Mary Kathryn Hampton Collection
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Oral history interview with Mary Kathryn Hampton
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Primarily documents Mary Kay Hampton's youth; her service with the Army Nurse Corps during World War II, particularly her two years in Europe; and her life after the war. Hampton briefly discusses her childhood, including her father being shot in 1922 and the impact it had on her family. She also describes her nursing education at North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, including: the schedule; classes; work that was expected of students; and going to the Children's Hospital in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to get pediatrics experience." Hampton explains her desire to join the army to make more money; having two brothers in the service; her mother making uniforms and evening dresses for dances; her frustration with her duties at Fort Benning, Georgia; her overseas training in West Virginia; and getting married." Hampton describes her trip across the Atlantic Ocean on the SS Aquitania, specifically the living arrangements, a drill, and being isolated with the nurses on the ship. Topics related to her training in England include bivouacking; living conditions near the Thames River; her fear of air raids; and visiting her husband while they were both in stationed in England and later in France." Hampton describes in detail her trip across the English Channel and landing at Omaha Beach, Normandy. She recalls wearing men's long johns and fatigues; carrying their equipment; problems with the landing craft; her seasickness; and conditions on the beach when they arrived. She explains her work in the evacuation hospital; the organizational structure and workflow of military hospitals; moving the hospital; and the types of patients they treated." Hampton discusses being stationed in Malmedy, Belgium, in the fall of 1944, primarily having to evacuate as the Battle of the Bulge progressed; the Malmedy Massacre in December 1944; and evacuating to Huy, Belgium, to await new hospital equipment after leaving theirs behind. Hampton also recalls seeing concentration camp victims from Nordhausen; hearing Axis Sally's final broadcast announcing German surrender; going to Paris to celebrate V-E Day; traveling by plane across France and Germany to visit her husband in the summer of 1945; and waiting in France to be sent home in October 1945." Hampton describes returning to the United States; being discharged; having her family waiting for her at Fort Bragg; and her adjustment to civilian life, including going shopping for civilian clothes. She also provides details of her nursing education and employment after the war, including her training at Duke and Columbia Universities, teaching at UNCG, and work at hospitals in Winston-Salem and Wilmington, N.C.
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Portrait of Mary Kathryn Hampton
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Portrait of Mary Kay Hampton, circa 1944, in the ANC blue service uniform with matching garrison cap. On her shoulder is the patch of the 4th Army Service Command.
