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Records on New York State Nurses’ Military Service

In late 1990 the Foundation of the New York State Nurses Association Center for History of Nursing initiated a project to document New York state nurses’ service in the Persian Gulf. The project was subsequently expanded to include documentation of all New York nurses’ military service and contributions, from the Civil War to the present. Scrapbooks, letters, photographs, audio tapes, artifacts, and memorabilia document the service and contributions of New York state military nurses. Included are photographs and other materials from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. Of particular note are nurses’ uniforms from the Korean War, scrapbooks from World War II and the Persian Gulf War, and photographs of New York nurses at Iwo Jima.

 

Index code: MC7

Finding Guide:

Box List for the Records on New York State Nurses’ Military Service   

Compiled by Rachel Donaldson, Archivist October, 2006

 

VOLUME: 15 cubic feet
ACQUISITION: This collection is made up of multiple accessions of nursing artifacts and memorabilia from a wide variety of donors. Whenever possible, accession information is provided below.
ACCESS: This collection is open to the public by appointment.
COPYRIGHT: Please consult the repository for information about duplication or publishing of any materials from this collection.

Box and Folder List

Box 1

  • Name Items in Files Conflict/Location
    Anderson, Nora Memoir World War II
    Banovic, Martin Questionnaire Persian Gulf War, 1991
    Bolton, Diana L. Letter Persian Gulf War, 1991
    Bonney, Virginia
    (See also: Records Center Box 4)    		 Book on New Zealand, photos, articles World War II/New Zealand
    Collins, Phyllis Pins, articles, pledge, correspondence, programs, orientation materials Persian Gulf War, 1991
    (A94-9)
    Coyle, Norma Fosher    		 Biography, photos World War II
    Davis Essel Letter to the editor Persian Gulf War, 1991
    Gardner, Jean Bookmark, articles, reunion materials, military women memorial items World War II
    (A92-12) Johnson, Gloriana Photo, articles, letters from Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, application for fed employment, questionnaire World War II and other
    (A92-17) Correspondence, Memorial Day at Arlington cemetery program, Korean War Veterans Memorial materials
    (A92-18) Prisoner of War (POW) action sheet, Women in Military Service Memorial information, Veteran’s Day at Arlington program
    (A93-2) Correspondence, Korean War Remembrance program, resume, Sen. Bob Smith/POW/MIA hearing materials
    (A93-4) Sen. Bob Smith/POW/MIA materials, Vietnam Memorial Program, Public Health Nursing section of the American Public Health Association annual meeting
    (A93-15) (A94-3) (A94-4) Photos, articles, Cadet Nurse Corps info, correspondence
    (A94-8) Photos, Cadet Nurse Corps 50th Anniversary programs, correspondence, National Institutes of Health Alumni Association annual meeting program, Republican National Convention 1994 materials, Republican party publications, “Wall of Liberty and “The Chosen Few” materials, POW/MIA materials
    Misc. Correspondence, Women’s Memorial, Korean War Memorial materials, POW/MIA Recognition Day, 1985
    Johnston, Ada Brief article
    Lydford, Cynthia Edith Cavell postcard World War I
    Persian Gulf Misc. National Nurses Week 1991, photos Persian Gulf War, 1991
    Rice, Elizabeth Hiddeman Correspondence, article World War II/Cadet Nurses Corps
    Scinto, Mary
    (See also: Records Center Box 3)    		 Letter Persian Gulf War, 1991

Box 2

  • Name Items in Files Conflict/Location
    Traub, Mary Margaret Wood (A96-16) Timeline, journal entries (photocopies), memoir, article World War II
    Vartigan, Helen (A94-5) Vietnam Women’s Memorial articles, list of decorations, poems Vietnam
    Walton, Linda Correspondence Persian Gulf War, 1991
    Kane, Shirley (A95-12) Correspondence, articles, Memorial Hospital School of Nursing materials, resume, photos World War II/The Acadia (ship)
    Thompson, Phyllis J. Photos (excellent exhibit potential), history of the Army Nurse Corps 232nd General Hospital World War II
    Johnson, Gloriana World War II & Korea Memorial dedication programs, news clippings World War II/Korean War
    Ward, Agnes Spock (A91-58)
    (See also: Records Center Box 3)    		 Nursing care articles, particularly on frostbite with research, photos and correspondence (published in the American Journal of Nursing) World War II/Korean War
    (A91-66) Letter
    (A95-16) American College of Surgeons report, 1972, Army Nurse Corps publications
    (A2001-3) Informational materials from the US Army Medical Dept. Museum, 51st Anniversary of the Army Nurse Corps letters
    Vaughn, Lillian Yard ID papers, 1918 World War I
    Rudolph, Connie (Constance Oestrike) (A96-18)
    (See also: Records Center Boxes 1, 2 and 6)    		 Copies of photos, citations and other official military papers World WarII
    (A96-18) second folder Newsletter, officer’s notebook, prayer book, Red Cross booklet, “Going Back to Civilian Life” booklet, notebook (listing flights on and off the island), church service program World War II/Wake Island
    Misc. Army Nurse Corps bumper sticker
    Misc. Women in Military Service materials 1996-1997
    Hosgood, Sylvia Handbook for cadet nurses World War II/Cadet Nurse Corps/Military Air Transport Service, 1965
    Rem, Christopher and Christine Bookmark, Highlights of the History of the Army Nurse Corps Army Nurse Corps/2000
    Elisha, Paul Poetry
    Jones, Edith May Brief memoir World War II

Box 3

  • Lillian Yard Vaughn items
  • 3 scrapbooks from her time as a Red Cross nurse during and right after WWI at Base Hospital 33 in Portsmouth, England, 1918-1919. These include: newspaper clippings and comics, handwritten explanatory notes and copies of jokes and humorous verse, pressed plants, ID cards, clippings from theater programs, various souvenirs and gifts from patients including foreign bills, drawings by herself and patients, a memo on the signing of the Armistice, ration cards, stamps and envelopes, a few photos, souvenirs of dances and dinners, greeting cards, journal entries from her quarantine with “meningococcis germs” (meningitis?) and messages and letters from other patients and nurses
  • ID papers and the small metal locket in which they were carried

Box 4

  • Shirley Kane items
  • Red Cross arm band, striped kerchief (?) with Red Cross pins, 2 caps, one khaki, one dark green
Box 5
Artifacts and Memorabilia:

  • Keaneny, Mary E., Col. A.N. US Army Reserves- Scrapbook of the Persian Gulf War includes some photos, news clippings, writings by Keaneny, letters, Arabic language dictionary sheets, etc.
  • News clippings, mostly photocopies, various
  • Scinto, Mary- US Army Nurse Corps coin and pin, Persian Gulf
  • Stone, Marian, (A1993-18)- World War I nurses kit
  • Unidentified- photo of nurse in army uniform dated 2001
  • Vietnam Women’s Memorial benefit reception program, 1986
  • Ward, Agnes, (A1996-12)- military issue watch, World War II
Box 6
Books:

  • Alcott, Louisa M., Hospital Sketches. Roberts Brothers: Boston, 1892.
  • Livermore, Mary A., My Story of the War: A woman’s narrative of four years personal experience. A.D. Worthington and Co.: Hartford, CT, 1890.
  • Morden, Bettie J., The Women’s Army Corps 1945-1978. Center of Military History United States Army: Washington, D.C., 1990
  • Murphy, Sharon and Marietta P. Stanton, Nurses in the United States Military: A proud heritage for the profession: bibliography. 1991.
  • Norman, Elizabeth M., Women at War. University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia, 1990. (stories of women who served in Vietnam)
  • The Officers Guide. The Military Service Publishing Co.: Harrisburg, PA, 1949. (A1996-12, Ward, Agnes)
  • ed. Van Devanter, Lynda and Joan A. Furey, Visions of War, Dreams of Peace: Writings of women in the Vietnam War. Warner Books: NY, 1991
  • Walker, Keith, A Piece of My Heart. Ballantine Books: NY, 1985. (A1991-35, Fielding, Jane stories of women who served in Vietnam)

Box 7

  • Bonney, Virginia scrapbook and photo album from her experiences as a nurse during World War II stationed in New Zealand.
  • Ewing, Emma Myrtle and Henry S. (sister and brother)
    • 4 Scrapbooks (appear to have been compiled by Emma while her brother, a nurse, was overseas in the Navy) consisting of lots and lots of news clippings, photos, comics, drawings, writings, nursing school instructions, report cards, craft instructions, letters, telegrams, poems
    • photo of Henry in Navy uniform with newsclipping

Box 8

  • Artifacts
    • Artifacts
    • 50th Anniversary of the Cadet Nurse Corps programs and booklets
    • Army Nurse Corps 100th Anniversary celebration program
    • Cardara, Mary Nancy: US Navy Nurse- photo album, 1939-1941
    • Poster- commemorating military nurses, 2001
    • Schampier, Shirley: “Melody of the Sands” sand sculpture, Air Force cap and patch.
      (See also Photographs and Videos in this box.)
    • Women in Military Service for America Memorial dedication medal, 1997
  • Books
    • American Red Cross First Aid, 1969
    • “Highlights in the History of the Army Nurse Corps”
    • Federal Security Agency- Public Health Service. The United States Cadet Nurse Corps and Other Federal Nurse Training Programs. United States Government Printing Office: Washington, 1950.
  • Photographs
    • Schampier, Shirley: 38 photos of the start-up of the Al-Bateen Air Force Base in the United Arab Emirates.
      (See also Artifacts and Videos in this box.)
    • various events honoring military nurses, 1997
    • Vartigian, Helen- copy of Vietnam photo
    • WWII Memorial dedication (Albany), 2003
  • Videos
    • Collins, oral history
    • Liberty, Frances M., oral history
    • “Not on the Front Lines”
    • Rudolph, Connie- “Caring for Military Wounded”
    • Schampier, Shirley, Desert Storm slides.
      (See also Artifacts and Photographs in this box.)

Box 9

  • Connie Rudolph Air Force Flight Nurse uniforms, World War II
  • 2 sets of wool green jackets and skirts, with matching caps
  • 1 set of khaki jacket and skirt with burgundy tie and matching cap
  • 2 dark blue dresses, one light weight, one medium weight, with matching caps and ties
  • Dark blue wool cape
  • Dark blue full-length wool coat with brass buttons

Box 10

  • Elisha, Jean- boots worn in Persian Gulf War, 1991

Box 11

  • Clearwater, Helena – medals, records, obituary, books (A2005-08)
  • Latremore, Beatrice – copy of Navy Service Records (A2003-48)
  • Pollard, Cindy – sheet music for “The Rose of No Man’s Land is Blooming Again,” c.1945

Oversize

  • reproduction Army Cadet Nurse Corps recruitment poster, foam core

 

Revisions:
Rachel Donaldson, Archivist October 11, 2006
Gertrude B. Hutchinson June, 2014
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Guide to Archival Records