On this day in 1941, Navy nurses scramble to create a memorable Christmas for their patients aboard USS Solace , then anchored at Pearl Harbor. It would be no easy chore: The patients, nurses, and crew were still reeling from the unexpected Japanese attack mere weeks before.   Yet hope and optimism were critical for patients to heal, as Chief Nurse Grace Lally well knew. Thus, in the days after the attack, she’d instructed her nurses to be cheerful. “The nurses smiled, joked,

On this day in 1941, Pearl Harbor reels from a surprise Japanese attack. Have you ever thought about the Navy nurses present on that day so long ago? Like many others, those nurses were abruptly shoved into war when Japanese planes unexpectedly descended upon the American base.   It was the opposite of the Hawaiian assignment that, until then, had been a cushy one.   “I thought I was living a charmed life,” Lt. Ruth Erickson later said.  She was at the Naval Hospital and woul

On this day in 1941, civilians and military on the Hawaiian island of Oahu enjoy a beautiful day, blissfully unaware that the United States would soon be at war. Have you ever thought about the military nurses stationed at Pearl Harbor that weekend?   They were about to be put in a unique position, yet they had no way of knowing it.   Indeed, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor early on December 7, it marked the first time in American history that Army nurses were at the

On this day in 1751, Revolutionary War patriot Margaret Cochran Corbin is born. Margaret is one of the patriotic women behind the folk hero “Molly Pitcher.”   “[Molly Pitcher] has held a revered place in the patriotic lore of the American Revolution,” one National Archives article concludes, “right next to Betsy Ross.” Yet no one is sure if one woman inspired the legend or if “Molly Pitcher is merely a persona created from numerous sources.”   Whether she was the true inspira

On this day in 1864, the future Anita Newcomb McGee is born. She’s been called the “Founder of the Army Nurse Corps” because of her work in establishing military nursing at the turn of the century.   McGee was Anita Rosalie Newcomb at birth, the daughter of two respected academics. Her parents both valued education and ensured that Anita got the best schooling available to a young girl in that day and age.   She even studied abroad at one point.   Anita was a researcher, a wr

On this day in 1746, Esther de Berdt Reed is born. Some say that she worked so hard to support the Revolution that she literally worked herself into an early grave. She was just shy of 34 years old when she passed away. Esther was the wife of Joseph Reed, the military secretary to George Washington. Esther had moved to America with her new husband only a few years before the war began. You can imagine that she initially felt torn between loyalty to the country of her birth an

On this day in 1944, a U.S. Army nurse pens a letter to the American G.I. Frances Slanger’s words would ultimately be published as an editorial in the Stars and Stripes  newspaper.   It meant the world to our boys!   “These Soldiers had been fighting every day since they landed,” historian Bob Welch writes. “They had lost their sense of humanity, lost most of their sense of dignity, and lost their sense of hope. Suddenly, along came this nurse who wrote this letter . . . and

At about this time in 1944, Barbara Miller Finch makes history as the U.S. Navy’s first female war correspondent. Naturally, she wasn’t going to be satisfied with simple credentials.   She was bound and determined to convince the Navy that she could go into a war zone, too.   The Navy wasn’t then too keen on giving credentials to female war correspondents. “She spends a good part of her time trying to convince the Navy that she is a reporter, not just a woman,” the Los Angele

On this day in 1998, Army nurse Elaine Roe passes away. She is best known as one of four nurses to be awarded the Silver Star during...

On this day in 1916, the future Martha Raye is born. You may know this talented entertainer for her long career in television and movies,...

On this day in 1892, the future Elizebeth Friedman is born. Elizebeth would go on to become an expert codebreaker, even cracking Nazi and...

On this day in 1893, a professor stands atop Pikes Peak in Colorado. She is struck by the beauty around her and is inspired to write a...

On this day in 1943, Allied forces launch an amphibious assault on Sicily. “Operation Husky,” as the attack was codenamed, would...

On this day in 1964, Col. Rosemary Hogan Luciano passes away. The former Army nurse had been one of World War II’s “Angels of Bataan.”...

On this day in 1719, an American heroine is born. No books would ever be written about this woman. She would never receive any awards or...

On this day in 1944, a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots is tragically killed. Evelyn “Sharpie” Sharp has been called...

On this day in 1922, a heroine is born. Jonita Ruth Bonham would go on to become a nurse—and to serve in both World War II and Korea. She...

On this day in 1943, Cornelia Fort is tragically killed. She is best known as one of the most accomplished female pilots to serve during...

On this day in 1964, an aviation pioneer departs on a record-setting trip. Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock flew around the world—the first time a...

On this day in 1776, a public notice appears in Baltimore, Maryland. It beseeches the help of “our humane ladies” in the American cause....