1LT Wilma E. Kellogg Oral History Side A

title:

1LT Wilma E. Kellogg Oral History Side A

creator:

Kellogg, Wilma E. (Dankert) (1921 March 19 - )

subject:

Army Nurse Corps

description:

Side 1 of 2. Wilma Kellogg (formerly Dankert) was born on March 19, 1921 in Palmer, Nebraska, and graduated from St. Francis Nurses Training in that same city in 1942. She then began working in Madison, Wisconsin, volunteering until the Army allowed nurses to join without 20/20 vision in 1944. She enlisted right away, went to basic training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin and was assigned to the 239th General Hospital. She was then sent to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey to be shipped off to Europe, going from England where she was billeted in the Beatrice Lilly Mansion. From there, she was shipped off to Cherbourg, France, which is where she was stationed during the Battle of the Bulge. It took them two days to set up their hospital, and they were usually based out of vacant schools. She describes the sorts of care they provided most often, which includes care that stabilized men so they could be transported to the Cherbourg Port and out of France or getting them healthy enough to return to combat quickly. They had to be ready to move on short notice, as they had to follow the battle lines as they shifted. Notably, her unit was the first racially integrated hospital unit in the Army. They continued moving through France, and she got married while overseas. She ended her tour at a hospital in Germany and returned home on a Victory Ship, receiving her discharge from Camp Kilmer in March 1946. In the decades following her service, she has been involved in several veterans’ organizations including WIMSA, and she attended the dedication of the Memorial with two 91-year-old veterans. When she left the service Kellogg had reached the rank of 1st lieutenant, and for her service she was awarded an American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and Army Overseas Service Ribbon with a bronze numeral. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Rosenkotter, Judy

date:

2004-10-07

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

513; 2004.513

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

048416

coverage:

World War II (1939-1945) | 1944-46

rights:

Unrestricted