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1LT Elsie Fern Perch Oral History
Publication date: 13 August 2024
File metadata
Dublin Core Metadata
title:
1LT Elsie Fern Perch Oral History
creator:
Perch, Elsie Fern (Getz) (1920 June 15 - )
subject:
Army Nurse Corps
description:
Elsie F. Perch (formerly Getz) was born on June 15, 1920 in Carroll County, Indiana. After graduating from high school and completing nurse’s training, she enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps in December 1942. Her first two stations were in the United States, first in Louisville, Kentucky and then at Tilton General Hospital in New Jersey. She was then assigned to the 105th station hospital, 33rd field hospital and went overseas to North Africa and Europe. They first landed and served in Ferryville (no Menzel Bourguiba), Tunisia and Bone (or Annaba), Algeria. After the invasion of norther Africa, she was sent with the 33rd Field Hospital to the beach head of Anzio, Italy as a replacement for nurses who had been killed. They were shelled by the Germans as the arrived, and the hospital built foxholes for them to sleep in right away. Trenches were built around the tents to drain water, and after due to continuous air raids and shelling, their tents were dug down by 4 feet and sandbags divided tent area in case of a direct hit. She remembers one night when the shelling killed 28 hospital patients. She returned to the United States and received her discharge in July 1945. When she left the service Perch had reached the rank of 1st lieutenant, and for her service she was awarded an American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. No transcript of this interview is currently available.
publisher:
Military Women's Memorial Foundation
contributor:
Fee, Robbie
date:
2010-11-11
type:
Moving Image
format:
Mini-DV
identifier:
1192; 2010.1192
source:
CLIR - Recordings at Risk
language:
English
relation:
264721
coverage:
World War II (1939-1945) | 1942-45
rights:
Unrestricted