Rae Landy (June 27, 1885,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

– March 5, 1952,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, OH) was a nursing pioneer. She was one of the first two American nurses (along with Rose Kaplan) sent to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

by Hadassah in 1913.

Early life

Landy (born Rachel) was the daughter of Rabbi Jacob and Eva (Gross) Landy. Together with her three sisters and three brothers, the family immigrated to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, in 1888.

Nursing career

In 1904, Landy was part of the first class of nursing students sponsored by the Jewish Women's Hospital Association (later Mount Sinai Hospital) in Cleveland. In 1913, Landy was personally recruited by

Henrietta Szold Henrietta Szold ( , ; December 21, 1860 – February 13, 1945) was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandatory Palestine dedic ...

, the founder of Hadassah, to travel to Palestine and start a visiting nurse service. Together with Rose Kaplan, Landy opened a settlement house to train young women in nursing, first aid, and hygiene. She remained in Palestine until the outbreak of World War One caused Hadassah to suspend the program. Landy began her long career with the

United States Army Nurse Corps The United States Army Nurse Corps (USANC) was formally established by the U.S. Congress in 1901. It is one of the six medical special branches (or "corps") of officers which – along with medical enlisted soldiers – comprise the Army Medical ...

in 1918. She served overseas with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

in Germany, Belgium, and France, as well as in the Philippines during the 1930s. She rose through the ranks, serving at the headquarters of the Second Corps Area at

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...

in New York and Crile General Hospital in Cleveland. She retired in 1944 as a lieutenant colonel, the second highest rank in the Army Nursing Corps. Landy is buried 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 ...

References

External links

Papers of Lt. Col. Rachel Diane (Rae) Landy, P-785
at the

American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and ...

. *Additional archival material pertaining to the nursing career of Rachel (Rae) Landy can be found in th
Hadassah Medical Organization Records (I-578/RG 2)
in the Hadassah Archives on long-term deposit at the

at the

Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City: American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva University Museum, ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Landy, Rae 1885 births 1952 deaths American nurses American women nurses Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent