Katrina Hertzer (February 23, 1873 — February 12, 1960) was an American nurse during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, serving as Chief Nurse of the

United States Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by 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-female until 1965. Pre-190 ...

Early life

Katrina Elisabeth Hertzer was born in

Tiffin, Ohio Tiffin is a city in and the county seat of Seneca County, Ohio, United States. Developed along the Sandusky River, which flows to Lake Erie, Tiffin is about 55 miles southeast of Toledo. The population was 17,963 at the 2010 census."Miss Katrina Hertzer"
''Tampa Tribune'' (February 14, 1960): 8. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

and trained at the Illinois Training School for Nurses in Chicago, graduating in the class of 1904.''History of American Red Cross Nursing''
(Macmillan 1922): 173, 235.

Career

Hertzer was superintendent of nurses at a hospitals in

Boone, Iowa Boone ( ) is a city in Des Moines Township, Boone County, Iowa, Des Moines Township, and county seat of Boone County, Iowa, Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encom ...

and

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

early in her career. She joined the U. S. Navy Nurse Corps in 1911."New Detail for Miss Hertzer"
''Red Cross Bulletin'' (July 4, 1921): 1. In 1912, Hertzer was transferred from the naval hospital in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

to one at

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. As of the 2020 census, Chelsea had a population of 40,787. With a total area of just 2.46 s ...

, where she started as acting Chief Nurse and was officially promoted to Chief Nurse soon after. Hertzer was a member of the American Red Cross's Mercy Ship expedition in 1914, serving in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

with

Helen Scott Hay Helen Scott Hay (January 6, 1869 — November 25, 1932) was an American Red Cross nurse and nursing educator, working in Kiev and Sofia during World War I. She was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal by the International Red Cross Society for ...

and Josephine Beatrice Bowman. "Serbs, Albanians, Hungarians, Croatians, Austrians, Montenegrins, and Russians began their long journey from the front on stretchers, ox-carts and hay wagons to the nearest railroad, where hospital trains brought them filthy, hungry, exhausted to us," she wrote of that work. She also worked with prisoners of war in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. In 1916, she was named Chief Nurse of the United States Navy Nurse Corps during World War I, stationed at American Red Cross headquarters in Washington D.C. She was the Navy Nurse Corps' liaison, to work with

Jane Delano Jane Arminda Delano (March 12, 1862 in Montour Falls, New York – April 15, 1919 in Savenay, Loire-Atlantique, France) was a nurse and founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service. Personal life A descendant of one of the first settlers to ...

on nurse recruitment during wartime. In 1921 her work with the American Red Cross ended.Clara D. Noyes
"Department of Red Cross Nursing: Items"
''American Journal of Nursing'' 21(11)(August 1921): 803.

Personal life

Katrina Hertzer died at a veterans' hospital in

Madeira Beach, Florida Madeira Beach ( ) is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, bordered on the west by the Gulf of Mexico, and on the east by St. Petersburg. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,895. Madeira Beach is known to be a quaint beach ...

in 1960, aged 86 years. Her gravesite is at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

, as "Kathrina Elizabeth Hertzer".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hertzer, Katrina 1873 births 1960 deaths American nurses American women nurses American women in World War I People from Tiffin, Ohio 20th-century American people