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- Description:
- In an oral history interview, 93 year-old Lena Hitchcock talks about her pioneering service as an occupational therapist in the U.S. Army during World War I. She says that she was one of the first of her profession to join the Army and was in the first group of women sent to France to establish physical therapy practices in American hospitals. Hitchcock recalls being shipped to France aboard a troop transport which was part of a twenty-nine ship British convoy and being assigned to a New York nursing unit which was part of the Army Medical Corps. She says that she was always too busy to keep a diary of her experiences in Europe and that beginning each day at 6:00am she was faced with treating a constant flow of casualties coming in from front line aid stations. Hitchcock also describes the science behind physical therapy, gives a history of the profession and explains why she chose it as a career. The interview is conducted during the 62nd Annual WOSL Convention. Hitchcock is interviewed by Jane Ingersoll Piatt and Geneva K. Wiskemann from the WOSL Lansing Unit.
- Date Issued:
- 1982-07-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project
- Description:
- Betty Thompson talks about her service in the U.S. Army during World War Two. Thompson recalls working in Chicago as a physical therapist before she enlisted in October 1943 and was sent to the 48th General Hospital in Memphis, TN. Thompson says she was first shipped overseas to Glasgow, Scotland and later to Stockbridge in England to help set up a hospital. She describes her quarters in Stockbridge, her rations, the weather, and how the nurses were treated. She also remembers the D-Day preparations that were going on around her, the conditions on the Normandy beaches when her unit finally arrived in August, how busy she was with casualties and the chaos of the Battle of the Bulge. Thompson says she returned to the States in October 1945, took a discharge at the end of 1945, was married, continued to work, and raised a family. Thompson also says that her time in the Army Nurse Corps was the highlight of her professional life. Thompson is interviewed by Lilah Ramsey.
- Date Issued:
- 1984-05-14T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project