Women’s Army Corps WWII Hero Series
Mabel Jaques – WAC Nurse
Mabel’s Memoirs, Part 4
MY LIFE in the SERVICE:
By Karen A. Smith
We left off when Mabel was Chief Nurse on a hospital train picking up wounded soldiers and delivering them to designated hospitals.
Our main base was at St. Lazar Station in Paris, France. So, when we had time we took in the different sights. Some of the things I saw were Madeleine Cathedral, the Opera, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc De Triomphe. The USO had many shows for our men and we attended them when we were in town. We did have a chance to go to a night club called Lido. This was a very famous club known for its beautiful women. We nurses went with a group of men from our train. As the entertainment started and the beautiful women appeared wearing only a G-string, our commanding officer made the remark loud enough for others around us to hear, “I guess there’s a short-age of bras in Paris! We’ll have to see what we can do about that.” To say the least, the other nurses and I were pretty embarrassed. After a few cocktails he became very loud and boisterous, but he was our commanding officer, so we had to tolerate him.
A great group of women from the Red Cross were staying in a hotel near the train station. Since water was rationed during our trips, we would head for their place for a good warm bath and to wash our hair. This felt so good and was very relaxing after going without while being on the hospital train.
During the Battle of the Bulge when the Germans attempted to recapture territory the United States troops had taken from them, we were very busy evacuating patients. We saw hundreds of doodle bugs or buzz bombs fly over us. The sights were spectacular. German planes buzzed over our hospital train even though we had the Red Cross on the roof over every car. They would drop flares to light up the places where we were picking up the injured. Our anti-aircraft guns shot at these planes, but missed. They dropped two bombs near our train before they got away. It was a very frightening experience.
We had another close call. As we were loading patients in an out-of-the way place, a German pilot spotted our train. He came down and strafed our train a few times. We turned off all the lights, so he couldn’t spot us and he finally gave up and flew away. No one was hurt, but one of our patients who was on the top level jumped onto the floor and almost got under the patient who was in the lower level. This man was over six feet tall. He said he came this far and no jerry was going to kill him now.
The Germans were desperate during the Battle of the Bulge. The allies were recapturing village after village. The German army was on the run and appeared to be collapsing. General Eisenhower was the head commander of all the units in Europe. He had a special unmarked train which took him all over Europe. He never came into a railway station. He was always let off outside the various cities. His chauffer would then pick him up and take him to his headquarters in Paris.
On December 26, 1944, our train was parked next to General Eisenhower’s train. His train pulled into the station after we unloaded about 150 patients. At 10:57 pm, our hospital train was bombed. A German plane dropped 2 bombs – a direct hit on the operating room area. No doubt the bombs were marked for Eisenhower’s train, but ours got the direct hit. The German pilots had no respect for hospital trains which had a red cross painted on the roof of each one. At the time of the bombing the nurses were in the dining room playing cards. All the lights went out. The train was tipping, but with the help of some of the men, the nurses were able to get out. We crawled to safety under a viaduct. After things quieted down we came out and helped by giving first aid to some of the wounded. Our entire train was destroyed. It was only by the grace of God more people were not killed. I was never so scared in all my life. I thanked God for watching over us and keeping us safe.
The Red Cross building in the railway station where we had enjoyed coffee and doughnuts earlier in the evening was demolished. There were only 4 causalities, none of them nurses. This is the night I became a fatalistic person, realizing that one does not die unless God has a place for us.
The next day we went back to see the damage. There were two huge craters where the bombs had exploded. We were told to pack up our personal items. The nurses were then taken to the 48th General Hospital in Paris where we would receive our new orders and a new train. Many of the nurses requested reassignment as the experience had left them weary and exhausted. I also requested to be reassigned. I felt it would be nice to work in a general hospital and have a definite eight hour a day duty. I felt I had paid my dues and became weary.
On April 13, 1945 we received some bad news. President Roosevelt had died. It was a shock to everyone. Harry Truman took over as our next President of the United States. One week later I received the news that my request to transfer was accepted. I was to be reassigned to First General Hospital located on the outskirts of Paris.
My good news came on April 21, 1945, concerning my transfer to 1st General Hospital located on the outskirts of Paris. All the nurses of the 55th hospital train were reassigned to General Hospitals in various locations. The medics were sorry to see us leave. We had been through a lot together.
The 1st General Hospital grounds were beautiful. There were gardens with blooming flowers and small ponds scattered here and there. Ambulatory patients could walk these gardens. It was so peaceful looking. This was a big difference than the activity of our hospital train. Eventually the number of causalities that came into the hospital were declining.
On May 5, 1945, the war was over. Germany surrendered. Reports said Hitler and his girlfriend had killed themselves. Their bodies were never found. I had that day
off, so I went into Paris with some of the other nurses. I will never forget the sight of Paris. Miles and miles of happy people were everywhere. The streets were taken over by them. Everyone was kissing everyone else. The crowd was so great on the Champs Ely streets that one could not stand still, you just moved along with the crowd. Flags were flying, parades everywhere, and bands playing. All the government buildings were lit up. As I was leaving Paris to return to the hospital, I could see the lights from Socle Coeur (Sacred Heart Cathedral’s dome) shining in the form of a “V” into the sky. Many tears of joy were shed, and prayers of thanksgiving were said that day. Even though the war was over we still had a lot to do. They attempted to get all the wounded back to the states as fast as possible, by boat or plane. All of this took a considerable amount on time.
Finally, my orders came; I was being shipped back to the states. I was sent to Reams France for re-deployment. There was such a different atmosphere on the boat, everyone was very happy. As we entered New York Harbor, boats blew their horns and small boats shot up sprays of water to welcome us back home. As we were nearing the Statue of Liberty the decks of the boat were loaded with soldiers. I was standing next to a male officer. He had tears in his eyes. He said to me, “Nurse, I never expected to see that ‘Lady’ again.” I’m sure many of us felt the same way. What a wonderful feeling. Home at last! Since I had a position at Wayne County General Hospital waiting for me when I returned from service, I started back to work within a week. I was anxious to get back to normal living.
To be continued…
