In Days Gone By:  Shirley Stott, U.S. evacuation nurse – Asia Pacific arena WWII

Douglas C-54 Transport Plane circa 1944 Asia Pacific. (Photo courtesy Library of Congress)

Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were over 12,000 women acting as nurses within the military. Most of them had no military experience and were not familiar with military protocols and methods.

In July 1943, an eight-week course was developed by the U.S. Army Air Force for newly commissioned nurses. The course covered infiltration techniques; camp establishment, teardown and transport; field sanitation; defensive measures against air, chemical and mechanized attacks; military requisitions and property responsibility.

Over the next 15 months, 27,330 newly inducted nurses graduated from 15 training camps. There were some critical shortages, especially in the Asia Pacific theater as the Allied forces began to encounter Japanese forces that were well entrenched on significantly important islands.

Anesthetists and nurses specializing in the care of psychiatric patients were in high demand as there were very few in the Asia Pacific theater  The Army developed a special training program for nurses who wanted to learn about anesthesia. More than 2,000 nurses trained for over six months to learn how to administer inhalation anesthesia, blood and oxygen therapy while recognizing, preventing and treating shock.

Nurses already serving were also treating one out of 12 soldiers in the combat zones with psychiatric care.  An additional 12-week program was developed to train nurses to care for and provide medication for psychiatric patients.

Additionally there was a high demand for nurses who had surgery experience and could assist in triage and air evacuation directly from the battlefields as well as the mobile surgical hospitals. Nearly 950 nurses entered into the Air Evacuation Program but less than 500 graduated.

One of the nurses who answered the call in summer 1943 for the Air Evacuation Program was Shirley Stott from Seattle.

Shirley Stott — prior to enlistment

Shirley was born in Idaho on Nov. 25, 1912, but her family later to moved to Seattle. She graduated from Broadway High School in June 1930.

Originally known as Seattle High School, the school was renamed Broadway High School in 1908. (Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Author’s note: Broadway High School was the first high school building in Seattle. In the 1930s it also served as an education and training center for people coping with the economic downturn. After WWII, Broadway High School became an education center for returning veterans who needed to earn their high school degrees and gain technical skills. In September 1946, the building opened its doors as Broadway-Edison Technical School. 

Shirley enters the nursing profession

Immediately after high school, Shirley enrolled in nursing school at Our Lady of the Lourdes Hospital in Pasco.  She graduated three years later as a registered nurse.

Upon graduation she returned to Seattle, working at Providence Hospital in Seattle, and took additional training and education as a surgery room nurse.  From June 1936 to October 1941, she worked alongside Dr. H.T. Buckner, providing assistance and administering intravenous therapy at the hospital. From October 1941 to May of 1943, she was employed directly by Dr. Buckner, providing surgical assistance and intravenous therapy.

Author’s note: It is important to note that it was extremely rare for a nurse to administer intravenous fluids or medications in the early 1940s. Doctors were the only ones typically that performed intravenous treatments. Only the most skilled nurses performed these tasks.

The war comes calling

Despite having a good job and rewarding career, Shirley enlisted in the Army Air Force Flight Nurse Training Program on June 1, 1943. After passing her initial physical examination — where she was listed as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighing 130 lbs. and having brown hair and eyes — she entered the military ranks.

Initially it appears that Shirley for six months helped teach other newly enlisted nurses that were being deployed in the European front on the use of intravenous drugs and blood transfusions.

Then in January 1944, she was flown to Bowman Field in Kentucky for a course that would qualify her for deployment as a flight nurse.

The eight-week course of training was intense from both a psychological and physical standpoint. The first week entailed learning about military procedure, protocols and expectations throughout their tour of duty. The nurses were advised that they were going to be flying in transport planes that did not have the ‘Red Cross” symbol on their side due to the fact they would also be carrying cargo. As a result, there was a good chance that their planes would be fired on.  If that did not scare them enough, the following week included instruction on airplane crashes and what to do for their own survival and those of their patients.

Then the instruction moved outdoors for three weeks, where only the most physically fit nurses survived.

Instruction in “bivouacs” or “bivings” was undertaken. The nurses learned how to set up a variety of improvised camp sites or shelters, and how to rapidly tear them down, package up the materials and quickly relocate.

Instruction in bivouacs. (Photo from Shirley Stott album, courtesy Edmonds Historical Museum)
Training and physical conditioning of camp tear down and manually transport of camp gear. (Photo from Shirley Stott album, courtesy Edmonds Historical Museum)

While in the field, the new recruits were also instructed in survival training including the application of mud and other earthen materials to their faces, hands and clothing, which acted as camouflage against possible enemy detection.

Instruction on camouflage and varying allusive tactics for survival were given daily. (Photo from Shirley Stott album, courtesy Edmonds Historical Museum)
Instruction on lethal gases, the testing for them and wearing of gas masks was an integral part of the field training at Bowman Field. (Photo from Shirley Stott album, courtesy Edmonds Historical Museum)

How to deploy a “lister bag” to provide water for drinking, sanitation and medical purposes was a critical skill that the nurses had to learn. A canvas lister bag weighed 6 pounds. But when filled and correctly hung on a tripod it could hold 36 gallons of water with five taps at the bottom, which was critical for wounded soldiers and their own survival.

Lister bag/tripod construction training. Note all the gear the nurses are wearing. (Photo from Shirley Stott Album, courtesy Edmonds Historical Museum)
During the last week of outdoor training, corpsman joined the nurses for training on the proper handling and transport of patients on hand-carried litters or via jeep. Normally, meals consisted of MREs – Meals Ready to Eat (self-contained rations) provided by the Army during training.

Back in the classroom for three more weeks of education and training, the nurses studied the effects of high altitude, both from a physiology standpoint and from a fear perspective. Many of their future patients had never been on an airplane before and the fear and shock related to long-distance flights had to be carefully managed.

Similar to what Shirley already had experience in, the flight nurses were trained to perform tasks that they had never been allowed to do before, such as starting IVs and applying oxygen. The flight nurses were also trained to handle medical emergencies such as shock and hemorrhaging, and how to use sedation to increase the chance of survival and recovery.

At the end of the eight-week training program, each nurse who had passed the course attended a graduation ceremony and received a certificate qualifying them to deploy as a flight nurse.

Shirley’s Army Air Force School of Air Evacuation graduation certificate  March 11, 1944. (Courtesy Edmonds Historical Museum)

The reality of war and the role of the “flying angels”

Shirley was one of over 500 nurses who became known as “WWII’s Flying Angels” in the Asia Pacific Theater.

Shirley and other nurses who were entering the Asia Pacific Theater were first flown to Hickam Field, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Hickam Field was a joint force base located near Pearl Harbor. Upon arrival, the nurses — who had received the rank of second lieutenant — became members of the 830th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron, ATC. and were further indoctrinated at the hospital.

Soon after they were situated at Hickam, the evacuation nurses began flying on C46, C47 and C54 transport planes to locations in the Pacific, where mobile field evacuation hospitals near combat zones had been established. In some cases there wasn’t an evacuation hospital in place and the nurses were flown directly into combat zones to rescue the wounded.

In a few cases, an airstrip had been constructed behind where combat was occurring. But more commonly, the transport planes landed and the nurses set up bivouacs while they worked with the medical corpsman to transport the wounded toward the transport plane.

The severity of the wounds ran the gambit. The severity of the patient’s condition and the need for special treatment determined when, how and where the patient was to be transported. For those deemed to be most “critical,” air evacuation was the preferred way of transport rather than by land vehicle or boat.

Once all of the wounded were near the transport, the plane could be loaded in 15 minutes. Typically, the plane had one nurse and one corpsman on board to tend to 25 wounded. The nurse was advised of each patient’s wounds and condition by the field doctor before departure, and the nurse was then responsible for their safety during transport.

During the flights, which often took 10 to 20 hours, the nurses checked pulses, respiration and bleeding. Nurses redressed wounds, administered oxygen, provided pain relief and checked for anxiety attacks. They also were constantly checking for air sickness. A bout of vomiting could be fatal to a patient with respiratory issues.

Some soldiers were suffering from extreme “battle fatigue” and were so emotionally disturbed that they had to travel in restraints. The number of “psychos,” as they were medically labeled at the time, had to be limited, as a single nurse could not address their complex needs while tending to the other patients’ needs during the long flights.

Wounded soldiers aboard a C47 transport plane circa 1944. (Photo courtesy Library of Congress)

Shirley Stott was one of the highest trained and experienced nurses, and she flew into some of the worst combat areas during the war.

Her flight logs tell the story of the large number of long-distance flights where she helped evacuate and care for hundreds of wounded soldiers during 1944 and 1945.

One page of Shirley’s flight log documents 14 flights totaling 31,860 miles as well as the number of patients she helped transport. Her detailed notes indicate how many were transported on litters versus those who were ambulatory. She also noted how many labeled as “psychos” and restrained on litters.
Another page from Shirley’s flight log documents that 11 of her 24 patients that day were POWs that had been rescued. At this point, Shirley had logged over 81,000 air miles.

During 1945, Shirley was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, which was the equivalent of a “lead” or “head” nurse within the air evacuation corps. In that role she was responsible for the training new nurses during actual evacuation proceedings.

Her flight logs document flights to the Philippines, Guam, New Guinea, Okinawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and other critical combat zones during the war in the Pacific.

At the three week battle of Saipan, the U.S. lost over 3,000 men and 13,000 were wounded. Evacuation of the most critically wounded was done by air. The Japanese military lost an estimated 28,000 men.

Soldiers on the island of Saipan in June 1944. (Photo courtesy Library of Congress)

Similarly, the conflict on Iwo Jima between March 5-21, 1945 resulted in 2,393 marines and sailors  being evacuated to hospitals on Guam and back in Hawaii and California.

A photo of Iwo Jima with a notation in Shirley’s album: “This is what the island looked like after the battle — nothing left.” (Photo courtesy Edmonds Historical Museum)

End of the war and Shirley’s well-deserved recognition.

By the end of the war, Shirley had been heavily involved in the air evacuation of thousands of soldiers over an 11-month period while also being instrumental in the field education and training of new nurses as they entered the war.

As the war ended, the nurses packed up and went to the docks at Pearl Harbor outside of Honolulu to travel back to the mainland.

Shirley on the right with her friend Gill back in Honolulu after the war. They and the other nurses took a four-day trip via boat to San Francisco harbor, where they would step onto mainland soil after more than a year away. (From Shirley Stott album, courtesy Edmonds Historical Museum)

After her active service, Shirley was awarded an Asia Pacific Theater Service Medal, a WWII Victory Medal, Philippines Liberation Ribbon, American Theater Service Medal and a Meritorious Service Unit plaque.

Shirley separated from the U.S. Army on January 2, 1946. Her separation certificate speaks directly of her extraordinary service to the U.S. and its wounded soldiers.

The certificate states that Shirley was a qualified flight nurse who supervised medical corpsman in connection with care and treatment of patients. She organized and supervised functioning of a dressing room (application of bandages and dressings). Administered intravenous therapy. Taught personnel their technical duties. Instructed student flight nurses in fight nurse’s training. Total hours flying time: 800 hours. Combat time: 400 hours. Types of planes: 4 engine cargo type, hospital.

Final notes:

The nurses known as “WWII’s Flying Angels” helped evacuate and transport thousands of wounded soldiers and sailors during the war, with only 46 deaths occuring during transport flights. Sadly, 17 air evacuation nurses lost their lives during the war due to crashes, being killed by the enemy or by becoming separated from their units.

Unfortunately, we do not know what happened to Shirley after WWII. Her flight logs, photo album and military records were donated to the Edmonds Historical Museum in 2003 by Linda Winters. We have not been able to contact Linda, and as a result have no further information on Shirley.

We, however, owe her and her colleagues a huge debt of gratitude for their bravery, commitment and service to our country. If you would like to learn more about Shirley and other veterans who lived in the Edmonds area, please visit the Veteran’s Exhibit that will open Nov. 14 at the Edmonds Historical Museum.

This article was researched and written by Byron Wilkes. Thanks go to the Edmonds Historical Museum for their assistance.

 

    1. Thank you for the comment and the link to Dr. Mary Edwards Walker’s story. I have to admit that I was not familiar with her story and contribution.

  1. Thank you for this story of a woman’s contribution during WWII. Appreciation to all our soldiers and support people who have served this country and its citizens.

  2. A shining example of what Tom Brokaw called The Greatest Generation. History books are filled with such stories of women and men who survived the Great Depression only to be thrust into world war. They gave new meaning to courage, honor, and sacrifice.

    How appropriate that we celebrate such people on this Veterans Day, what the Brits call Remembrance Day~ as remember them we should.

  3. Thank you Roger for reminding me of Tom Brokaw’s appropriate naming of that generation of Americans who fought for our freedom during those perilous times. My hope and prayer is that we can all come together once again with human decency as we confront the dangers that are before us today, as we endeavor to preserve a freedom loving democracy.

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