Ruth Buckley
Ruth Deloris Buckley enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps after graduating from the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing in 1940.
Buckley was first stationed in North Africa, working in the pre-operation tent. She was exposed to the enormity of the war through her interaction with the young servicemen. “Suffering was written in every line of their tired faces and clenched teeth.”
Buckley and the 95th Evacuation Hospital followed the troops as the front line moved up through Italy, and into liberated France. Serving so close to combat meant that Buckley and the other nurses were often in the midst of the war. During one battle, Buckley recalls the hospital being bombed; she, other nurses, doctors, and patients, sustained shrapnel injuries. After recovering, Buckley turned down offers to return to the United States, and instead went back to work in Italy.
Although her service as an Army nurse put her life in danger and meant witnessing the horrors of war first hand, Buckley had a great passion for the services she performed. “There were many compensations for the dangers I faced and chief among them was the privilege of serving our wounded… they are the grandest, gamest, finest soldiers in the world.”
Ruth Buckley Collection (AFC/2001/001/24232)
Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
