1LT Buena Farris Lehman Oral History Side B

title:

1LT Buena Farris Lehman Oral History Side B

creator:

Lehman, Buena (McQueen) (1916 December 18 - )

subject:

Army Nurse Corps

description:

Side 2 of 2. Buena F. "Mac" Lehman (formerly McQueen) was born in Texas on December 18, 1916. In 1936, she graduated from Watauga Academy in her hometown of Butler, Tennessee. She wanted to explore the world as a stewardess for an airline, however at that time stewardesses were required to be nurses. She enrolled at the Appalachian Hospital School of Nursing in Johnson City, Tennessee and graduated in May 1941. While working at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. She applied for a commission as an Army nurse and was accepted and sent to William Beaumont General Hospital in Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas. This is where she met a young Army lieutenant from Galveston, Texas named Charles E. Lehman. Mac and Charles were married three weeks after they met. A few days after their marriage, both received orders to ship out to Europe. Buena's unit, the 79th Field Hospital, treated casualties in England, France and Germany. They worked and lived in tents without floors. She was also sent to work out of a field hospital during the Battle of the Bulge where the medics brought the wounded straight from the battlefield. Mac and Charlie found finally found where the other was stationed and were able to meet up and spend time together throughout their time in Germany. She was able to get out earlier than her husband, so she instead volunteered to serve in the Pacific but didn’t make it there before V-J Day. After the war they returned to Texas where Charlie finished his degree at Texas A&M. Mac and Charlie were married over 62 years at the time of the interview. When she left t6he service in 1946 Lehman had reached the rank of 1st lieutenant, and for her service she was awarded an American Defense Service Medal, 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:

Weigand, Cindy

date:

2003-08-13

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

556; 2003.556

source:

Weigand | CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

432099

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945)

rights:

Unrestricted