ThompsonSavage Posted November 29, 2011 Share #1 Posted November 29, 2011 Was the M1943 folding shovel issued to female personnel in the field during WWII? Any pictures of female personnel with a M1943 shovel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37thguy Posted November 29, 2011 Share #2 Posted November 29, 2011 Check out the TO&Es for a nurses outfit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B. Posted November 29, 2011 Share #3 Posted November 29, 2011 I can't speak for all female soldiers, but this one, 1st Lt. Evelyn P. Nace, was issued all of her field gear at Ft Benning in March, 1945 prior to the departure of her unit for Europe. It would appear they were not issued any entrenching tools or shelter halves. She was assigned to the 118th Evasc Hospital, which was part of First Army. Below is a copy of her issue paperwork and her ID card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted November 29, 2011 Share #4 Posted November 29, 2011 Nurses wouldn't have much use for an entrenching tool, but I would wonder if some WAACs or Women Marines got it depending on duty? Let's not forget though, that Nurses were commisioned and officers seldom carried entrenching tools anyway. RC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThompsonSavage Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted November 29, 2011 Thanks, that's the kind of info I am looking for :thumbsup: I saw a picture once of nurses standing around a jeep between some tents. One of them was holding a shovel, but this could have been from a vehicle. In case someone does have a picture of female personnel using shovels or having shovel pouches attached to their webbing, please post them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B. Posted November 29, 2011 Share #6 Posted November 29, 2011 I suspect that while they might not have been issued entrenching tools, nurses may have had a use for them, depending on the exact circumstances. 1st Lt Nace was assigned to a large evac hospital, well to the rear, and these hospitals were housed in large, semi-permanent complexes featuring tents, latrines, etc. Other nurses, such as the first groups landing in France after D-Day may very well have been issued e-tools & pup tents. Same goes in the Pacific theater. It just depends on the exact circumstances. Even if not an issued item, soldiers (of all ranks & sexes) have a tendency to acquire what they feel they need, and I can certainly envision circumstances where a nurse might want a shovel to help dig a cathole to answer nature's call or a foxhole for protection. In most cases, the unit's enlisted personnel would be doing the digging for communal latrines & shelters, but in the early days or when on the move, they probably had to fend for themselves. Just because they weren't on the TO&E or not an issue item doesn't mean that no one had them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franklin45 Posted November 30, 2011 Share #7 Posted November 30, 2011 Here is a photo showing female personnel disembarking in France during the summer of 1944. Both the M1943 Folding Shovel and the M1910 Pick Mattock Can be seen. This image comes from the well known archive of Normandy Signal Corps shots. I don't have any further details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franklin45 Posted November 30, 2011 Share #8 Posted November 30, 2011 Detail: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted November 30, 2011 Share #9 Posted November 30, 2011 It would be interesting to know in what capacity they are serving. Nice detail of the pick and shovel. RC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted November 30, 2011 Share #10 Posted November 30, 2011 You can also see several of them (enlisted I assume) with the bed roll on the Musette Bag. This is fairly rare to see as well. The two officers that are easy to ID do not have the bed roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Apathy Posted November 30, 2011 Share #11 Posted November 30, 2011 Here is a photo showing female personnel disembarking in France during the summer of 1944. Both the M1943 Folding Shovel and the M1910 Pick Mattock Can be seen. This image comes from the well known archive of Normandy Signal Corps shots. I don't have any further details. Whoopeeeeee !! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, :thumbsup: Thanks ThompsonSavage, for starting this interesting topic on whether Nurses carried 43 shovels. :thumbsup: And thank you Franklin for adding the photograph that you did to show Nurses using shovels and pick-mattocks. For me your photograph also identifies an item that I recovered from the sand dunes at Utah Beach in 2010, the armored shield from the .50 Cal guns seen either side of the Nurse about to jump. Note in my photograph on the right hand side the shaped design of the steel plate and how it matches the ones in the Signal Corp photograph. Cheers :thumbsup: ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted November 30, 2011 Share #12 Posted November 30, 2011 I get the feeling that Ken's a happy-camper today!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThompsonSavage Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share #13 Posted November 30, 2011 Well Ken, everybody is happy today Thanks to Franklin for posting that picture, both Ken and I got our answers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted November 30, 2011 Share #14 Posted November 30, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikie Posted March 2, 2021 Share #15 Posted March 2, 2021 On 11/30/2011 at 1:09 AM, General Apathy said: Whoopeeeeee !! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, :thumbsup: Thanks ThompsonSavage, for starting this interesting topic on whether Nurses carried 43 shovels. :thumbsup: And thank you Franklin for adding the photograph that you did to show Nurses using shovels and pick-mattocks. For me your photograph also identifies an item that I recovered from the sand dunes at Utah Beach in 2010, the armored shield from the .50 Cal guns seen either side of the Nurse about to jump. Note in my photograph on the right hand side the shaped design of the steel plate and how it matches the ones in the Signal Corp photograph. Cheers :thumbsup: ken I just found this old post from 10 years ago while digging up some research about shovels. Ken, what kind of shovel did you use to dig this out? Folding or t-handle? Fantastic discovery! Also, next time you chat with Sabrejet, tell him I liked the song he posted here. Ha! Mikie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Apathy Posted March 2, 2021 Share #16 Posted March 2, 2021 4 hours ago, mikie said: I just found this old post from 10 years ago while digging up some research about shovels. Ken, what kind of shovel did you use to dig this out? Folding or t-handle? Fantastic discovery! Also, next time you chat with Sabrejet, tell him I liked the song he posted here. Ha! Mikie . Hi Mikie Here's another .50 Cal shield, this one I found in a museum, so I had to leave it there. The one I recovered years ago was on the surface in the sand dunes so no digging was involved. . . . cheers ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conn Posted March 2, 2021 Share #17 Posted March 2, 2021 i wonder if vanity fair, or good housekeeping did any articles on the subject of females and shovels, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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