Hospital Units in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II

Hospital Units in CBI
China-Burma-India Theater of World War II

SEAGRAVE HOSPITAL UNIT AT TAGAP GA, BURMA IN AUGUST OF 1943

HOSPITALS MAP TYPES PICTURES ORDERS STORY NURSES

Hospital Units in the China-Burma-India Theater (1942-1946)

HOSPITAL UNIT	LOCATION	YEARS
14th EVAC. HOSPITAL	LEDO ROAD MILE 19	1943-45
18th GENERAL HOSPITAL	LEDO - MYITKYINA	1945
19th EVAC. HOSPITAL	CHINA - BURMA	UNKNOWN
20th GENERAL HOSPITAL	MARGHERITA (NEAR LEDO)	1943-45
21st FIELD HOSPITAL	PAO-SHAN	1945
22nd FIELD HOSPITAL	CHAN-I, CHINA	1945
24th STATION HOSPITAL	JORHAT	1945
25th FIELD HOSPITAL	LEDO - LASHIO	1943-45
27th FIELD HOSPITAL	TSUYUNG (Y-FORCE 1944) - KWEIYANG - TUYUEN	1943-45
28th PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	CHINA (CHINA DRAGONS)	1943-45
30th STATION HOSPITAL	PANAGARH	1943
32nd PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	CHINA	1943
34th PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	HUNAN, CHINA	1943
35th PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	CHINA	1943
40th PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	Y-FORCE YUNNAN PROVINCE	1943-45
42nd PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	LEDO (1943) - MYITKYINA (1944)	1943-45
43rd PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	KAMAING, BURMA	1944-45
44th FIELD HOSPITAL	BHAMO, BURMA	1945
45th PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	KAMAING-MOGAUNG, BURMA - KWEILIN-LUICHOW-SHANGHAI-FORMOSA, CHINA	1943-45
46th PORTABLE HOSPITAL	LEDO (1943) - HSIPAW, BURMA (1944)	1943-46
47th GENERAL HOSPITAL	NEW GUINEA - TENGCHUNG, BURMA	1944-45
48th EVAC. HOSPITAL	RAMGARH - NEAR MARGHERITA - MYITKYINA	1943-45
48th PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	CHINA - INDIA	UNKNOWN
49th PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	BURMA	1944
50th PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	CHINA	1943
53rd PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	CHINA	1943
58th PORT. SURGICAL HOSPITAL	MYITKYINA	1944
63rd GENERAL HOSPITAL	UNKNOWN	UNKNOWN
69th GENERAL HOSPITAL	MARGHERITA (NEAR LEDO)	1945
70th FIELD HOSPITAL	LEDO - CHENGTU - KUNMING - CALCUTTA	1944
71st FIELD HOSPITAL	BOMBAY - KANCHRAPARA	1944-45
72nd FIELD HOSPITAL	TEZPUR, INDIA (1944) - YENSHAN, CHINA	1944-45
73rd EVAC. HOSPITAL	LEDO (1943) - SHINGBWIYANG (1944)	1943-45
94th STATION HOSPITAL	PIARDOBA	1945
95th STATION HOSPITAL	CHUBUA 1943 - KUNMING 1943-45	1943-45
97th STATION HOSPITAL	AGRA	1942
98th STATION HOSPITAL	RAMGARH (1942) - CHAKULIA (1943) - SHINGBWIYANG (1945)	1942-45
99th STATION HOSPITAL	GAYA	1942
100th STATION HOSPITAL	NEW DELHI	1942-45
111th STATION HOSPITAL	CHABUA (then became 234th)	1943
112th STATION HOSPITAL	KARACHI - CALCUTTA	1943-45
118th GENERAL HOSPITAL	KARACHI	UNKNOWN
142nd GENERAL HOSPITAL	FIJI ISLAND - CALCUTTA	1943-45
159th STATION HOSPITAL	KARACHI	1942
172nd GENERAL HOSPITAL	KUNMING - SHANGHAI (1945-46)	1945-46
178th STATION HOSPITAL	LALMANIRHAT	UNKNOWN
181st GENERAL HOSPITAL	KARACHI	1943
198th STATION HOSPITAL	DACCA	UNKNOWN
234th GENERAL HOSPITAL	CHABUA (started as 111th)	1945
263rd GENERAL HOSPITAL	KARACHI - CALCUTTA (replaced by 142nd)	1943
335th STATION HOSPITAL	LEDO ROAD MILE 80, TAGAP GA, BURMA	1944
371st STATION HOSPITAL	RAMGARH	1942-45
372nd STATION HOSPITAL	KALIAKUNDA	UNKNOWN
383rd STATION HOSPITAL	TAGAP GA, BURMA	1944
455th FIELD HOSPITAL	(Started as 172nd, 455th in 1949)	1943-45
498th HOSPITAL SHIP	NAVY U.S.S. COMFORT	1944-45
594th MEDICAL HOSPITAL	UNKNOWN	UNKNOWN
803rd MEDICAL AIR EVAC.	CHABUA, ASSAM, INDIA	1944-45
SEAGRAVES HOSPITAL UNIT	NAMKHAM (prior to 1942) - RAMGARH (1942) - MYITKYINA (1944)	1942-45

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Hospital Units in the China-Burma-India Theater

Services of Supply (SOS) U.S. Army Hospital Units in India, northern Burma and China during the first half of 1945.

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U.S. Army Hospital Types - Table of Organization

HOSPITAL TYPE	PATIENT CAPACITY	OFFICERS	NURSES	ENLISTED	TOTAL	NOTE
GENERAL	1000	75	120	500	692
EVACUATION	750	47	52	318	417
CONVALESCENT	3000	28	0	189	217
SURGICAL	400	50	60	275	385
FIELD	400	22	18	182	222
STATION	750	49	90	390	529	for Station with 15,000 troops
STATION	500	35	60	275	370	for Station with 10,000 troops
STATION	250	20	30	150	200	for Station with 5,000 troops

Station Hospitals of 250 or less beds were commanded by a Lt. Colonel. All other Hospitals by a Colonel.
Station Hospitals were allocated in varying sizes down to 50 beds.

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Images of China-Burma-India Theater Hospitals

Doctors operate at the 20th General Hospital.

Nurses quarters at the 20th General Hospital, August 1945.

Isidor S. Ravdin portrait by Milton Caniff

Dr. Isidor S. Ravdin, Commander 20th General Hospital, 1945.

Dr. Ravdin receives Legion of Merit

Brig. Gen. Lewis Pick awards Legion of Merit to Dr. Ravdin.

General Stilwell and Dr. Ravdin visit wounded soldier.

14th General Hospital

14th Evacuation Hospital at Mile 19 on the Ledo Road.

An injured Chinese soldier is treated at the 25th Field Hospital in northern Burma, 1944.

73rd Evacuation Hospital at Shingbwiyang, Burma, Mile 103 on the Ledo Road.

Headquarters of the 142nd General Hospital at Calcutta. Commanding officer Col. Howard S. McConkin is at right.
Other officers (l-r) Lt. Gen. Raymond A. Wheeler, Maj. Gen. Horace H. Fuller, Brig. Gen. Robert Neyland.

Seagrave Hospital Unit at Tagap Ga, Burma, August 1943.

Seagrave Hospital Unit with Burmese nurses at Shingbwiyang, Burma, Christmas 1943.

Dr. Gordon S. Seagrave The Burma Surgeon

Dr. Seagrave operating

Dr. Seagrave operates in Burma

Dr. Seagrave with Burmese nurses

Dr. Seagrave amuses Burmese nurses during lecture on anatomy

Dr. Seagrave with Burmese nurses

Shower rigged using drums, bamboo pipes and perforated cans as the shower head.

Dr. Seagrave with Burmese nurses

Outside Admission Office

Dr. Seagrave with Burmese nurses

Doctor examines Chinese patient

Medical air evacuation

Evacuation of wounded by air was relatively new to warfare during the Second World War.

FULL SCREEN PICTURES

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Nurses in the China-Burma-India Theater

A small number of Army nurses were stationed in Army hospitals in China, Burma, and India throughout 1943 and 1944, where they treated the American and Chinese troops who were pushing into southern China along the Ledo Road. At the time, the road was the sole overland lifeline for military supplies to Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese Nationalist Army, which was fighting a war of survival against Japan.

American nurses and Chinese patients experienced a clash of cultures which made the nurses' jobs difficult. The Chinese patients had difficulty understanding the concept of a "high-type" woman performing "menial" bedside care. The nurses found it hard to maintain proper discipline among the wards because the Chinese did not feel it necessary to follow a woman's orders. A nurse assigned to the 20th General Hospital remembered that her Chinese patients insisted on supplying their own food while in the hospital.

The result was "orange peels, egg shells, chicken feathers, and vegetable peelings piled high beside each bed." Nurses could not keep their seriously sick patients in bed. "They wandered off to the bazaar in their pajamas to haggle over fresh vegetables, and live ducks and chickens, which they brought back to the wards and kept under their beds." Many patients refused to consume their atabrine tablets and contracted malaria. The most serious problem the nurses had, however, was that Chinese patients with contagious diseases refused to remain isolated from their fellows and thus inadvertently spread diseases throughout the hospital.

For every Allied soldier wounded in the struggle for Burma in 1943, 120 fell sick. The malarial rate that year was a staggering 84 percent of total manpower. The Army sprayed DDT on mosquito infested areas and ordered all personnel to wear protective clothing after dusk regardless of the temperature. Troops were issued daily medication to protect them against malaria. Scrub typhus, a disease spread by mites, posed another problem. This disease demanded an extremely high level of nursing care and had a 30 percent fatality rate. Although the Army attempted to employ DDT to control the spread of the disease, it had minimal success. Troops also suffered from exhaustion, malnutrition, and amoebic dysentery. Plane crashes and truck accidents occurred frequently across this difficult terrain. Nurses stationed in isolated jungle hospitals in the India-Burma Theater worked under primitive conditions in an extremely trying climate. Many served in the theater longer than the traditional two-year assignment and suffered from low morale. They performed a necessary task but often received little recognition in this demanding but forgotten theater of war.

In February 1945 U.S. troops liberated the sixty-seven Army nurses who had been imprisoned in Santo Tomas internment Camp since 1942 and evacuated them to a convalescent hospital on Leyte. Although suffering from malnutrition and beriberi, they recovered from their ordeal fairly quickly. The duty they performed in combat and the hardships they endured as prisoners of war are testaments to the professionalism of the entire Army Nurse Corps throughout the war.

World War II ended with the surrender of Japan in September 1945, and Army nurses stationed around the world began planning to return home.

They could look back on their service with great pride. Their accomplishments were many. Nurses had been a part of every link in the chain of evacuation established in every theater of the war. Their work contributed significantly to the low mortality rate experienced by American casualties of all types.

Nurses received 1,619 medals, citations, and commendations during the war, reflecting the courage and dedication of all who served. Sixteen medals were awarded posthumously to nurses who died as a result of enemy fire. These included the 6 nurses who died at Anzio, 6 who died when the Hospital Ship Comfort was attacked by a Japanese suicide plane, and 4 flight nurses. Thirteen other flight nurses died in weather-related crashes while on duty. Overall, 201 nurses died while serving in the Army during the war.

Army nurses returning to civilian life discovered a changed post war society. The place of women in American society had been irrevocably altered and expanded by the entrance of women into professional and industrial jobs previously reserved for men. Most important for nurses, however, was society's enhanced perception of nursing as a valued profession. The critical need for nurses and the federally funded Cadet Nurse Corps program had been well publicized during the war. Upon their return home, Army nurses were eligible for additional education under the G.I. Bill of Rights, which would enable them to pursue professional educational goals.

Veteran nurses also brought home with them valuable skills and experiences, increasing their professional status and self-esteem. The Army had trained significant numbers of nurses in specialties such a s anesthesia and psychiatric care, and nurses who had served overseas had acquired practical experience otherwise unobtainable. Those assigned to field and evacuation hospitals had become accustomed to taking the initiative, making quick decisions, and adopting innovative solutions to a broad range of medical-related problems. They had learned organizational skills by moving and setting up field and evacuation hospitals while following the troops and had developed teaching and supervisory skills while training the corpsmen under their command. Paperwork no longer intimidated them, as circumstances had forced them to deal with increasingly complex administrative chores.

The Army nurse's experience forced her to grow professionally and gave her the self-confidence and opportunity to pursue her career when she returned to the United States. She came home to a society that was ready to accept nurses as professional members of the United States health care system. World War II had forever changed the face of military nursing.

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Orders for Nurses of the 20th General Hospital

R E S T R I C T E D

      SPECIAL ORDERS )                          HEADQUARTERS THIRD CORPS AREA
                     )                               UNITED STATES ARMY
                     )                               BALTIMORE,MARYLAND
      NUMBER     111 )                                  May 9, 1942.

E X T R A C T

*         *         *         *         *         *

   1. Pursuant to instructions contained in ltr, SGO, Washington,DC, SPMCN 211 (Nurses - 20th General Hosp)K, subject: ANC, 5 May 1942,and authority contained in 1st Ind, WD, A.G. 210.3 Nurses (5-5-42)0A,6 May 1942, each of the following named nurses asgd to 20th Gen Hosp,will proceed on or about 17 May 1942, fr Philadelphia, Pa, to Camp Claiborne, La, reporting on arrival there at to the CO for asgmt to temp duty at the Sta Hosp pending shipment of the 20th Gen Hosp:

[List of Nurses]

The travel directed is necessary in the military service. FD 31 P-02 A 0425-23; QM 1624 P 57-07 A 0525-2.In lieu of actual expenses for subsistence a per diem of $4.00 is prescribed. Travel by privately ownedconveyance (AR 35-4820) is authorized.

                                                            (210.3 Nurses)

*         *         *         *         *         *

R E S T R I C T E D

COPY OF ORIGINAL ORDERS

20th GENERAL HOSPITAL GROUP PHOTO

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Nurses in the CBI Theater

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Below are a few brief resumes of some of the U.S. Army nurses who served in the China-Burma-India Theater.

KATHRYNE STOLTS ABNER
I joined the Army Nurse Corps Reserves and was called to active duty in October, 1941.I sailed on the SS Brazil in March of 1942 as a member of the 159th Station Hospital and arrived in Karachi in May. Sent on detached service to Bombay at the embarkation hospital. Returned home in June, 1944 with a plane load of patients.

MARGARET MOORE ACREE
69th General Hospital

MILDRED (SUTTER) ALEXANDER
112th Station Hosp. Calcutta; 263rd Gen. Hosp. and, the 98th Station Hosp., Chakulia.

LT. COL. EDNA K. ARK
Entered the Army in February, 1942 and was assigned to the 59th Station Hospital which arrived in India, 1943. It became the 181st General Hospital. I returned to the U.S. in August, 1945 and made a career of the Army Nurse Corps. Retired as a Lt. Col. after 20 years service.

MICKEY FLEMMING AUSTIN
172nd General Hospital

MAJOR DORCUS C. AVERY
I was chief nurse at the 159th Station Hospital in Karachi, India. There were 90 nurses in the unit. This was the first U.S. Army Hospital in India. I retired from the Army in 1947.

MARY C. AXMAN
142nd hospital, Lake Dhakuria, India (Retired as Major).

MARY L. BARBERO
I entered the Army Nurse Corp in May, 1943 and served in the CBI Theater starting in January, 1945. I was stationed at the 372nd Station Hospital, Kalakunid; the 178th Station Hospital, Lalmanirhat; the 20th General Hospital, Assam, India; 98th Station Hospital Shingbwingang, Burma; the 70th Field Hospital in Kunming, China. I was relieved from Active duty in March 1946 and retired from the Army Reserve in 1973 with 30 years of service.

ALICE LHOTKA BAUER
172nd General Hospital

ANNE NOREEN BAUER
112th Station Hosp. Calcutta Surgical Supervisor.

JEAN RICHARDS BECK
30th Station Hospital

CATHERINE (MILLER) BECKER
159th Station Hosp. which later became the 181st Gen. Hosp. at Camp Milar, India.

MAE BISSELL
Immediately after December 7th, 1941, I took my oath of allegiance and joined the Station Hospital, Lemoore ACB, California. After much training, we flew to Karachi, India in December of 1944, stationed at Malir. In February of 1945 went to Ledo, attached to the 69th General Hospital and were neighbors of the 20th General Hospital and General Pick’s Headquarters. I flew the Hump to the 95th field hospital in China which was later re-named the 172nd General Hospital. In September 1945 we took the troops to Shanghai and set up our final hospital operation. I returned to the U.S. aboard the USS Scott, rejoined the reserves, 352nd General Hospital until retirement in 1964.

MARJORIE EVERITT BLACK
20th General Hospital

DORIS BLEDSOE
20th General Hospital

ELEANOR M. BLOCH
172nd General Hospital

SALLIE HILL BONAR
181st Gen. Hosp. Karachi and 20th Gen. Hosp. in Ledo.

GERALDINE L. BOOCK
Geraldine "Gerry" Boock graduated from nursing school in 1944, and she and several of her classmates decided to join the war effort. One of her friends volunteered the two of them for overseas duty, and after six weeks at sea, she landed in Calcutta, where she worked with patients wounded or taken ill at the 142nd General Hospital. She wasn’t immune to an occasional bout of dysentery; she also encountered a shifty snake charmer, and, on a moonlight visit to the Taj Mahal, an amorous British soldier. After the war ended, she stayed on in India until spring 1946 and in the Army until December of that year. Her last assignment was in a California hospital obstetrics ward, as different an experience as possible from her sojourn in India. See more.

WINIFRED R. BORAN
142nd General Hospital

EDNA A. BOWERS
72nd Field Hospital

BETTE (MARIE BOSTRAND) BOWIE
48th Evac. Hosp. Myitkyina, Burma.

JEANETTE GLEASON BOY
(Only nurse to have to parachute in CBI, or anywhere)

MARGIE E. BOYD
172nd General Hospital

VALENA BOYD
159th Station Hosp. which became the 181st Gen. Hosp. Chief Nurse.

MARY C. BOYLE
172nd General Hospital

FRANCES COONS BUCK
73rd Evac. Hospital

FERN BUNDE
48th Evac. Hospital

DOROTHY A. CABINISS
1st Lt. Dorothy A. Cabaniss, was recruited from Charlotte Memorial Hospital, Charlotte, N.C. by Dr. Addison G. Brenizer who was organizing a base hospital unit. Nov. 10, 1942 she joined the Army Nurse Corps and took the oath of office. Nov. 21, 1942 she arrived at Lawson General Hospital, Atlanta, Ga. Jan. 21, 1943 they were sent to Camp Wheeler, Macon, Ga., for training. They were forming the 111th General Hospital. They left Camp Wheeler and arrived at Camp Anza, Calif. July 6th, 1943. They sailed on the US Army transport Uruguay on August 3, 1943. They arrived Sept. 10, 1943 in Bombay, India. On Sept. 13th they boarded His Majesty's Troop ship The Nevasa and sailed for Calcutta. Then they rode an Indian river boat from Dhubrito to Pandu. They stopped and spent time at a Baptist Mission Hospital. Then they rode an Indian train and arrived at Chabua. On Oct. 5, 1943 they had the 111th General Hospital up and running with 165 patients. A year later they had 900 patients. Dorothy was stationed there until Oct. 1945, when she came back to the States and was stationed at Battey General Hospital until she was out of the Army.

LOUISE R. CAMDEN
Major, Chief Nurse, 69th General Hosp., Ledo See In Her Own Words.

BLANCHE J. CAMPBELL
100th Station Hosp., New Delhi.

POLLY CHANDLER
371st Station Hospital (Ramgarh Post Hospital)

JEAN C. CHEATHAM
142nd General Hospital

RUTH L. CHMURA
100th Station Hospital

GLADYS LOUISE CHRIST
Served with the 14th Evacuation Hospital at Ledo, Assam, India. In charge of surgical ward, taking care of Chinese military personnel.Also served with the 142nd General Hospital in Calcutta.Did general duty nursing, orthopedic, surgical and medical nursing.Also worked on the Manhattan Project.

GERALDINE A. CLARK
4th Field and 181st General Hospitals

HELEN L. CLARK
172nd General Hospital

MARY L. CLARK
69th General Hospital

MAJOR AUDREY B. COCHRAN
I was called to active duty in January 1941 and left in September, 1942 for service in Africa, Egypt, Palestine and Persia.After further assignment in the U.S. I flew to Karachi, India and although eligible to return, remained for duty at the 100th Station Hospital in New Delhi, the 98th Station Hospital, Piradoba and 142nd General Hospital in Calcutta. I returned to active duty with the Air Force for 16 years, serving in Alaska and Germany and then retired.

EDNA E. COLEY
97th Station Hospital

RUTH HARRIS COLLINS
263rd General Hospital

JESSIE R. COOPER
172nd General Hospital

WILLIE JO COUCH
172nd General Hospital

GRACE KINDING COULSON
20th General Hospital

MARY COUP

EVELYN W. CRANE (EVELYN E. WEIGOLD)
The 48th Evac. Hospital was activated as a unit from the Rhode Island Hospital on September 1, 1942 and left forIndia on January 20, 1943, aboard the USS Monticello with the 20th General Hospital of Philadephia andthe 76th Evac. Hospital of Los Angeles General Hospital. Arrived at Bombay on March 4 and all three hospital unitswere sent to Ledo. Some of our unit stayed at Ledo while a larger group was sent to Ramgarh, the training centerfor Chinese troops. Reunited with the Ledo group in June 1944 and moved to Myitkyina in October for the remainderof the war. Repatriated a few at a time beginning in May 1945. I was assigned to Camp Edwards on Cape Cod and thento Framingham General Hospital in Framingham, Mass. Finally discharged on November 4, 1945. I was in the ActiveReserve in Washington, D.C. from 1958 until April of 1962 during which time I was promoted to Captain.

GRACE DAMIANI
48th Evac. Hospital

MARION DAVIDSON

YADVIKA (VIKI) H. DAVIDSON
18th General Hospital

DOROTHY L. DAVIS
172nd General Hospital

SOPHIE HELENE SIGAFOOS "BILLIE" DeBALL
69th General Hosp.

BETTY M. DELAHANTY
172nd General Hospital

AUDREY VOSKAMP DERR
372nd Station Hospital

DORIS M. DONAHUE
172nd General Hospital

MARGARET DAISY DOUGLAS
20th General Hospital

SALLY V. DROWN
172nd General Hospital

MARDAROT E. DUNN
172nd General Hospital

MARY McHALE DUNNE
I served in the CBI from 1940 to 1945 with the 118th General Hospital and 159th Station Hospital, Karachi.

CAPTAIN HELEN CASTLE DUPUY
From 1943 to 1945 I was Head Physical Therapist at the 20th General Hospital, India. After World War II, I was stationed at Woodrow Wilson Army Hospital, Fort Dix Army Hospital and Walter Reed Army Hospital. In September, 1948, I retired as a Captain on a Medical Disability.

VICTORIA J. ECKLUND
172nd General Hospital

MARGE ECKMAN
35th General Hospital

FLORENCE EDGINGTON
73rd Evacuation Hospital

CAROLINE (AVILA) EISSNER
112th Station Hosp., Calcutta.

JOHNNIE R. ELLIS
172nd General Hospital

MARJORIE FITZGERALD
172nd General Hospital

JANE G. FLANAGIN
172nd General Hospital

LUCILLE GOODWIN FLOWERS
172nd General Hospital

WILMA SHACKELFORD FORD
825th MAES

MARY HELEN FOSTER
159th Station Hospital

BESSIE MILLER FUCHS
142nd General Hospital

MARY A. GALLAGHER
172nd General Hospital

MILICENT (PHILIPSEN) GAMBER
71st Field Hosp., Karachi.

NELLIE GARDNER

LaRETTA MATHEWS GARLAND
95th Station Hospital.Awarded two Bronze Stars, one in India and one in China, for her service as a head nurse and flight nurse.

ELEANOR MILLS GIESELMAN
142nd Gen. Hosp., Operating room nurse and worked with Mary Axman.

CHARLOTTE L. GIMMEY-KOCH
181st Gen. Hosp., Karachi and Tezpur, Upper Assam.

JUNE E. GLASS
172nd General Hospital

BETTY BERRY GODIN
803rd MAES

MARCI A. GOLDSMITH
172nd General Hospital

LUCILLE GOODWIN
172nd General Hospital

MARY CAMP GRAHAM
Dietitian 73rd Evac. Hosp. Ledo and Shingbwiyang, Burma.

JANE GRANT
172nd General Hospital

ETHEL S. GROSSMAN
142nd General Hospital

ELIZABETH EMMONS GUSSAK
We, the 69th General Hospital, shipped from Newport News, Virginia, April 1943 and arrived in Bombay, India.When arriving in Assam we were all on detached service and later reorganized and a few months later movedinto our new area near Ledo. When the war in Europe ended we were sent to Okinawa to stage for the invasionof Japan. Unfortunately while in Okinawa we experienced the worst typhoon they had had in 30 years.We were released there and sent home arriving in Portland, Oregon in November 1945.

ESTHER M. HALVERSON
97th Station Hospital

E. JANE HANKS
A.V.G. 14th Air Force (Second nurse to be assigned to CBI)

MARY MARTINDALE HARPER
159th Station Hospital and 181st General Hospital, Karachi (Sind Desert).

ELEANOR MAY BRADLEY HARRIS
Sworn in at Fort Dix, November 1941 and joined the 159th Station Hospital in Virginia. Sailed from Ft. Moultree in March 1942 with 89 nurses and 5 Red Cross workers on the SS Brazil for 60 days and disembarked at Karachi, India in May 1942. Stationed at Malir 159th Station Hospital, later changed to the 181st General Hospital. Discharged in September, 1946 with the rank of Captain.

HANNAH (SWARTZ) HAY
1st Lt., 112th Station HospitalHannah enlisted in the Army on October 9, 1942. She completed her military medical training at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts. The U.S.S. West Point transported her and other military personnel to Karachi, India where her assignment began. Hannah was assigned to the 112th Station Hospital that was initially located in Karachi and then in Calcutta. She completed her assignment and was released from the military on December 23, 1945.

BRIG. GEN. ANNA MAE HAYES
When World War II began, she volunteered for service in the Army Nurse Corps. She was assigned to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital Unit which emerged in India as the 20th General Hospital. Hayes stayed in the Army doing another stint of foreign service in Korea. She became the chief nurse in a series of Army hospitals including Walter Reed, advanced to the grade of Colonel and was selected to head the Army Nurse Coprs in September 1967. Several years later was promoted to Brig. General. General Hayes retired from the Army on August 31, 1971 with 30 years of service at which time General Westmoreland presented her with the Distinguished Service Medal.

GRETA M. HEAD
21st Field Hospital

LOUISE HEENAHAN
18th General Hospital

HELEN R. HEIL
73rd Evacuation Hospital

ESTHER H. HEMMINGS
172nd General Hospital

MARY JEAN HENDERSON
Lt., 30th Station Hosp., Paragarh, India

DORA M. HENNING
73rd Evac. Hosp., Ledo and Shingbwiyang, Burma.

ELVA L. HILOR
172nd General Hospital

ROSE SMITH HIRSCHY
20th General Hospital

BETTY JO HOGAN
172nd General Hospital

OLGA GOSTOVICH HOLLAWAY
18th General Hospital, 181st General Hospital, Karachi (Debarkation).

MAJOR JANE E. (PETE) HOLSTEIN
Joined the Army Nurse Corps in April, 1942 and reported to the 20th General Hospital. I sailed from Long Beach aboard the SS Monticello and arrived in Bombay, India in March 1943. Spent some time at Gauhati and then Margherita. Transferred to the 30th Station Hospital at Panagargh in October 1944 and left for the U.S. in July, 1945. Almost had to ditch the plane near Bermuda, but finally made it on 2 engines.I remained in the service over 20 years with tours in Puerto Rico and Germany. I temporarily retired in 1962 and permanently retired in 1967.

MARY E. HORVATH
24th Station Hospital

ELWOOD P. HUDSON
One of four male nurses who assisted in surgery at the 72nd Field Hospital in Tezpur, India.He had nurse training at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City.Basic Training was at Camp Barkley, Texas, where the 72nd was activated.He then went to Camp Roberts, Calif., for additional training and experience with the new surgeons assigned to his group.The Field Hospital was shipped to Miami by train and then flown over the South Atlantic to India, where they boardedanother train for the trip to Tezpur.He also worked at the American Military Hospital in conjunction with the Baptist Mission Hospital where he met Dr. Grace Seagraves (sister of the Burma Surgeon).For a while he was a surgical nurse at the 24th Station Hospital in Jorhat and NCOIC of an orthopedic wardat the 234th General Hospital in Chabua.He sailed home in 1946 on the General Hershey.

JOSEPHINE R. IORIO
172nd General Hospital

LUCILLE JACOBS
172nd General Hospital

ELLEN M. JANDA
172nd General Hospital

MERLE B. JENSEN
172nd General Hospital

DEPHANE A. JENSON
172nd General Hospital

MARGARET JENSON
172nd General Hospital

JEAN JUNKER JOHNSON
821st MAES

RITA M. KEANE

ANNABELLE M. KELLER
69th General Hospital

MARGARET T. KENEY
172nd General Hospital

COL. MARION HERN KENNEDY
I was commissioned in April 1942 and assigned in May 1942 to the 20th General Hospital. In March 1943 I arrived at Bombay, India and then went on to Poona. Upon return to the U.S. August, 1945, I was discharged from military service, but returned to active duty in August, 1953. My assignments included 4 years (1963-67) with Army General Staff and 1 year (1967-68) with the Department of Defense. I retired in January, 1972 after a total of 22½ years active service.

MARION M. KERBY
172nd General Hospital

LT. COL. ILA M. KIDD, ANC
Joined the Army Nurse corps in November 1942, and after service in the Panama Canal Zone, arrived in Karachi in July 1945. Assigned to the 181st General Hospital then in August 1945 went via Ledo to 18th General Hospital in Myitkyina. Worked in 2 acute wards for Typhus Fever while there. Returned to the U.S. in December 1945 and later discharged. Joined the active reserve in 1948 and retired in 1970 as a Lt. Col., rated as a head nurse and supervising nurse.

NELLIE FERRELL GARDNER KIMLIN
20th Gen. Hospital, Ledo, Assam.

MARGARET HORTON KNOECKLEIN
20th Gen. Hospital, Ledo.

CHARLOTTE KOCH
72nd Field Hospital

MARY ANN KOONTZ
18th General Hospital

MARGARET M. KOSKO
172nd General Hospital

KATHERINE DISTIN KRAJICK
72nd Field Hospital, Tezpur.

ANNE MARY KUBES
172nd General Hospital

KATHRYN L. KURKA
73rd Evac. Hospital

MARIE E. LANGLOIS
172nd General Hospital

RUTH W. LEDBETTER
20th General and 181st General Hospitals

KIRSTI LUNDE
172nd General Hospital

IRENE LUTY
172nd General Hospital

DOROTHY E. MADISON
172nd General Hospital

JANE SMITH MALARKEY
Chief Nurse, Train Pool transporting sick and wounded coast to coast to medical centers.

AGNES MALEY
Nurse Director, India-Burma Theater See her story

ELSIE OTT MANDOT
1st Troop Carrier Command and 803rd MAES (1st flight nurse)

EVELYN A. MANGUS
20th General and 25th Field Hospitals

ELIZABETH S. MARR
72nd General Hospital

IRENE MARSH
172nd General Hospital

MARIOTTA MARTIN
172nd General Hospital

MARY R. MAYEAUX
234th General Hospital

CHARLOTTO LeROY MAYNARD
172nd General Hospital

LEONIA M. MAZZONI
172nd General Hospital

AUDREY RODGERS McDONALD
803rd MAES (Purple Heart)

DOROTHY L. (SPEIDEL) McFERRON
69th Gen. Hosp. Ledo, Assam.

GLORIA FINA McFETRIDGE
69th Gen. Hospital.

WINIFRED M. McGEE
172nd General Hospital

MARGARET R. McMANUS
181st General Hospital

ESTHER J. McNEAL
69th General Hospital

ANN MERRILL
69th General Hospital and 73rd Evac Hospital. Tragically died with 18 other nurses when a C-47 transport carrying them crashed on March 4, 1945.

ANGEL MENENDEZ
20th General Hospital

FLORENCE BRUNNER MICHAELS
73rd Evac Hospital

VIRGINA R. MILUM
172nd General Hospital

MILLIE MIRICK
20th General and 42nd General Hospitals

MARY E. MOLONEY
172nd General Hospital

VIRGINIA C. MOORE
20th General Hospital

MILDRED A. MORAVEC
172nd General Hospital

LEE C. MOREHOOD
172nd General Hospital

ESTHER BAER MOSELEY
803rd MAES(author of “Lady Don’t Stop Here”)

EDITH F. MOWAT
172nd General Hospital

SARAH L. NEAL
172nd General Hospital

LT. COLONEL MARGARET NELSON
Landed in Calcutta, August 5th 1945.Assigned to 198th Station Hospital, Dacca, India August 12, 1945 which was closed in January 1946.Reassigned to the General Hospital in Karachi, January 6, 1946 which was closed end of January 1946.Awarded the Bronze Star for her service.

EVELYN SIMPSON NEU
159th Station Hospital and 181st General Hospital, Karachi.

REGINA S. NEWMAN
371st Station Hospital, Ramgarh.

MARGUERITE NOUTARY
18th General Hospital and 172nd General Hospital, Kunming.

EVELYN HILL PAGE
803rd and 821st MAES

CAROLINE S. PARMENTER
14th Evac. Hospital, Chabua and Seagrave Hospital Unit, Myitkyina, Burma.

DOLORES B. PERRY
234th General Hospital

BEATA C. "PETE" PETERSON
14th Evac. Hospital - Ledo Road Mile 19

PHYLLIS R. PETERSON
48th Evac. Hospital

ANNA THUR PHILLIPS
20th General Hospital

BETTY L. (HEUTHER) PILLAR
I arrived in Karachi by air on September 10th, 1944. My group of 6 nurses was sent to Ledo, where we were attached to the 48th Evacuation Hospital for the duration.In mid-October, our unit moved to Myitkyina.Our hospital site was located on the east side of the Irrawaddy River.Our Chief Nurse was Captain Matilda Dykstra of the original Providence Rhode Island Hospital unit.While here, I served as a surgical nurse. On V-Day in August, our unit was immediately declared excess.We replacements were reassigned to the 18th General Hospital and came home with them on the Gen. Richardson, arriving in time for Thanksgiving, 1945.

HELEN CLARK PLEINES
Tezpur, Assam (unknown unit)

FLORENCE C. POLCE
181st General Hospital

LT. COL. PAULINE H. PRICE
I realized early childhood ambition when I was inducted into the Army Nurse Corps in April, 1942. In May 1943 I arrived in India aboard the SS Monticello and was stationed in Assam, India at the 20th General Hospital. I returned to the U.S. in June 1945 and was assigned to Valley Forge General Hospital. Later I was transferred to Rodriquez Army Hospital in Puerto Rico in 1946 and in 1948 was assigned to Wright-Patterson AFB where I remained until my retirement in 1965.

JOSEPHINE A. PRICHARD
172nd General Hospital

DOROTHY V. PRIOR
20th General Hospital

BETTIE J. REED
172nd General Hospital

JEANNE BAYNE REITZ
234th General Hospital

GLADYS WOLF RICHARDS
69th General Hospital and later 143rd General Hospital, Calcutta.

MAJOR GERALDINE SMITH RICHARDSON
I sailed aboard the SS Brazil on March, 1942 with the 159th Station Hospital located on the Malir Desert near Karachi. Had temporary duty with the 97th Station Hospital at Agra and the 178th Station Hospital at Ramgarh, India. After returning from India, I served 2 tours in Germany, 1 in Japan and duty in seven states before retiring in 1961 at the 11th Field Hospital in Augsburg, Germany.

NORA G. RICHARDSON
172nd General Hospital

IRENE B. RIEDER
20th General Hospital

JANET E. (CONKLIN) ROGERS
I was in the Army Nurse Corps with the 159th Station Hospital and the 181st General Hospital in Karachi, India.

DOROTHY A. ROOT
120th and 142nd General Hospitals

DEPHANE JENSEN ROSE
172nd General Hospital

ROBERTA ROSS
821st MAES

IRENE L. ROUND
172nd General Hospital

ALOHA DRENNAN SANCHEZ
821st MAES

MARIAN DANNIS SANFORD
44th Field Hospital

MARGARET G. SCHMERTZ
498th Hosp. Ship Platoon.

GERALDINE E. SCHMIT
172nd General Hospital

SYLVIA J. SCHRAM
142nd General Hospital

MILDRED SCOLNICK
2nd Lt., 69th General Hospital, India, 26 May 1944 - 14 October 1945.

ELSIE G. SCOTT
14th Evac. Hospital

ELSIE CHIN SEETOO
I was commisioned in the Army Nurse Corps in Kunming in June of 1944 and assigned to the 95th Station Hospital.Detached to Chengtu for 5 months in 1945. Promoted to First Lieutenant in September 1945. When the 95th Station Hospitalwas due to return to the U.S. in October, I was transferred to the 172nd General Hospital for further duty in Shanghai.Returned to the U.S. in February 1946, and discharged in May.
Prior to my Army service, I was a Chinese Red Cross Medical Relief Corps nursing instructor serving with the ChineseArmy in Ramgarh, training medical orderlies. Met First Lieutenant Matilda Dykstra, then chief nurse of the 22nd FieldHospital there. She recruited me to cover two wards of sick Chinese Army soldiers for 4-6 weeks until I was orderedback to Kunming. Being bilingual, I understood the difficulties many of my Army nurse cohorts had at the time.

JEAN PARKS SEIDEL
73rd Evac. Hospital, Ledo, Assam.

DOROTHY W. SHEPHERD
18th and 20th General Hospitals

MAUDE INEZ SHERRILL
111th General Hospital

DOROTHRY L. SIBERT
172nd General Hospital

BEATRICE SKARUPA
22nd Field Hospital

PAULINE J. SKOVIRA
172nd General Hospital

Mrs. CHARLES A. SLOTT
20th General Hospital

CATHERINE E. SINCLITICO
73rd Evac. Hospital, 20th General Hospital.

MARJORIE J. SMAIL
234th General Hospital

BEATRICE K. SMITH (BEATRICE KINLEY TOURIN)
Departed Indiana with the 69th General Hospital, serving in Assam, India before joining the 73rd Evacuation Hospital in Burma. Later she was sent to Okinawa via the Philippines in anticipation of the invasion of Japan. The atomic bombs ended the war before the invasion was necessary and she returned home via Portland, Oregon and was discharged at Des Moines, Iowa.

HANNAH A. SMITH
172nd General Hospital

HERMA SMITH
172nd General Hospital

DELORES (HAZELWOOD) SMOCZYNSKI
Joined the Army Nurse Corps in May 1943 and was assigned to the 25th Field Hospital. Sailed on the George Washington to Bombay, India. While there I married Norman Smoczynski. I was in Ledo, Assam and then sent to Shingbwiyang, Burma attached to the N.C.A.C. with stations in Ledo, Shingbwiyang and Myitikinia, Muse, Warazup and Lashio. I returned home in 1945.

ANNE SOSH
172nd General Hospital

ELSIE M. SOURS, MAJOR USAF
Graduated from the University of Pa. Hospital and did private duty nursing until joining the 20th General Hospital in 1942 which was activated at Camp Claiborn, La. in May 1942. Left Wilmington Ca. January 1943 on the U.S.S. Monticello and arrived in Bombay, India in February and arrived at our hospital in Margherita, India March 1943. I returned to the states July 1945 and remained in the service. In 1949 I transferred to the Air Force and in 1952 joined the 3rd Hospital Group and was stationed in England until 1954, and retired in June 1962.

MARGARET I. SPAHR
112th Station and 263rd General Hospitals

ANGELINE SPEACHT
20th General Hospital

RUTH I. (LEE) SPITZ
172nd General Hospital

BETTY LANDIS SPYCHALSKI
I was commissioned in the Army Nurse Corps April 1942 as a Second Lieutenant. Left the U.S. in January 1943 aboard the SS Monticello and reported for duty at Base Section No. 3 in CBI 1943 and served 31 months with the 20th General Hospital. I was discharged as First Lieutenant, September 1945.

VIRGINIA M. SQUIRE
594th Med. and 181st General Hospitals

KATHRYN (KORDISH) STEVENS
142nd General Hospital

MILDRED E. STODDARD
111th Station and 181st General Hospitals

GERTRUDE STUESSER
100th Station Hospital

HELEN MARIO SVORIDA
172nd General Hospital

BERNICE V. TAYLOR
Joined the Army Nurses Corps and was deployed to Burma with the 73rd Evacuation Hospital Unit at Shingbwiyang after arriving from Los Angeles in February, 1943.She transferred out of that unit and was sent to Calcutta before being sent back to the U.S. She weighed 98 lbs. in her dress uniform when she returned.
Soon after she arrived in Burma, a photographer took her picture riding on a jeep with a fellow nurse, dressed in khaki fatigues and combat boots.That picture was circulated to newspapers across the U.S. Milton Caniff, an illustrator for a war-time comic strip "Terry and the Pirates" saw her picture and wanted to use her likeness for his newest comic character, Nurse Taffy Tucker. When he contacted her, she said he would have to get permission from her mother.After three letters from Mr. Caniff to her mother, she finally consented and sent Bernice’s service picture to him. A large number of girls auditioned for the part, but Milton Caniff said, "Miss Bernice Taylor of White Cloud, Kansas, is the perfect Nurse Taffy Tucker."
During her military career, she served in Japan, England and various locations in the United States. Bernice retired in June 1966 as a Lieutenant Colonel. She loved the military life, and exemplified the dedicated women of the Army Nurse Corps who served in The Forgotten War of the Pacific.

DOROTHY M. TAYOR
172nd General Hospital

EMMA CATHERINE BURCH TERRELL
Chief Nurse, 18th General Hospital, Ledo and Myitkyina.

FRANCES THORP
821st MAES

FRANCES C. THURLOUGH
12th Station and 263rd General Hospitals

DOROTHY LOUISE TILLY
172nd General Hospital

IRENE SYBLE TREWEEK
172nd General Hospital

BERTHA URENSON
Served as a graduate nurse with the 172nd Field Hospital.

AMY RUTH VANDERWOODIE
172nd General Hospital

MILDRED "MIMI" VRABEL
72nd Field Hospital.

TWYLA APPELGATE WAGAMAN
20th General Hospital, Chabua; 14th Evac. Hospital, Ledo; 142nd General Hospital, Calcutta.

JEAN H. WALDON
803rd Medical Air Evacuation Unit. Native of Frankfort, NY. Trained at Bowman Field, Kentucky. Received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Bronze Star (with oak leaf clusters) and possibly the Silver Star.

GRACE ANNA WEIDMAN
I entered Army Nurse Corps March 1941 and left the states in 1942 on the U.S.S. Brazil with the 159th Station Hospital, landing in Karachi. I was also with the 181st General Hospital and the 178th Station Hospital. I was discharged in December 1945.

EVELYN E. WEIGOLD
(see Evelyn W. Crane)

MARY HELEN WHEELER
172nd General Hospital

KATHLEEN MERRILL WIEBEN
Surgical Nurse, 69th General Hospital.

JAYNE D. WIGGINS
142nd General Hospital

ZERYLE TASE WILCOX
73rd Evac. Hospital, Shingbwiyang; 25th Field Hospital, Lashio; 172nd General Hospital, Kunming.

MARIAN TEPEL WILSON
20th General Hospital.

C. GRACE HUGHES WILLISON
181st General Hospital

ELEANOR WINGFIELD
172nd General Hospital

LT. COL. LEONA R., WOLF
I was inducted into the Army Nurse Corps in January 1945 and arrived at Myitkyina, Burma via a MATS flight in February. I was stationed at the 48th Evac. Hospital, the 18th General Hospital and the 20th General Hospital and then the 181st General Hospital.I returned to the U.S. in February 1946. While in active reserves, I was recalled during the Korean conflict and remained n active duty until retirement as a Lt. Colonel in August 1969.

MARY B. WOOD
20th General Hospital

MARIE SCHERMANN WOOD
20th General Hospital

ETHEL G. YAVORSKY
I was inducted into the Army Nurse Corps in May 1941. In March I sailed from Charleston aboard the SS Brazil and arrived in Karachi, India in May 1942. My overseas assignments include the 159th Station Hospital and the 181st General Hospital Karachi and the S.O.S. Hospital in Chakulia, India. I returned to the U. S. in October 1944. From March 1953 to March 1955 I served with the Army Nurse Corps in Japan.

AVIS L. ZIEGLER
20th General Hospital

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Hospital Units in CBI
China-Burma-India Theater of World War II

This page is dedicated to my wife and favorite nurse, Christine M. Weidenburner.

Information provided by Tom Miller, Wendall Phillips and Gary Goldblatt.

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