MINNIE L. BREESE
US ARMY NURSE CORPS 1937-1948
Minnie L. Breese was born 25 Apr 1911 in New Jersey. Her mother was Amelia Breese, and her father was Edward Breese. She had one brother Erick. Minnie enlisted 23-JAN 1937.
Minnie was stationed at Fort Riley Kansas before going overseas. When Second Lieutenant Minnie Breese, United States Army Nurse Corps, arrived in the Philippine Islands for a two-year tour of duty in 1940, she reported to an assignment much coveted by the Army nurses then on active duty. The balmy green islands were a paradise for liberty, and the ratio of patients to medical personnel ensured a reasonable work schedule for the nurses assigned to the various Army medical installations on the islands.
For the Army nurses there, it was a time when duty hours were often shortened and they worked half shifts because of light patient load, and liberty opportunities were unlimited. Many of the nurses took advantage of their abundant free time to develop their golf or tennis game. Night life might consist of dinner and drinks at the Army-Navy Club in Manila, followed by evening gowns, dress uniforms, dancing, and entertainment at the popular Manila Hotel. In such a carefree atmosphere, romances flourished. Minnie Breese met her future husband in Manila, where he was serving as an artilleryman.
Then on 7-DEC 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed. Minnie was about to become one of the first U.S. Army nurses to serve on a battlefield. For the rest of her story, click on the link below: