1LT Frankie Ola Mae Nolan Oral History Tape 1, Side A

title:

1LT Frankie Ola Mae Nolan Oral History Tape 1, Side A

creator:

Nolan, Frankie Ola Mae (Jenkins) (1917 January 12 - )

subject:

Army Nurse Corps

description:

Tape 1 of 3, side 1 of 2. This is the original, unedited interview audio. Frankie Ola Mae Nolan (formerly Jenkins) was born on January 12, 1917 in Dublin, Texas. She grew up moving between towns in Texas, living with her aunt to attend high school in Brownwood, Texas. After graduating high school, she attended nursing school at City-County School of Nursing in Fort Worth, Texas, graduating in September 1940. Although the United States hadn’t formally joined World War II, many could feel it coming, so she joined the American Red Cross as a pathway to military nursing. She reported to Camp Bowie, Texas as an American Red Cross Nursing Service reservist, with the Army listed as her preferred branch of service. She immediately tried to volunteer for service in Hawaii and Alaska after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but didn’t have a transfer go through until August 1942 when she was assigned to the Port of Embarkation in New Orleans, Louisiana. She remained there for a year before being transferred to the 126th Station Hospital in Camp Gruber, Oklahoma in August 1943. There, they trained for overseas service while working in the hospital like normal. In September 1943, she was sent to Camp Stoneman, California to ship out to the Pacific theater. It was a 14-day trip to Sydney, Australia and upon landing she was assigned to the 126th Station Hospital, which was meant to be a small, portable hospital. The Army, however, decided their hospital didn’t need to be opened quite yet, so they were split up for temporary duty in other hospitals. Her unit was stationed at Wacol, just outside of Brisbane, Australia. After three months there, they were ordered to Oro Bay, New Guinea in January 1944. When they arrived, they were attached to the 2nd Field Hospital in Finschhafen, New Guinea from May until August. In August, they went to another place in Finschhafen to (finally) set up their own hospital. There was already a general hospital there, the 126th Station Hospital, and her unit was there to set up a receiving hospital. The hospital was changed to a mental hospital and the nurses were given the option of transferring, so Nolan returned to the 364th Station Hospital in late 1944.She went with them to Biak Island in March 1945, and remembers being there when President Roosevelt died. The hospital there was a major evacuation point during the invasion of Leyte, an island in the Philippines. In June 1945 she departed the 364th and went to Manila, Philippines to join the 84th Station Hospital. In August 1945, she was on a ship in Okinawa Bay, and that was when she learned the war had ended. They arrived at Kobe Base in October, and she had returned to the United States soon after to await her discharge, working at Brooke General Hospital at Fort Sam Houston until August 1946. When she left the service Nolan had reached the rank of 1st lieutenant, and for her service she was awarded an American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 2 bronze stars, World War II Victory Medal, and Philippine Liberation Ribbon. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Nolan, Karen

date:

1997-10-08

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

696.01; 2002.696

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

317350

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1941-46

rights:

Unrestricted