During the Korean War, 7,000 nurses served in the United States military; 3,000 in the Army, 4,000 in the Navy, and dozens in the Air Force. Those in the Air Force mainly assisted patients on medical evacuation aircraft. Navy nurses served on hospital ships, land-based hospitals, and also participated in air evacuation missions. Only about 540 actually served in Korea.
Julia Choate Baxter was one of the first United States Army nurses in Korea, arriving there in early July 1950 to help set up the 8055 MASH. Years later she recalled: “When I first went to Korea each soldier that came in the operating room seemed like my brother.” (He was killed in the Philippines in 1945.) “It took a little while to get over that. We did a little crying and then we got back to work.” #koreanwar #koreanwar75 #usarmynurses #eastofthesunnovel
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