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Ruth Dorsman outside tent in fatigues [ca. 1944]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
  • Service Unit/Ship: 58th General Hospital; 51st Field Hospital
  • Location of Service: Fort Eustis, Virginia; Camp Livingston, Louisiana; Fort Dix, New Jersey; England; Omaha Beach, France; Normandy; France; Paris, France; Reims, France; Belgium; Germany; Fort Des Moines, Iowa; Fort Francis E. Warren, Wyoming
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/11865

View full service history

"We waded ashore, across the beach, and climbed up the now well-worn paths to the top of the cliff, where the nurses regrouped to await orders…" (Memoir, page 3)

In 1941, Edna Haddick Dorsman was in her senior year of nursing school. Following Pearl Harbor-and her brother's entrance into the Army Air Corps-she decided to join up. Initially assigned to a general hospital, she yearned to be part of a field unit. Orders finally came through to join the 51st Field Hospital, and she arrived at Omaha Beach six days after D-Day. In her memoir, Dorsman describes the physical setup and daily operation of a field hospital, as they "leap-frogged" across France keeping up with the front lines. She also relates the tremendous workload she and her fellow nurses faced, with 30 to 50 gravely ill patients assigned to each nurse during any given twelve-hour shift.

View 11 images in sequence.
[ Memoirs of Ruth Dorsman with photos ]

About this Item

Title

  • Ruth M. Dorsman Collection

Names

  • Dorsman, Ruth M.

Home State

  • Virginia

Headings

  • -  Dorsman, Ruth M.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- 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, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
    • Service Unit/Ship: 58th General Hospital; 51st Field Hospital
    • Location of Service: Fort Eustis, Virginia; Camp Livingston, Louisiana; Fort Dix, New Jersey; England; Omaha Beach, France; Normandy; France; Paris, France; Reims, France; Belgium; Germany; Fort Des Moines, Iowa; Fort Francis E. Warren, Wyoming
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1946
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Memoir [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2006)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 1944-09)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/11865

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:

Dorsman, Ruth M. Ruth M. Dorsman Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.11865/.

APA citation style:

Dorsman, R. M. (1942) Ruth M. Dorsman Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.11865/.

MLA citation style:

Dorsman, Ruth M. Ruth M. Dorsman Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.11865/>.