Personal Narrative Manuscript/Mixed Material Audio Recording Dorothy Rhoades Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Location of Service: San Diego, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Corpus Christi, Texas; Inchon Harbor, Hospital Ship, Korea
- Highest Rank: Commander
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/3572
Dorothy Tidwell was a small town Texas nursing student during World War II when she saw a recruiting brochure for the Navy. While most of her fellow students were joining the Army, she gravitated toward the idea of some day serving on a hospital ship. During that war, she was landlocked, first in San Diego, then in Hawaii. She went on reserve status after the war, and when she was recalled to serve in Korea, she got her wish. Aboard the USS Repose, anchored off Inchon, she and her colleagues treated the wounded and ill from the final days of the Korean War.
Dorothy Rhoades Collection
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PlayWhy she chose the Navy over the Army; her impression of San Diego, her first duty station; the Navy old guard looking unkindly on new recruits. 00:07:54.6 - 00:12:00.6
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PlayPulling night duty in a San Diego museum converted to a Naval hospital; dealing with patients who were suffering from malaria. 00:20:27.4 - 00:22:56.2
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PlayA memorable patient from her days in Honolulu; her admiration for combat servicemen. 00:06:34.0 - 00:09:04.0
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PlayUnable to settle down after WWII; recalled for service in Korea in 1951; assigned to hospital in Corpus Christi, then to hospital ship; docked in Inchon Harbor. 00:11:17.7 - 00:14:53.7
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PlayDescription of hospital ship; rotation of healed servicemen back to action, or those still in need of treatment on to Japan. 00:14:48.8 - 00:20:44.4
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PlayComparing WWII and Korea; some overlap in patients between the wars; difference between nursing in the Navy and Army; dealing with stress. 00:20:56.3 - 00:25:29.5
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PlayWhat serving in the military meant to her; Korea was much more than a "police action;" how she learned about the world. 00:26:28.2 - 00:29:35.1
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Dorothy Rhoades Collection
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About this Item
Title
- Dorothy Rhoades Collection
Names
- Cherokee County Historical Commission
- Rhoades, Dorothy
- Purtle, Jane
Home State
- Texas
Headings
- - Rhoades, Dorothy
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Navy.
- - Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Navy.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Female
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Location of Service: San Diego, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Corpus Christi, Texas; Inchon Harbor, Hospital Ship, Korea
- Highest Rank: Commander
- Dates of Service: 1942-1963
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran was a nurse.
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Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Navy
- Location of Service: San Diego, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Corpus Christi, Texas; Inchon Harbor, Hospital Ship, Korea
- Highest Rank: Commander
- Dates of Service: 1951
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2009-08-20; 2009-08-20)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2010)
- Audio: Audio Cassette [2 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 1994-04-18)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/3572
Cite as
- Dorothy Rhoades Collection (AFC/2001/001/3572), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- audio
- online text