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Elsie Perch, Louisville, KY [1942]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
  • Unit of Service: 105th Station Hospital; 33rd Field Hospital
  • Location of Service: Nichols General Hospital, Louisville and Fort Knox, Kentucky; Fort Dix, New Jersey; Ferryville, North Africa; Rome, Anzio and Pisa, Italy
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/10180

View full service history

"One day we lost six of our thirty patients and I was pretty depressed, but our commanding officer said if we weren't here not a single one would live [crying] to get back to the evacuation hospital." (Audio interview, Part 2, 9:23)

Ordered to the Anzio beachhead as a replacement-six nurses had been killed there-Elsie Perch wondered what on earth she had gotten herself into when she signed up for the Army Nurse Corps. However, she sustained her courage by thinking of the sacrifices of the men she treated. Although stationed at a hospital station removed from the front, Perch was far from safe. Once, the Germans deliberately shelled the hospital, killing five patients and wounding eighteen. When speaking of the dead and wounded, and of the bravery of the men she helped, Perch is often overcome by emotion, her private wounds still raw after 60 years.

Elsie F. Perch Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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Elsie F. Perch Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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[ Assignment: Anzio ]

About this Item

Title

  • Elsie F. Perch Collection

Names

  • Fisher, Andrew L.
  • Jones, Tamara
  • Perch, Elsie F.
  • University of Toledo

Home State

  • Ohio

Headings

  • -  Perch, Elsie F.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army Nurse Corps.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army Nurse Corps
    • Unit of Service: 105th Station Hospital; 33rd Field Hospital
    • Location of Service: Nichols General Hospital, Louisville and Fort Knox, Kentucky; Fort Dix, New Jersey; Ferryville, North Africa; Rome, Anzio and Pisa, Italy
    • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Creative works [9 items] -- (collected 2000)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-11-14)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2006-03-22; 2006-03-22)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected 2006-09-27; 2006-09-27)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 2006-09-27)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2006-09-27; 2006-09-27)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/10180

Cite as

  • Elsie F. Perch Collection (AFC/2001/001/10180), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Fisher, Andrew L, Tamara Jones, Elsie F Perch, and University Of Toledo. Elsie F. Perch Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.10180/.

APA citation style:

Fisher, A. L., Jones, T., Perch, E. F. & University Of Toledo. (1942) Elsie F. Perch Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.10180/.

MLA citation style:

Fisher, Andrew L, et al. Elsie F. Perch Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.10180/>.