Page 110 - Anthology

We worked twelve-hour shifts. We did not have a lot of time of learning. None of us had worked on the
wards. We were not trained to do that. But we did work on the wards and we saw and heard these kids
crying. No, they were now men crying and not knowing why they were crying; not knowing how to stop
crying and they wanted their mothers. Some would be asking for their daddies, but most wanted their
mothers. All we could do was hold their hands, give them their medicine and pray. There was not a lot
that we could do.

For the most part, the men I treated were not physically injured. Their injuries were in their minds. It was
called “shell shock” and we did not really know how to help them. Those young men had been changed
for the rest of their lives. It was not just them that cried; we cried too, and we could not stop. We didn’t
want them to see us cry, but we did. One of the things that bothered me most was that we needed care
too. It was as hard on us as it was the men. The men would wake up screaming and we had no way to
help them. We did not understand. The nursing corps had it worse than the Waves. It was terrible, and
it changed our lives too.

Think about it; here is a soldier without a physical injury or mark on him, but he is hurting, screaming and
in need of help. The doctors did not know what to do, they had not been trained, and we did not have
psychiatrists back then. We, the caregivers were experiencing what they had been through. It was a
very difficult and scary time. I never wrote home to my parents about what I was experiencing; I don’t
think they would have believed it anyway. I simply held their hands, let them talk, and did what I could to
help them recover.

To add insult to the injury, it was not long after all this began that we were told that German POWs were
going to be brought to the area. Our barracks were up the hill from the POW camp. When we would go
from our barracks to the hospital, the Germans would yell out nasty comments, laugh and tell dirty jokes.
I went in and complained about it. I told them I was not going to come down the hill and listen to them. I
was told I had no choice. My response was that I would go to jail because I was not going to tolerate it.
Somehow it was taken care of and the Germans stopped.

I don’t think the American people were fully told about the Germans being brought to our homeland. I
was very upset that here we were caring for our wounded and caring for the Germans too. It was a hard
time to have to care for a German that might have had something to do with injuring our men. It was just
hard to deal with and confusing. You can’t change how a person feels, and we felt terrible.
Think about this: On the same ship bringing our wounded home – we had German POWs being cared for
and treated with dignity and respect. I heard stories of our young men saying that the Germans were
treated better than them aboard the ships. The explanation was that the United States had signed the
Geneva Convention and therefore had to take good care of the POWs.

I met my future husband and married at Bainbridge, Maryland. Later on, I was transferred to Norfolk
Navy Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. He had been on Midway Island and served as a ground fighter and an
explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician. He was at Bainbridge hospital for short time and then
transferred to Norfolk. He was the first man that I had anything to do with. He was a nice young man; he
didn’t act smart. Most of the guys returning acted like they were a hero or something. I simply ignored
anything they said. But the next day he came back and asked me to go to the movie with him. I said yes
and he was a perfect gentleman all night. We dated for about six months before I took him home with
me. We got married in Baltimore with his commanding officer and three close friends in attendance. One
week after getting married, I received orders for Portsmouth, Virginia. We were fortunate that my
husband was able to get a transfer to Portsmouth with me.