1LT Clarice Marie Luther Oral History

title:

1LT Clarice Marie Luther Oral History

creator:

Luther, Clarice Marie (Joyer) (1917 August 31 - )

subject:

Army Nurse Corps

description:

Clarice M. Luther (formerly Joyer) was born on August 31, 1917 in Elk River, Minnesota. She was the fifth of 11 children and grew up on a farm with her parents, siblings, and grandparents on her father’s side. She went to a nearby one-room school through 8th grade and went to a boarding school around 70 miles from home for high school, graduating in 1935. She had an aunt who was a nurse in World War I and, following her example, she went to nurses training school from 1935 to 1938. She was working as a nurse at Abbott Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She was determined to join the Army to care for soldiers like her aunt after the attack, and in December 1943 she went to Fort Snelling, Saint Paul to join the Army Nurse Corps. She was the only woman of the 200 to 300 that enlisted that day, and they were all sent to Presidio in San Francisco, California via train. Her first assignment was Camp Adair, Oregon where they evaluated drafted soldiers to determine their medical condition and ability to serve, and treated injuries sustained during training. Her next assignment was Torney General Hospital in Palm Springs, California. This hospital cared for men returning from the South Pacific in World War II, evaluating their injuries and determining what care they needed and where the best place to receive that care would be. She cared for soldiers and helped them adjust to their injuries as they reintegrated back into society. Often, the nurses represented the loved ones, mothers, girlfriends, or sisters of the men. At 5 feet and 2 inches, she did not weigh enough to be assigned overseas even though she wanted to. She married in April 1944 near Palm Springs and left the service in Oct 1944 after becoming pregnant. Her husband was also in the Army and had been discharged earlier. After her service, she raised 12 children she had with her husband and eventually rejoined the workforce as a nurse, and working until her retirement at 75. When she left the service Luther had reached the rank of 1st lieutenant, and for her service she was awarded an American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Luther, Rose

date:

2011-03-18

type:

Audio

format:

CD

identifier:

1187; 2011.1187

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

398597

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1942-44

rights:

Unrestricted