News
Your Incredible Neighbors: WWII flight nurse recalls daring rescue work
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| ELLEN SUSSMAN | SPECIAL TO THE GREEN VALLEY NEWS Merilys Brown shows a latest medal given to her at a convention of WWII flight nurses in 2007 and a model of a C-47 transport plane. |
By Ellen Sussman, Special to the Green Valley News
Dec. 7, 1941 — the day Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan.
June 6, 1944 — D-Day, when American and British forces landed at Normandy in France to begin liberating western Europe from the Nazi grip.
Sept. 11, 2001 — when the war on terrorism is said to have begun.
These are all memorable dates that will forever be known in the annals of U.S. history.
During World War II, just six days after a mighty armada crossed a narrow strip of sea from England to Normandy, landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day, former Army Air Force flight nurse Merilys Brown was one of the first to land in a C-47 to help with rescue efforts.
Now 90, and a resident at La Posada, Brown has a collection of books and memorabilia from that historic and memorable phase in her life.
Among one of the first classes of Army Flight Nurses, she completed training in November 1943 and spent the next three years as an Air Corps nurse.
Recalling her arrival on Omaha Beach on June 12, 1944, she said, “The devastation on the beach was terrible.”
Speaking about the rescue efforts, she confirmed that the C-47s, which flew in to rescue troops, did not have a Red Cross painted on them because they were combat planes. Therefore, they were not protected by the Geneva Convention and could be fired upon—even though their mission was rescue.
The landings on Omaha Beach were the first in the European Theater where C-47s had one flight nurse and one medical technician and were flown into a hot combat zone.
Research shows that over one million patients were evacuated by air during WW II
Brown remembers seeing Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower at Greenham Commons in England just days before D-Day; she pointed to a photo of him with American troops and said she was there.
“My most memorable experiences were D-Day, waiting for the C-47s to return to Greenham Commons after the Normandy invasion... then on June 12, making flights to Omaha Beach to evacuate the wounded, and also the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 flying young men, fresh from the U.S. to the front lines and evacuating the wounded. I remember the ‘buzz bombs’ falling all around as the wounded were loaded on the plane,” she recalled.
Brown spoke of the memories very matter-of-factly; that was her calling and even with ‘buzz bombs’ falling all around her, she never considered herself in mortal danger.
Seemingly shy about acknowledging medals she has received, she said she was awarded the Air Medal, the Europe-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
Then in September 2007, more than 60 years after her service in World War II, she attended the World War II Flight Nurses Convention in Colorado Springs and received her latest medal.
The gleaming gold medal on a red, white and blue striped ribbon from the Non-Commissioned Officers Association reads: “WWII—in Honor of Remembrance. On the reverse side engraved are the words “The Greatest Generation” Valor—Sacrifice—Fidelity.
Asked if she ever considered herself adventurous, Brown said, “I wouldn’t have thought so, but I guess so.”
From 1954 through 1960, continuing her work as a nurse with the U.S. Public Health Service she spent six years in Alaska, when it was still a territory, and made her rounds on dog sled. Brown talks about it as if it was nothing unusual.
Major Van Harl, USAF Retired, has written about WWII flight nurses and said, “These nurses aimed high before the phrase was fashionable. They set the standard for today’s Air Force medical evacuation flying missions. If you were wounded in combat during WWII or any conflict since and made it home, you most likely need to thank a flight nurse.”
Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net. Comment on this story online at www.gvnews.com.
June 6, 1944 — D-Day, when American and British forces landed at Normandy in France to begin liberating western Europe from the Nazi grip.
Sept. 11, 2001 — when the war on terrorism is said to have begun.
These are all memorable dates that will forever be known in the annals of U.S. history.
During World War II, just six days after a mighty armada crossed a narrow strip of sea from England to Normandy, landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day, former Army Air Force flight nurse Merilys Brown was one of the first to land in a C-47 to help with rescue efforts.
Now 90, and a resident at La Posada, Brown has a collection of books and memorabilia from that historic and memorable phase in her life.
Among one of the first classes of Army Flight Nurses, she completed training in November 1943 and spent the next three years as an Air Corps nurse.
Recalling her arrival on Omaha Beach on June 12, 1944, she said, “The devastation on the beach was terrible.”
Speaking about the rescue efforts, she confirmed that the C-47s, which flew in to rescue troops, did not have a Red Cross painted on them because they were combat planes. Therefore, they were not protected by the Geneva Convention and could be fired upon—even though their mission was rescue.
The landings on Omaha Beach were the first in the European Theater where C-47s had one flight nurse and one medical technician and were flown into a hot combat zone.
Research shows that over one million patients were evacuated by air during WW II
Brown remembers seeing Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower at Greenham Commons in England just days before D-Day; she pointed to a photo of him with American troops and said she was there.
“My most memorable experiences were D-Day, waiting for the C-47s to return to Greenham Commons after the Normandy invasion... then on June 12, making flights to Omaha Beach to evacuate the wounded, and also the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 flying young men, fresh from the U.S. to the front lines and evacuating the wounded. I remember the ‘buzz bombs’ falling all around as the wounded were loaded on the plane,” she recalled.
Brown spoke of the memories very matter-of-factly; that was her calling and even with ‘buzz bombs’ falling all around her, she never considered herself in mortal danger.
Seemingly shy about acknowledging medals she has received, she said she was awarded the Air Medal, the Europe-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
Then in September 2007, more than 60 years after her service in World War II, she attended the World War II Flight Nurses Convention in Colorado Springs and received her latest medal.
The gleaming gold medal on a red, white and blue striped ribbon from the Non-Commissioned Officers Association reads: “WWII—in Honor of Remembrance. On the reverse side engraved are the words “The Greatest Generation” Valor—Sacrifice—Fidelity.
Asked if she ever considered herself adventurous, Brown said, “I wouldn’t have thought so, but I guess so.”
From 1954 through 1960, continuing her work as a nurse with the U.S. Public Health Service she spent six years in Alaska, when it was still a territory, and made her rounds on dog sled. Brown talks about it as if it was nothing unusual.
Major Van Harl, USAF Retired, has written about WWII flight nurses and said, “These nurses aimed high before the phrase was fashionable. They set the standard for today’s Air Force medical evacuation flying missions. If you were wounded in combat during WWII or any conflict since and made it home, you most likely need to thank a flight nurse.”
Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net. Comment on this story online at www.gvnews.com.
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