorious Citation, Navy Relief Society
1987
In June of this year, Hopper received the honorary Doctorate of Letters Degree from Drexel University
in Pennsylvania, Pn.
1 Honorary Doctorate
1988
Hopper is advanced to rear admiral in November, making her one of few women admirals
in the history of the United States Navy.
The Emanuel R. Piore Award, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Charles Holmes Pette Medal, University of New Hampshire
1991
In September, President George Bush awarded her the National Medal of Technology "for her pioneering
accomplishments in the development of computer technology and opened the door to a
significantly larger universe of users."
1992
Sadly, Admiral Hopper dies on Jan 1 of this year
1997
On Sept 6 of this year, the United States Navy commissioned the USS Hopper (DDG-70) in San Francisco.
This is only the second time in Naval history where a ship is named after a women of their own ranks.
FACT: The concept of Computer Bug was coined by Admiral Hopper when she found a moth in her computer
which had stopped the operation of the computer.
FACT: Admiral Hopper was also know by the names Amazing Grace, Grand Lady of Softward, and Grandma COBOL.
Aleda E. Lutz
Born:Unknown
Died: Unknown
Nurse Lutz, from Freeland, Michigan, was the first military woman to die in combat zone during the
World War II when her hospital plane went down on her 196th rescue mission.
Ellen Ainsworth
Born: Unknown
Died: 16 Feb, 1944
Nurse Ainsworth, age 24 and from Glenwood City Wisconsin, was the only Wisconsin woman to die during
the World War II. She was killed during the battle of Anzio, in Italy, when she was wounded by safely
rescueing her patients after the hospital was bombed. She was wounded and died 6 days later.
She was awarded the silver star and the purple heart for her bravery.
Colonel Maggie
Martha Raye, otherwise know as Colonel Maggie, was a well know actress during this time, who
even though was not an official military member, spent numerous time (as much as 6 months) in the trenches
with military members who fought the war. Staring in 1942, Colonel Maggie began entertaining the troops,
and at time even filled in as a nurse. In 1993 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her lifetime
service, and when she died she was even given the honor to be buried in the military cememtary at Fort Bragg,
North Carolina. This was truely an American Patriot, it is just too bad that people like Jane Fonda could not have
felt this same pride for her fellow Americans during the Vietnam War....yes, that was my soap box right there!!! Sorry.
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