Interview of Mildred Blandford on her service as a secretary in the American Red Cross during WWII

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Description:

Mildred Blandford talks about her service as a secretary in the American Red Cross during World War Two. Blandford, who served from August 1944 to November 1945, says that she joined the Red Cross for overseas adventure and spent most of her time stationed at the 194th General Hospital in Paris. She says that she was quartered in a Parisian hotel with maid service, but that service in the hospital was no picnic and meant leaving her secretarial duties often to help care for the onslaught of wounded soldiers. After VE Day, Blandford says that she volunteered for duty in the Pacific and was sent to Okinawa where she found herself living in a tent rather than luxury hotel. She talks about her daily tasks and again helping out with wounded G.I.s. and describes two typhoons that hit the island and how staff tried to protect the patients in the tent hospital from the storm. At war's end, Blandford says that she returned to Louisville to work, but later went back to Paris for school and to work for NATO. Blandford is interviewed by Dorothy M. Harrison.

Date Issued:

1983-10-01T00:00:00Z

Data Provider:

Michigan State University. Libraries

Collection:

Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project

Place:

France, Paris, Japan, Okinawa Island, Japan, Okinawa Island, Japan, Okinawa Island, France, and Paris

Subject Topic:

Secretaries, World War, 1939-1945, World War, 1939-1945, Participation, Female, World War, 1939-1945, War work, Red Cross, Housing, World War, 1939-1945, Hospitals, Typhoons, Hospital patients, Care, Hospital patients, and Care

Subject Name:

Blandford, Mildred, American National Red Cross, United States, Army, General Hospital, 194th, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Subject Genre:

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews, and Personal narratives, American

Language:

English

Rights:

In Copyright

URL:

https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5kq6q