Frances Bradsher Turner Collection

Details

Who's responsible?: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries (Repository)
How much has been digitized?: Only a part of this collection has been digitized.
Where can I find more information?: https://uncg.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/1215
What's in the full collection?: 7 January 2002 oral history transcript; photographs of Frances during her service overseas as an Army Corps Nurse; typewritten resume documenting rank, awards and service in Army.
Full biography: Frances Turner (1918-2009) of Durham, North Carolina, had a career in the Army Nurse Corps, serving during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Frances Turner was born in June 1918 in Orange County, North Carolina, and raised in Durham. She graduated high school in 1936 and completed nursing training at Watts Hospital in 1939, after which she worked as a private nurse and as an industrial nurse for a local tobacco company. Turner joined the Army Nurse Corps (ANC)in 1942. She was stationed at Camp Butner, North Carolina, where she worked in the base hospital for several years. She was then sent to an army hospital in Georgia. In summer 1945 she was transferred to the Philippines, where she worked in the 80th General Hospital in Manila. She returned to the United States at the end of the year and was discharged from the ANC in January 1946. Turner remained in the army reserves after returning to Durham, North Carolina, where she worked as an industrial nurse. In July 1950 she returned to active duty and was sent from Fort Bragg to Japan in early 1951 with the 2nd Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH). The unit was stationed in Korea from March 1951 to March 1952. Turner returned to Fort Bragg, and remained there until she was sent to Heidelberg, Germany, in 1955. She returned to the United States in 1957 and attended the Army Medical Services School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. After completing the program, Turner served in nursing administration at Fort Stewart, Georgia from 1959 to 1962; at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii from 1962 to 1965; and Fort Lee, Virginia, until 1969. Turner returned to Korea in 1969 to work as chief nurse at the 44th Surgical Hospital. She spent her last two years of service at Fort Bragg before retiring in February of 1971 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Turner volunteered with the American Red Cross after her retirement from the ANC. Turner died in February 2009.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Branch of service: Army -- Army Nurse Corps
Conflict: Post World War II, Korea (1947-1963)
Subject headings: Korean War, 1950-1953
United States. Army--Women
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: ANC nurses in Korea; A group of Army Nurse Corps members, all wearing field jackets, trousers, and boots, pose beside a tent in Korea, circa 1951.

: ANC nurses sunbathe in Korea; Two army nurses sunbathe outside their tent in Korea, circa 1951.

: Frances Bradsher Turner and a serviceman in cowboy hats, circa 1951; Frances Bradsher Turner and an unidentified serviceman pose in cowboy hats, circa 1951.

: Frances Bradsher Turner at 1st MASH headquarters; Frances Bradsher Turner sits on the steps at the entrance to the 1st Mobile Army Surgical Unit (MASH) headquarters camp in Korea, circa 1951. She wears the ANC field work uniform and has book in her lap.

: Frances Bradsher Turner in front of a military vehicle; Frances Bradsher Turner, in ANC field jacket and trousers, stands in front of a military vehicle while stationed in Korea, circa 1951.

: Frances Bradsher Turner in kitchen; Frances Bradsher Turner poses at a counter in the kitchen of the 2nd Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in Korea, circa 1951. According to the caption, the photo depicts "Lt. Fuselage" and her "combat cargo."

: Frances Bradsher Turner in radio booth; Frances Bradsher Turner poses with a record and a microphone, presumably in a radio booth somewhere in Korea, circa 1951.

: Frances Bradsher Turner shoots a rifle; Frances Bradsher Turner sits on the ground next to servicemen and aims her rifle, sometime while stationed in Korea from 1950 to 1952.

: Frances Bradsher Turner washing her hair; Frances Bradsher Turner washes her hair in a bowl at the 2nd Mobile Surgical Hospital in Korea, circa 1951. She wears the ANC brown and white striped seersucker overseas hospital dress.

: Headquarters tent of the 2nd MASH; Photo of the exterior of the tent serving as the headquarters of of the 2nd Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in Korea, which Francis Bradsher Turner was stationed with from 1950 to 1952. The signage also indicates the Company Commander, Adjutant First Sergeant, and Personnel Section are located inside.

: Medics unload a stretcher from helicopter; Four unidentified medical personnel help lift patient on a stretcher out of a U.S. Air Force helicopter in Korea, circa 1951.

: Nurses by a tent in Korea; Four female ANC personnel pose outside a tent in Korea, circa 1951. The group appears to be wearing long johns and includes a nurse smoking a cigarette.

: Oral history interview with Frances B. Turner; Interview primarily documents Frances B.Turner's service in the Army Nurse Corps (ANC). Turner briefly describes growing up during the Depression, her reasons for becoming a nurse, her training at Watts Hospital, her work for a tobacco company, Pearl Harbor, and joining the ANC. She recalls the living situation at Camp Butner, North Carolina; traveling to the Philippines; and celebrating V-J Day. " Discussion focuses primarily on her time in Korea in 1951-1952. Topics include: working in a combat zone; a typical workday; relieving stress; and moving the hospital when the front moved. Other service topics: working in surgical units; overview of her second stint in the service; her opinion of women in the service; and misconceptions of the military.

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Women Veterans Historical Project

Frances Bradsher Turner Collection

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