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Group portrait of the U.S. Army Base Hospital 18 staff [detail]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: Base Hospital No. 18; US Army Hospital No. 2, American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
  • Location of Service: Savenay, Bazoilles-sur-Meuse, France
  • Highest Rank: Nurse
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/55632

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"Over and over have I heard officers and men comment upon our bravery…we tell them it is our duty and our country just as it is theirs, but they fail to see it. Always it goes back to, 'But you are women, it takes more heroism for you to do this.' It does not." (Letter to Parents, 8/9/1917)

The transition from the esteemed Johns Hopkins hospital to field hospitals in France required fortitude on the part of Army Nurse Nettie Trax, but despite the dirt and limited medical resources, she found immense satisfaction serving with the American Expeditionary Forces. Her letters home convey not only fondness for her patients, but also her sense of achievement at making the most of wartime conditions. Referring to herself and her fellow nurses, she notes, "We do lots of impossible things now." Her letters also illustrate the expansion of her horizons as a result of her military service; during a furlough on the French Riviera, she writes that she "never had any hopes of seeing such places as this."

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[ Photo Album ]

More Resources

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[ "The First time It Rained" by Eurith Trax ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Parents [August 9, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Parents [August 15, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Parents [August 25, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [September 1, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax toFolks [September 17, 1917] ]

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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Everybody [September 1, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [September 22, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax toFolks [September 29, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Folks [October 6, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Folks [October 12, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Folks [October 28, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [November 4, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Folks [November 11, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Folks [November 23, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [December 2, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [December 21, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [December 29, 1917] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [January 22, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [January 28, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [February 15, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [February 7, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [March 2, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [March 8, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [March 18, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [March 22, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [March 26, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother April 7, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [April 19, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [April 12, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [April 21, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [April 27, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [May 4, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [May 12, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [May 6, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from George Percival Trax To Folks [May 1918] ]
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[ Letter from George Percival Trax To Folks [May 8, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [May 12, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [May 17, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [June 29, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [July 7, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [July 12, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [August 2, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to My Dear Little Um [August 8, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [August 14, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [August 25, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [September 1, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [August 4, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [September 5, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [September 16, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [September 21, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [September 27, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [September 30, 1918] ]
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[ Letter from Eurith Trax to Mother [2/21/1918] ]
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[ History in brief of Base Hospital No. 18 ]
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[ Biographical Information of Nettie Eurith Trax ]

About this Item

Title

  • Nettie Eurith Trax Collection

Names

  • Chandonnet, Nancy L.
  • Trax, Nettie Eurith

Headings

  • -  Trax, Nettie Eurith
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Nurse Corps.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: Base Hospital No. 18; US Army Hospital No. 2, American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
    • Location of Service: Savenay, Bazoilles-sur-Meuse, France
    • Highest Rank: Nurse
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Correspondence [58 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1917-1918)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2007)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1917)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/55632

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Chandonnet, Nancy L, and Nettie Eurith Trax. Nettie Eurith Trax Collection. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.55632/.

APA citation style:

Chandonnet, N. L. & Trax, N. E. Nettie Eurith Trax Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.55632/.

MLA citation style:

Chandonnet, Nancy L, and Nettie Eurith Trax. Nettie Eurith Trax Collection. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.55632/>.