Care at Iwo Jima
Dublin Core
Title
Care at Iwo Jima
Subject
Navy Flight Nurse Jane Kendeigh Cares for Wounded Marine
Description
US Flight Nurse Ensign, Jane Kendeigh, is shown in this photo tending to a wounded marine, William J. Wycoff. She is holding his hand tightly and seems to be speaking to him in earnest. William's head is heavily bandaged, making his face completely unrecognizable from this photo. This indicates that he had an extensive head or facial injury at this point in time.
Kendeigh's evidence of care to her patients is one of hundreds of examples of nurses doing their part to soothe and relieve the pain of countless patients. She just happened to be the first nurse at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Iwo Jima, the arena in which this marine was wounded, was considered to be the worst landing experience of the war for US marines. There was little cover from enemy fire, and the wounded were left exposed awaiting evacuation, vulnerable to more injury and death. Robert Sherrod, correspondent at Tarawa and at several other islands, said that at Iwo Jima men died "with the greatest possible violence."
In the aftermath, on March 16, 6821 Americans were dead, 20,000 more wounded, and the 21,000 Japanese defenders of the island were almost wiped out completely. Clearly, a nurse serving at this location encountered intense suffering and violence, and had to steel herself to provide as much comfort and care as she possibly could. Moments like this were where the stereotype of the American nurse as an angel of mercy came quite close to the truth for many soldiers, and where the true professional presence and healing ability of these women became apparent.
Kendeigh's evidence of care to her patients is one of hundreds of examples of nurses doing their part to soothe and relieve the pain of countless patients. She just happened to be the first nurse at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Iwo Jima, the arena in which this marine was wounded, was considered to be the worst landing experience of the war for US marines. There was little cover from enemy fire, and the wounded were left exposed awaiting evacuation, vulnerable to more injury and death. Robert Sherrod, correspondent at Tarawa and at several other islands, said that at Iwo Jima men died "with the greatest possible violence."
In the aftermath, on March 16, 6821 Americans were dead, 20,000 more wounded, and the 21,000 Japanese defenders of the island were almost wiped out completely. Clearly, a nurse serving at this location encountered intense suffering and violence, and had to steel herself to provide as much comfort and care as she possibly could. Moments like this were where the stereotype of the American nurse as an angel of mercy came quite close to the truth for many soldiers, and where the true professional presence and healing ability of these women became apparent.
Creator
Unknown Photographer, US Navy
Source
US Navy, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, March 3, 1945, Wikimedia Commons Page: "File: Flight Nurse Jane Kendeigh Caring for Wounded Soldier on Iwo Jima:" https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flight_nurse_Jane_Kendeigh_caring_for_wounded_soldier_on_Iwo_Jima--1945.jpg
Publisher
US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Date
Accessed April 25, 2020
Rights
Public Domain
Relation
Sarah Sundin Author Website Page: https://www.sarahsundin.com/medical-air-evacuation-in-world-war-ii-the-flight-nurse/
Format
Photograph (jpg)
Language
English
Type
Still Image
Identifier
US Flight Nurse Jane Kendeigh Cares for Wounded at Iwo Jima
Coverage
Jane Kendeigh, US Flight Nurses of World War II
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
black and white photo
Physical Dimensions
1415 X 1333 pixels
Collection
Citation
Unknown Photographer, US Navy , “Care at Iwo Jima,” US Nurses in World War II, accessed April 25, 2024, https://usnursesww2.omeka.net/items/show/47.