SHE JOINS UP
Miss Mildred L. Dillon, who leaves next week for active duty as an army nurse, points to a new Red Cross poster urging more women to take nurse's training. Many nurses are needed in hospitals to take the place of graduates who are entering the service.
Broadlawns General Nurse
SHE'S OFF TO THE ARMY
Miss Dillon Joins Service
Blond, blue-eyed Mildred L. Dillon, 28, nurse at Broadlawns General hospital, on July will enter active service with the United States army. Her rank in the army nurse corps will be that of a second lieutenant.
"I'm thrilled at the prospect " she admitted Tuesday, her last day at Broadlawns. "It seems to me that as long as all our boys have to go, it is the duty of every eligible nurse to contribute her service to the welfare of the country."
Before reporting for duty she will spend one week at the home in North English, Ia. with her father, John V. Dillon. "Dad didn't try to to influence me either way when I said I wanted to serve with the army," she said smiling. "But there aren't any boys in our family who could fight, just six girls. So I guess he felt I'd be our family's contribution to the service."
Need Emphasized
Uncle Sam's need of nurses has been repeatedly emphasized by Red Cross officials, who state the need cannot be stressed too strongly. To be eligible for service with either the army or navy, the applicant must be single, a graduate of an approved school of nursing, and pass a physical examination. The age limits are from 21 to 40.
Following the regular procedure, Miss Dillon, a graduate of the Broadlawns school of nursing, joined the Red Cross nursing service in March. Results of her physical examination, together with her application were sent by the Red Cross to Washington, D.C.
Nurses may specify if they are willing to accept foreign service. Miss Dillon does not plan to "as yet," she said.
Enlistment in both the army and navy nurse corps are "for the duration" but a nurse may resign if her reason is "deemed justifiable".
Red Cross officials point to statistics to bear out the need for nurses in service. Nationally, 24, 681 more nurses are needed by Sept 1 to fill out the quota of 54,914. Iowa needs 907 more by Sept 1 to fill out the state quota of 1,343.
Source: The Des Moines Tribune, July 1, 1942 (photo included)
Two Davenport Nurses in Group Sweating in So. Pacific
Headquarters South Pacific Base Command -- While Iowans kick the snow from their shoes this winter, 19 fellow citizens, including two Davenporters, will be mopping sweat from their brows at jobs vital to the Pacific war.
They're Iowa army nurses assigned to the South Pacific. Working a long way from home, in climate as ardous as any in the the world, they've established an enviable record.
Army officials say medical accomplishments in the South Pacific have been "outstanding" in the face of hardships like heat, insects and virtual isolation from civilization. Much of the credit goes to army nurses who supplied medical and technical skill available from no other source.
CALL IT PRIVILEGE
The same patriotic urging that brought the Iowans to the jungles prompted them to stay until their jobs are done. Capt. Loretta C. Carmody, 506 South Third street, Marshalltown, Ia., chief nurse at a hospital in the New Hebrides islands, expressed a typical sentiment:
"Being able to care for the wounded is a privilege for any American, and worth any encountered hardship."
Iowans serve on islands rangin from New Caledonia, just inside the tropics 1,000 miles northeast of Australia to sweltering Guadalcanal, furtherest point of Japanse advance in 1942.
Most of the 19 nurses are rounding out their first year overseas, but some have been on this side of the Pacific more than two years. The Nurses and their assignments:
New Hebrides - Second Lieut. Wylma J. Callahan, 1315 East High street Davenport; Lieut. Fern D. Coleman, 619 North street, Decorah; Second Lieut. Dorothea M. Diamond, Faulkner; Lieut. Mildred Dillon, Webster; Second Lieut. Doris L. Meyers, Nichols; Lieut Ruby La Verne Morlan, Jefferson; Capt. Loretta C. Carmody, 506 South Third street, Marshalltown; Second Lieut.Gladys Pearl Cook, Lone Tree; Lieut. Wilma S. Vander Hoek, Lynnville; Second Lieut. Esther G. Sell, Gowrie; Lieut. Elaine V. Ricketts, 2025 Asbury road, Dubuque, and Second Lieut. Dorothy E. Nelson, Kingsley.
Guadalcanal - Second Lieut. Helen E. Hunter, Solon.
New Caledonia - Second Lieut. Margaret F. Young, 2809 East Pleasant street, Davenport; Second Lieut. Carolyn Scholl, Harcourt; Second Lieut. Josephine A. Johnson, Danbury; Lieut. Mildred Hanson, Bancroft; and Second Lieut Barbara J Forrester, 1017 South Glass street, Sioux City.
Source: Quad City Times, October 22, 1944
Millersburg:
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Simmons of Ottumwa brought Capt. Mildred Dillon to the home of her sister, Mrs. Doris Kelly. The Simmons' spent the day in the Kelly home, Capt. Dillon remaining here until Thursday, when Mrs. Cora Axmear of Keswick came over after her. Capt. Dillon expects to enter a veteran's hospital at the end of her terminal leave.
Source: Williamsburg Journal-Tribune, February 28, 1946
War Scars Have Faded After 10 Years
Miss Mildred Dillon, another nursing executive at veteran's hospital, also was in the Pacific. She is from North English, Ia. She came out of the war with the rank of captain. She saw service in New Caledonia, the New Hedrides Islands, New Guinea and in the Philippines.
"I certainly am not resentful of the Japanese," said the blond Miss Dillon. "I suppose they are human being like the rest of us. I didn't see any, but I saw the results of their handiwork. War certainly is a most disagreeable thing for everyone."
Source: The Des Moines Register, August 14, 1955 (nurse photo included)
