The Army Nurse Corps

Army nurses’ roles shifted dramatically when World War II began. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S. Army Nurse Corps employed fewer than 1,000 nurses. Due mainly to the American Red Cross and U.S. Army’s recruitment efforts, this number multiplied. The nurses were in high demand. They faced unpredictable circumstances and long hours. Despite these pressures and challenges, they proved to be committed and hardworking. This dedication paid off as only four percent of American soldiers who received treatment or were evacuated died due to medical complications.

China-Burma-India Theater

Nicknamed the “Forgotten Theater,” the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater brought with it unusual and unpredictable circumstances. Civilians and military personnel alike sought treatment from the nurses serving in the CBI Theater. Famine and disease plagued residents taxed the nurses already limited medical supplies. Local cultural practices hindered attempts to control the disease.

Patients frequently insisted on providing their food, wandered the hospitals, and interacted with patients regardless of their state of health. Many also tied livestock to their bed frames, “awaiting the next meal.” Large quantities of food in the hospitals led to rat infestations. Additionally, nurses faced gendered constraints as local patients were less willing to heed recommendations from women.

With the region’s shortage of physicians, the nurses adapted to new roles. Nurses refined their diagnostic abilities and developed new treatments. Furthermore, they worked in unconventional locations, including jungles and mountain villages. These unfamiliar locations and the extreme weather in the monsoon season presented their own sets of challenges. U.S. Army nurses serving in the CBI Theater had to be flexible and adapt to many unique and less-than-ideal circumstances.

Air Evacuation

During Second Lieutenant McCarthy’s time of service, the U.S. Army Medical Department developed a new system known as the chain of evacuation. The field hospital nurses evaluated the severity of a patient’s condition and decided the best course of action. Following treatment and a short recovery period, ambulance drivers transported most patients to larger evacuation hospitals. Only the critically injured and those needing specialized medical care were evacuated by air to general hospitals. Flight nurses experienced heightened danger when engaging in medical evacuations as C-47 aircraft transported both patients and cargo. Given the aircraft’s dual role, they did not bear the Red Cross symbol, which typically protected medics and nurses from enemy fire. In total, 17 flight nurses died while on duty during World War II.

McCarthy, and her lifelong friend Rita Erard, served at the 172^nd General Hospital and as part of the 803^rd Medical Air Evacuation Squadron. This squadron flew between the military base in Dinjan, India, and hospitals in Kunming, China, to aid the British troops who worked to liberate China.

On the journey back to northeastern India, they flew wounded soldiers over the Himalayan Mountains to medical facilities. This passage, called flying “over the Hump,” was a hazardous part of their travels.

On the foggy night of March 3, 1945, the plane, carrying both Second Lieutenants McCarthy and Erard, crashed and burned on its flight back to Ledo, India. All of the 31 passengers aboard died in the crash. A pilot familiar with flying “over the Hump” described the incident as “the most infamous accident to occur during the war.”

Second Lieutenant McCarthy’s remains were recovered and, in 1949, transported for final burial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawai’i.