G.I. Nightingales

The Army Nurse Corps in World War II

Barbara Brooks Tomblin

Narrated by Laura Jennings

Available from Audible

Book published by The University Press of Kentucky

Weaving together information from official sources and personal interviews, Barbara Tomblin gives the first full-length account of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in the Second World War. She describes how over 60,000 army nurses, all volunteers, cared for sick and wounded American soldiers in every theater of the war, serving in the jungles of the Southwest Pacific, the frozen reaches of Alaska and Iceland, the mud of Italy and northern Europe, or the heat and dust of the Middle East. Many of the women in the Army Nurse Corps served in dangerous hospitals near the front lines—201 nurses were killed by accident or enemy action, and another 1,600 won decorations for meritorious service. These nurses address the extreme difficulties of dealing with combat and its effects in World War II, and their stories are all the more valuable to women’s and military historians because they tell of the war from a very different viewpoint than that of male officers. Although they were unable to achieve full equality for American women in the military during World War II, army nurses did secure equal pay allowances and full military rank, and they proved beyond a doubt their ability and willingness to serve and maintain excellent standards of nursing care under difficult and often dangerous conditions.

Barbara Brooks Tomblin taught military history at Rutgers University and is the author of several articles, as well as G.I. Nightingales: The Army Nurse Corps in World War II.

REVIEWS:

“Admirable narrative history of the U.S. Army nurses of World War II...”

—Booklist

“Tomblin writes not only a history of the nurses who served, but, in many ways, a history of the war itself, concentrating on the role of the medical staff, rather than that of the soldiers... There is much to be learned about the strength and dignity of American women. Barbara Tomblin has created a book which will aid in that learning process.”

—H-Net Reviews

“Not only a history of the nurses who served, but, in many ways, a history of the war itself, concentrating on the role of medical staff.”

—Journal of American Culture

“Tomblin has done a prodigious amount of work in gathering this material and rescuing these women for history.”

—Journal of American History

“Along with their deserving stories, the reader learns the history of women nurses in the military. Tomblin allows the nurses to tell their stories in their own words, describing everything from operating room procedures to their participation in the Normandy invasion.”

—Library Journal

“Discusses not only the types of illnesses that the nurses encountered, but also the environment they lived in, the cultural issues, and the social life that kept them in balance.”

—Military Medicine

“Recommended for readers interested in the history of military nursing, especially for those entering military nursing service, so that they can understand the sacrifices made by a previous generation, and what their contributions mean for today’s and tomorrow’s military nurses.”

—Nursing History Review

“Deeply researched and finely crafted.... A worthy tribute to the more than 60,000 Army Nurse Corps members who served their nation in World War II.”

—WWII History