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The 25th Station Hospital was an all
Appendix B: Principal Medical Units Active in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, the Atlantic Defense Areas, Africa, and the Middle East
to , showing 25th Station Hospital, page 4. Hospitals of the United States Army African-American nurses Military units and formations of the United States Army in World War II Military medicine in World War II African Americans in World War II African-American United States Army personnel Military units and formations disestablished in the 1940s {{Authority control
The 25th Station Hospital was an all African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
unit of nurses who served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The unit was the first African American group sent overseas and were stationed for a short tour in Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
in 1943.
About
The 25th Station Hospital was the firstUnited States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
medical unit of African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
service members to deploy overseas during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. These nurses from the Army Nurse Corps were sent to Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
in March 1943. There were 30 nurses in the unit and they were there to support United States troops on airfields and rubber plantations. The group's chief nurse was First Lieutenant Susan E. Freeman and they were stationed on Roberts Field
Redmond Municipal Airport (Roberts Field) is in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is owned and operated by the city of Redmond, Oregon.
It is the main commercial airport in Central Oregon, with nonstop scheduled passenger airline fl ...
. Most of the soldiers they tended suffered from malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
.
The nurses did not carry weapons and to show this, they all wore Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
arm bands. They were also issued helmets, gas masks and canteens. The work that the nurses were asked to do was duplicated by Army corpsmen and morale among the nurses' unit suffered. The same year they were deployed, the 25th Station Hospital Unit was recalled because of the morale issue and poor health in the unit.
In April 1944, official from Liberia requested and were granted permission to honor Lieutenant Freeman with the Liberian Human Order of African Redemption. She was also awarded a Mary Mahoney Award
Mary Eliza Mahoney (May 7, 1845 – January 4, 1926) was the first African-American to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States. In 1879, Mahoney was the first African American to graduate from an American school of nu ...
from the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses was a professional organization for African American nurses founded in 1908.
Foundation
In 1906, Connecticut nurse Martha Minerva Franklin surveyed African American nurses to see what challenges ...
in 1944 for her work in Liberia.
See also
*Liberia in World War II
Liberia did not become militarily involved in World War II until January 1944, with the election of William Tubman, at which time the country declared war on Nazi Germany, Germany and Empire of Japan, Japan. However, even before the start of Liber ...
Notes
External links
Appendix B: Principal Medical Units Active in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, the Atlantic Defense Areas, Africa, and the Middle East
to , showing 25th Station Hospital, page 4. Hospitals of the United States Army African-American nurses Military units and formations of the United States Army in World War II Military medicine in World War II African Americans in World War II African-American United States Army personnel Military units and formations disestablished in the 1940s {{Authority control