December 26, 1942

NURSES IN NORTH AFRICA

25 Arrivals from Britain

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, North Africa—The first members of the Army Nurses Corps arrived here in North Africa before Christmas. They are tasked with the initial work in setting up a military hospital that will have at least two hundred and fifty beds. The twenty-five commissioned officers first stopped in Oran, where American soldiers went on shopping sprees for the women. Items the men sought for the women included stockings, slips, and many other items. Some G.I.’s went so far as to give up their own equipment and other items to replace those lost in transit or not issued to the women. According to nurse First Lieutenant Larson, “The boys were perfectly marvelous to us, and don’t think we haven’t appreciated it.”