2nd LT. Dorothy Managan
Army Nurse Corps.
Madigan General Hospital
Fort Lewis, Tacoma ’44-‘46
Army Nurse Corps.
Madigan General Hospital
Fort Lewis, Tacoma ’44-‘46
Dorothy Managan was born January 5th 1923 in Flushing. During the depression her parents moved Dorothy and her brother to Williston Park on Long Island so here father could find a job as a carpenter. Dorothy graduated high school in 1941 and headed for the Medical College of Virginia School of Nursing located in Richmond, VA. Her father had served in WW1 and she had visited West Point as a child so, when the Army was looking for nurses, she decided to join the Army Nurse Corps. when she graduated from nursing school. In her senior year of nursing school, she joined The Cadet Nurse Corps which gave her a small stipend.
Dorothy graduated in 1944 and In March of 1945 the Army sent her to Fort Dix in New Jersey for basic training. From there, she boarded a train bound for Fort Lewis in Tacoma Washington. There she worked in Madigan Hospital in the Army Nurse Training Center as an instructor and Company Commander for new nurse recruits. Surprisingly she didn’t teach nursing. All of the recruits were graduates of nursing school. What she was teaching them was how to use tents, eat C rations and what to expect upon deployment. Dorothy received orders to the Pacific Theater and although it wasn’t specified, she assumed she would be part of the invasion of Japan. Her roommate from nursing school was sent to Okinawa.
I asked her if she was afraid to go. Her answer, like so many of her fellow GI’s was a resounding, “No”. She said the entire country was at war and everyone was doing their part. Her parents had a victory garden. In August The Bomb was dropped and the war in the Pacific ended before she was deployed. Her orders were cancelled, and she was reassigned to Madigan Hospital.
Dorothy was then made the head nurse of Ward 22 in Madigan Hospital. Her ward received US soldiers that had been POWs in the Pacific. “They were coming back on ships from Bataan, Corregidor, Guadalcanal, Burma and China. They triaged and stabilized the soldiers until they could be moved to a hospital closer to their home. Some of these soldiers were amputees, others were suffering from combat fatigue, malnourishment and a host of chronic diseases. “They were just so happy to be home.” Dorothy said that many of the soldiers just needed someone they could talk to and offer them some compassion. “What they needed most was tender loving care and to let them know we cared about them”. Dorothy received many letters from the grateful GI’s she cared for. Dorothy decided to be a nurse rather than a doctor because she wanted a closer relationship with the patients. Our GI’s had to be happy about that decision.
After Dorothy was discharged, she went to Western Reserve University to earn her BS in nursing. While attending Western Reserve she attended the Church of the Covenant where she met her future husband, Bill. He had served in the Navy as a physicist and already had his degree. They were married in July of 1948 and had five children; two girls and three boys. Dorothy and Bill were married for 35 years until 1983 when Bill passed away. Along the way she earned a master’s degree in public health when the children were young.
Dorothy told us the motto at Virginia School of Nursing was “Caring heart and helping hands”. She also told us that “once a nurse, always a nurse”. Today Dorothy is 98 and she is a resident of Hendersonville, NC and makes the rounds at the Assisted Living Facility in her complex to visit shut ins. Dorothy has 13 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Dorothy considers herself lucky to have good health and tries to stay active physically and mentally. There is no grass growing under her feet.
Thank you, Dorothy for helping to care for our GI’s who saved the world and thank you for your years of compassionate care for those less fortunate than you. You have made the world a better place.
Dorothy graduated in 1944 and In March of 1945 the Army sent her to Fort Dix in New Jersey for basic training. From there, she boarded a train bound for Fort Lewis in Tacoma Washington. There she worked in Madigan Hospital in the Army Nurse Training Center as an instructor and Company Commander for new nurse recruits. Surprisingly she didn’t teach nursing. All of the recruits were graduates of nursing school. What she was teaching them was how to use tents, eat C rations and what to expect upon deployment. Dorothy received orders to the Pacific Theater and although it wasn’t specified, she assumed she would be part of the invasion of Japan. Her roommate from nursing school was sent to Okinawa.
I asked her if she was afraid to go. Her answer, like so many of her fellow GI’s was a resounding, “No”. She said the entire country was at war and everyone was doing their part. Her parents had a victory garden. In August The Bomb was dropped and the war in the Pacific ended before she was deployed. Her orders were cancelled, and she was reassigned to Madigan Hospital.
Dorothy was then made the head nurse of Ward 22 in Madigan Hospital. Her ward received US soldiers that had been POWs in the Pacific. “They were coming back on ships from Bataan, Corregidor, Guadalcanal, Burma and China. They triaged and stabilized the soldiers until they could be moved to a hospital closer to their home. Some of these soldiers were amputees, others were suffering from combat fatigue, malnourishment and a host of chronic diseases. “They were just so happy to be home.” Dorothy said that many of the soldiers just needed someone they could talk to and offer them some compassion. “What they needed most was tender loving care and to let them know we cared about them”. Dorothy received many letters from the grateful GI’s she cared for. Dorothy decided to be a nurse rather than a doctor because she wanted a closer relationship with the patients. Our GI’s had to be happy about that decision.
After Dorothy was discharged, she went to Western Reserve University to earn her BS in nursing. While attending Western Reserve she attended the Church of the Covenant where she met her future husband, Bill. He had served in the Navy as a physicist and already had his degree. They were married in July of 1948 and had five children; two girls and three boys. Dorothy and Bill were married for 35 years until 1983 when Bill passed away. Along the way she earned a master’s degree in public health when the children were young.
Dorothy told us the motto at Virginia School of Nursing was “Caring heart and helping hands”. She also told us that “once a nurse, always a nurse”. Today Dorothy is 98 and she is a resident of Hendersonville, NC and makes the rounds at the Assisted Living Facility in her complex to visit shut ins. Dorothy has 13 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Dorothy considers herself lucky to have good health and tries to stay active physically and mentally. There is no grass growing under her feet.
Thank you, Dorothy for helping to care for our GI’s who saved the world and thank you for your years of compassionate care for those less fortunate than you. You have made the world a better place.