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discharged, my discharge was sent there.
Mr. Cox: How old were you when you graduated from college? Mrs. Medcalf: It took me about three years so I was about 22 or 23. When we joined the Army, we were transferred to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. That was more or less a jumping off place. You would go overseas or you would go to another camp. But you don't stay in Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. Since I was in limited service, I couldn't go overseas. So we lost track of each other and I don't know to this day where she is. When I was at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, they were distributing groups of nurses out into the areas where they were needed. The largest number went overseas. The other went to various medical facilities in the camps in the United States. I ended up in Camp Ellis, Illinois. You didn't stay there very long either. Mr. Cox: You were a 2nd Lieutenant at this time. Mrs. Medcalf: Yes. Since I could not go overseas, I wanted to work in a big hospital to care for the wounded. I got sent up to Chicago. This was a big hotel, right on the lake, called Chicago Beach Hotel. The Army took it and transformed it into a hospital. It made a wonderful hospital. It was such a nice location. We got the wounded from all the surrounding states, Illinois, Iowa. There was a big train station so they had easy access to visit the wounded soldiers when they came back from overseas. They had converted the hotel into the hospital. We had the dedication ceremonies. We got all
the soldiers when they were wounded and came back to the States, they were allowed to choose the hospital where they would be, since they had a long convalescence. So we got them from everywhere. With such a big train station, the families could visit them. It was a well-run place and we had a
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Mary Medcalf. Medcalf grew up in Georgia and became a registered nurse in Virginia. Then, she went to Michigan to finish her degree. After graduating, she signed up to be an Army Nurse. She was a 2nd Lieutenant. She went to a hospital transformed from the Chicago Beach Hotel into the Gardiner General Army Hospital. Many of the soldiers needed orthopedics. Later, she transferred to Fort Bragg in North Carolina. She met her husband at an Officer's Dance.
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Medcalf, Mary.Oral History Interview with Mary Medcalf, December 27, 2000,
text,
December 27, 2000;
Fredericksburg, Texas.
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1603416/m1/2/:
accessed July 16, 2024),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.;
crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.