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Battle of the Bulge - 70th Anniversary Reunion


cutiger83
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Today, there was a Battle of the Bulge 70th Anniversary Reunion at the state museum. There were 40 vets offering signatures. The lines were long but I made sure to get in the line with the only female vet. I was in heaven talking to her. It is hard to imagine this frail grandmother landing in Normandy in July 1944 and serving in the Battle of the Bulge. After getting home, I searched her name and found a great article about her on the NPR website.

 

First up is this picture of the poster they were selling at the reunion.

 

bulge.JPG

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Here is the website where I found her:

 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1913743

 

 

Here is an excerpt from the website. You should read her story.

 

"As she arrived at Normandy's Utah Beach, Katherine Flynn Nolan jumped from her landing craft into the water — and nearly drowned. It was July 1944, a month after D-Day and the water off the French coast was deeper than the 5-foot-3 Army nurse was expecting. Her backpack was so heavy it was pulling her down. A tall fellow nurse reached over and lifted Nolan's backpack, holding it until they reached shallow water."

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Here are two pictures from the website:

 

Nolan.jpg

 

"Fellow combat nurse Laura Ball washes Kate Nolan's hair at a field hospital in France in September 1944"

 

Nolan2.jpg

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I have seen this field hospital picture before. Now I met one of the nurses in the picture! I have been over the top excited all day!

 

Last but not least, I bought this book as well as the poster.

 

book.JPG

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Sounds like a great day.

 

Thanks for posting

 

Thanks Ron! I had no idea that the frail grandmother that I saw sitting in the chair with nurse insignia on her cap was this nurse! I wish I had known ahead of time. I would have been in even more awe!

 

...Kat

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Kat, Have you ever read "A Half Acre of Hell" by Avis Schorer?

 

She was a combat nurse at Anzio and beyond. I'm not sure if she's still there, but she was still a volunteer at a local hospital here in Minnesota where my wife was working as an ER Nurse.

 

A fascinating lady and a wonderful book too with a lot of good photos of her experience to go with the text.

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Kat, Have you ever read "A Half Acre of Hell" by Avis Schorer?

 

She was a combat nurse at Anzio and beyond. I'm not sure if she's still there, but she was still a volunteer at a local hospital here in Minnesota where my wife was working as an ER Nurse.

 

A fascinating lady and a wonderful book too with a lot of good photos of her experience to go with the text.

 

I have read that book! It is one of my favorites. That is amazing that she volunteered where your wife worked.

 

Even though that book is sitting in my bookcase, I appreciate you posting the name. I am ALWAYS looking for good books about women in the military.

 

...Kat

 

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That's really cool Kat -

 

Thanks! It was a great day. There were a few displays at the reunion. It was so blasted hot outside that no one was looking at the jeeps.

 

...Kat

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Kat, it is a shame that these nurses are over there and I am over here!

 

It would have been a fantastic opportunity to find out how the war nurses structured their day...or if there WAS any structure

 

Nurses like myself will have NO idea of what they saw or how they dealt with it using limited equipment...

 

We are lucky with state of the art ventilators, medications and monitoring equipment

 

Managing a soldier with half his torso ripped off from a mine or grenade would have been appalling....

 

You are very lucky to have met her...

 

Thank you for making my day...

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Hi Kat!

 

Thank you for sharing such an exciting day with us! You got to look living legends right in the eye, what a great opportunity. I bet she could keep us all riveted for hours and hours with her accounts. I'm really glad you got to meet such an awesome lady.

 

Best wishes!

 

Joe

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General Apathy

 

Thanks! It was a great day. There were a few displays at the reunion. It was so blasted hot outside that no one was looking at the jeeps.

 

...Kat

Hi Kat, sounds like you had a very good day, nice when you can to talk with people who made history.

 

Take a look at this link there are lots of women in uniform and mainly nurses, clicking on the photo's leads to further information and possibly more photo's

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=WWII+American+nurses+in+Normandy&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=xvIFVNXBGMLjaI20gOgJ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1199&bih=567#facrc=_&imgdii=hyK-dsmGEBXhxM%3A%3BAo8v2jLZrhqwlM%3BhyK-dsmGEBXhxM%3A&imgrc=hyK-dsmGEBXhxM%253A%3BYcpXq6xBJxm8OM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia-cache-ec0.pinimg.com%252F236x%252F70%252Ffa%252Ff9%252F70faf9f96159a3cb229af6699dd567d6.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.pinterest.com%252FhardysCorner7%252Fhistory-normandy-1944-1945%252F%3B236%3B334

 

Ken

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Take a look at this link there are lots of women in uniform and mainly nurses, clicking on the photo's leads to further information and possibly more photo's

Ken

 

 

Ken,

 

Thanks so much! This is great.

 

I hope you are doing well.

 

...Kat

 

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