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Goldia Aimee O'Haver Merrill (December 3, 1902 – April 30, 1997) was a
Social Security Administration. ''Social Security Death Index, Master File''. in Rock Island County, Illinois, the daughter of Joel Landon O'Haver and Cora Belle Hatton O'Haver. Her father was living in Hayfield, Minnesota during World War II.
O'Haver, one of the older nurses in the group, was a skilled seamstress; she used a sewing machine and scrap fabrics to make denim uniforms, muslin sheets, surgical gowns, and pajamas for the infirmary's patients. She was held as a prisoner of war until February 1945, when the Los Baños prison camp was liberated. She was hospitalized in
"Navy Nurse Ex-Prisoners of War"
(1945), photograph featuring Goldia O'Haver and her colleagues, from the Naval History and Heritage Command. {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Haver, Goldia 1902 births 1997 deaths Female United States Navy nurses in World War II American prisoners of war in World War II People from Rock Island, Illinois People from Apple Valley, California World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Female United States Navy officers United States Navy Nurse Corps officers Military personnel from California Military personnel from Illinois
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
nurse who was held a prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
in the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
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 ...
, one of the Twelve Anchors.
Early life
Goldia O'Haver was born December 3, 1902,Goldia Aimee MerrillSocial Security Administration. ''Social Security Death Index, Master File''. in Rock Island County, Illinois, the daughter of Joel Landon O'Haver and Cora Belle Hatton O'Haver. Her father was living in Hayfield, Minnesota during World War II.
Navy nurse
O'Haver joined the U.S. Navy as a surgical nurse in 1929. During World War II, she was stationed at Cañacao Hospital near Cavite Naval Base in the Philippines. In January 1942, she and eleven other navy nurses were among the Americans taken prisoner by Japanese troops in Manila. In May 1943, the navy nurses agreed to transfer to a prisoner of war camp in Los Baños. The 12 nurses built up an empty infirmary and cared for other prisoners, despite minimal supplies and chronic malnutrition.
O'Haver, one of the older nurses in the group, was a skilled seamstress; she used a sewing machine and scrap fabrics to make denim uniforms, muslin sheets, surgical gowns, and pajamas for the infirmary's patients. She was held as a prisoner of war until February 1945, when the Los Baños prison camp was liberated. She was hospitalized in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
upon return to the United States.
For her wartime service, O'Haver was awarded a Gold Star and a Bronze Star
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
in September 1945, while she was working at a naval hospital in Long Beach.
Personal life
Goldia O'Haver married Robert Heath Merrill, a fellow prisoner of war, soon after their release in 1945. She retired from theNavy Nurse Corps
The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by United States Congress, Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-fem ...
in 1946, and the couple lived in Apple Valley, California. She was widowed in 1985, and she died in 1997, aged 94, in Apple Valley. Her name, along with the names of the other military nurse POWs, is on a historical marker in Cavite City
Cavite City, officially the City of Cavite ( fil, Lungsod ng Kabite, Spanish and cbk, Ciudad de Cavite), is a 4th class component city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,674 people.
The city was the c ...
in the Philippines.
References
External links
*"Navy Nurse Ex-Prisoners of War"
(1945), photograph featuring Goldia O'Haver and her colleagues, from the Naval History and Heritage Command. {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Haver, Goldia 1902 births 1997 deaths Female United States Navy nurses in World War II American prisoners of war in World War II People from Rock Island, Illinois People from Apple Valley, California World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Female United States Navy officers United States Navy Nurse Corps officers Military personnel from California Military personnel from Illinois