NURSING REPORT 1943

Our chief nurse was 1st Lt Helen W. Brammer, ANC who submitted the following the report covering nursing activities from the time the nurses were assigned to our unit and while we were
on duty in Tlemcen, Algeria. I have her original report in my hands. The following is in her own
words:

HEADQUARTERS
32nd Station Hospital
APO 364

REPORT OF NURSING ACTIVITIES - 1943

"The original fifty-five Nurses, two (2) PTAs, and one (1) Dietitian, of the 32d Station Hospital
asembled at Camp Kilmer Staging Area and joined the unit for overseas duty on the 29 December 1942.Proceeding to New York Port of Embarkation on the 15 January 1943, the main body of the Hospital Unit boarded the USS Ancon. Twenty-four of the Nurses were assigned into groups of four and accompanied by a Medical Officer, traveled on diffferent ships in the same convoy. A comfortable and uneventful trip was experienced by all and we arrived at our destination, Oran, Algeria on the 26 January 1943."

From Oran, we were transported in trucks a distance of ten miles to a small resort town, Bouisseville, where we were bivouacked for three weeks. Housed in French style villas, we quickly discovered that our comfort demanded largely on the ability to improvise, and with true pioneer spirit each one furnished an idea that added to our personal well being. Our day here included group calesthenics on the beach, a morning assembly with the Chief Nurse, followed by lessons in French conducted by one of the Nurses. An hour or two in the afternoon was devoted to lectures by staff officers according to their respective departments. It was at this time that the possibility of training a nurse as an anesthetist was considered and five nurses started a theoretical course on the subject. Recreational facilities were found in Oran and on several occasions entertainment was furnished by groups of British and French Officers. The last day in Bouissaeville was marked by the marrige of one of the nurses, who had in true storybook style, met her fiance upon landing in North Africa. The conventional white gown and orange blossoms were replaced by the blue uniform of the Army Nurse Corps and the flowers found growing in the surrounding countryside. "

On the 18 February 1943, we again packed our equipment, rolled our bedding rolls, and in trucks were conveyed one hundred miles southwest of Oran, to Tlemcen, our hospital site. In this small French-Arab town our first quarters were in a large hotel, "Hotel des Voyageurs", where most of our time was spent in the pursuit and defeat of the hordes of bedbugs that were inhabiting the rooms. Some soap and water, plus kerosene, along with a bit of individual application solved this problem. Our stay in the "Voyageurs" was of a two-day duration, for through the efforts of the Commanding Officer, we were able to requisition a far more modern and comfortable hotel, :Hotel Transatlantique". for our living quarters. Here we found such comforts as clean beds and linens, a spacious dining room and a lobby with a home-like atmosphere. The convenience of bathing facilities along with hot water greatly added to our welfare."

The hospital consisted of two large school buildings. Hospital "A' consisted of the building housing Headquarters, and Administrative Offices: Surgery, Pharmacy, X-Ray, Admission and Disposition Office and Physical Therapy Department. It had a bed capacity of two hundred (200) and was later increased to three hundred and fifty (350), and still later to four-hundred and fifty (450) beds. Hospital "B" which consisted four (4) Niessen Huts built by the Engineers had a bed capacity of two hundred and twenty (220). Hospital "C" which was a few minutes walk from Hospital "A" and just opposite the enlisted personnel's quarters, consisted of the GU, EENT Clinic, Dental and Neuro-Psychiatry, in addition to having medical and nurses' wards. Still further expansion was essential, and a warehouse, adjacent to Hospital "A" was requisitioned and became Hospital "D" which further increased our bed capacity. The roofs of Hospital "A" and "D" were converted into wards by means of a wooden framework and large canvas tents which brought our bed status to one thousand (1000)."

Construction was started by the Engineer Corps, equipment and supplies uncrated and various hospital departments set up. The Nurses made dressings and supplies, collected articles that would be of some utility on the wards, and planned nursing procedures. On 26 February 1943 an order from Headquarters, M.B.S., designated that the 32d Station Hospital stop unpacking and await further orders. Two days later, as an emergency measure, and because of an accident that occurred within the area of our command we had our first two patients. Within the same week the hospital census went from two to fifty, and we continued setting up.

The part played by the Nurses in setting up the Station Hospital overseas was of great importance. The initiative and efforts of all played a very important part in the ease the hospital functioned. Wire, cord, wrapping paper, cardboard, etc. were utilized and substituted for many hospital needs. Packing creates were used as desks, cans from the kitchen served a multitude of purposes, such as bathing patients, excellent light shades, receptacles for refuse, as containers for sterile supplies. Dish and linen cabinets, chart racks and patient rosters, bedside tables, were fashioned from the crates our equipment had been shipped in. A noticeable personal interest was taken by each nurse in the ward she was building and made it fully adequate. Often, the hours of duty were long and our compensation not measured in material values, was in the smile and "thank you" of a front-line weary soldier. All of us will long remember an expression that was uttered by the American soldiers returning from combat zones and the thrill experienced by those simple words, "Ah! an American Nurse!

The nursing treatments carried out were of a very ordinary nature, but were practiced with an added interest and zeal by our nurses. To be doing something, that in a small way, aided the boys who were fighting for our ""world" was considered a privilege. Our crisp white uniforms had been exchanged for a simple blue dress, but the spirit of Florence Nightingale was reborn in every nurse who offered her services to her country.

In June, 1943, due to a coronary attack, Colonel Burstein was relieved from duty by Lt Colonel Hagelshaw, who, after but a short stay was transferred to a nearby Station Hospital and relieved by Lt Colonel Goss, our present Commanding Officer.

We have had few changes among the Nursing Staff. To date, only three (3) replacements have been necessary. The T/O had reduced the number of Nurses from 55 to 50, but has made little noticeable change in our working arrangements. Four Nurses and one PTA were promoted to 1st Lt. on 22 October 1943. When the capacity was increased from five hundred (500) to one thousand (1000), the extra nursing load was carried without an increase in personnel. Many times it was necessary for nurses to work extra hours and to cover groups of wards and buildings due to the large number of small wards and the distance between buildings. There were no serious illnesses among the nurses. Upper respiratory infections and dysentery were the most common causes for hospitalization.

Our patients came from two (2) sources; from the troops stationed in the area, we were servicing as a Station Hospital and from the evacuation hospitals on the Tunisian front, Sicily and Italy. We cared for many types of cases both medical and surgical, some of which, previous to overseas nursing, had been rare experiences for us; such as the malaria patients on the medical service and the varieties of gunshot wounds and their treatments on the surgical service.

By means of a rotation service, each nurse worked in and learned the functions of other departments, and should the need arise would be able to adapt herself to any phase of Army nursing with little difficulty. Ward men were trained by the nurses so that they could capably care for the patients. They were taught how to take temperatures, serve food, the necessity of a good cleansing bath for bed patients, the sterile procedure of catheterization, the importance of proper amounts, and various hospital procedures. A central linen supply was established which prevented the loss of linen we had experienced; a clothing room which kept the wards clear of patient's baggage and a well operated patient's mess, which facilitated the feeding of patients was constructed. Many advancement including an Officer's laundry and mess had been established for our personal comfort. Weekly meetings of the entire officer personnel were conducted where various problems were discussed and solved. Recreational facilities were as many as were possible in North Africa at this time. Movies were shown in our dining room at least once a week; more often when the films were available. Dances were frequent, some times with an orchestra, but more often with the records we had carried with us from the states. Once a month, a formal dance was given and it was with rising morale we put aside our uniforms and stepped into our evening clothes on these occasions. Sightseeing and shopping tours were always popular among the nurses. We were received by the French and Arabs of the town and entertained as lavishly as their meager rations allowed. We had a choice between several restaurants at which we could spend an evening. Food was good and "local color" of the native patrons many times furnished us with entertainment. Through the courtesy of the Spahis troops, many of us made daily horseback riding excursions; while others saw, more closely, the surrounding country-side on bicycle.

During the summer months, we had trips to Beni-Sef, a nearby resort town for swimming. When transportation was not available, we took advantage of the Red Cross swimming pool in town. The later part of August and the first of September, we were granted a week's stay at the Nurses's Rest Camp in Ain-El-Turek. All greatly benefited by this time spent in vacationing at the seashore. We went in two groups, twenty at a time and our place in the hospital was taken over by a group of officers and nurses of the 46th General Hospital who had been assigned to temporary duty with the 32nd Station Hospital. Vacations were over by the middle of September and we were then allowed further time off duty, in the form of two additional three-day leaves. This additional time was possible due to our temporarily enlarged staff. At this time we were also furnished with a detail of Italian prisoners of war, who took over a great many of the more menial tasks, relieving several of our enlisted men for ward work.

Upon returning from rest camp, we received our new issue of clothing and willingly replaced it for our blue uniforms, which by this time were showing the wear that they had been through. The O.D. issue had not been completed for the entire group of nurses, especially the small sizes had not been received.

In September, 1943, a training program was instituted for the nurses which consisted of road marches, close order drill, and a series of lectures, covering such subjects as orientations, Military courtesy, Chemical Warfare, etc..

On 11 November 1943, Armistice Day, in conjunction with the local French Army, the 32nd Station Hospital represented the American forces in the city's Memorial Service honoring the heroes of World War I. A platoon of nurses participated in the ceremony.

Thanksgiving Day was well marked with an excellent turkey dinner and trimmings, and our mess department received a unanimous vote of thanks for having made the day so pleasant. A bit of gloom hung over the day, however, for we had received official word that one of our nurses had been killed in an airplane crash on her way from Algiers.

On November 29, 1943, an official order was received to evacuate all of our patients and to begin packing equipment and supplies. One week was all that was necessary to tear down all that we had been building up for nine (9) months. And within six days time, all our equipment and supplies were in crates and awaiting conveyance to the docks. The speed with which our hospital equipment was crated was due to the efforts of the Officers, Nurses, and enlisted men, who worked conscientiously until their job was finished. Our last organizational dinner in Tlemcen was held on December 4, complete with steak, champagne, and after-dinner speeches; followed later in the evening with a formal dance.

On December 7, the organization boarded trains at Tlemcen, arriving in Oran the next morning, the nurses were transported to MBS staging area number 3; the officers and enlisted personnel to MBS staging area number1.

Our Christmas holidays were made pleasant in a villa, in the staging area. Donations from each nurse decorated the villa, complete with Christmas tree and lights. We pooled our "food gifts" and held open house in the true Christmas spirit. Dinner on Christmas day was partaken apart from the male members of our organization, as they had already departed from North Africa. The turkey, although eaten from mess kits, proved a very enjoyable feast.

On the morning of December 28, 1943, along with the nurses of another Station Hospital
and two General Hospitals, we boarded the U.S. Hospital ship "Shamrock" and "set sail" that afternoon. Our two and half day trip proved very enjoyable and although we were assigned to the N.P. section of the ship, it was a very satisfactory arrangement for sleeping and living quarters.

Six o'clock in the morning of December 31st, we were all lined against the ship's rail to catch a fleeting glance, in the early morning light, of the Isle of Capri. At eight o'clock, all were eagerly scanning the shoreline of Naples, Italy, for this strange land was to be our new home. Here we were, to again experience the thrill of personal achievements and do our part toward alleviating some of the suffering brought about by this reign of bloodshed and destruction.

We are, in the beginning of this New Year. staying in Bagnoli as guest of the 21st General Hospital, looking forward to setting up for this second time, the 32nd Station Hospital.

Helen W. Brammer
1st Lt., ANC
Principal Chief Nurse

Back To Index | Home