At 103, memories of serving during one of modern history’s defining moments are still a source of pride for Lucille Wright, who now lives along the shores of Toledo Bend Reservoir in rural Sabine County.

She served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II from June 1943 to February 1946, achieving the rank of First Lieutenant. An orthopedic nurse stationed in Europe, she treated combat soldiers wounded during D-Day, the Battle of Normandy, and the Battle of the Bulge.

Many of her memories are carefully preserved in a bound scrapbook that includes photos, handwritten journals, paperwork, and citations.

She recalls listening to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s declaration of war speech in a 1941 radio broadcast. Wright and several of her nursing school classmates later decided to join the Army Reserves, and underwent basic training at Camp Livingston, near Alexandria, Louisiana.

In December 1943, Wright boarded the U.S.S. Argentina, a passenger ship used during the war to transport troops overseas.

“As we boarded ship we were assigned to a state room and usually there were 6 to 8 people in each state room,” a journal entry stated.

Wright recalled spending time on the deck, watching the other 14 vessels in the convoy heading across the Atlantic.

“There were 5,000 soldiers on the ship, but only 85 of them were women,” a later entry stated.

After 12 days at sea, she arrived at the 279th Station Hospital at Gourock, Scotland.

During her time here, Wright and other nurses lived in prefabricated Quonset huts made of corrugated iron. In her notes, Wright recalled blackout curtains and flashlights with color filters were required at all times to prevent drawing attention.

Nurses were preparing for the arrival of soldiers.

“Immediately after D-Day we started receiving casualties from the battle front within 24-48 hours after they were injured. The hospital train would arrive twice a week at 3 a.m. We were all awakened and we reported on duty and would work until all patients were taken care; often until 10 or 11 p.m.”

Wright’s journal also describes nurses being taught to load and shoot firearms, out of concern their hospital could be surrounded by the enemy.

“After D-Day it was days of black outs and gas masks. We were required to carry our gas masks with us at all times. We had air raids often and whether day or night, we would report to the hospital. German planes would fly over our hospital and even dropped flares, but the closest a plane was shot was about three miles away. You learned to recognize the sound of an enemy plane and it would often awaken you before the air raid siren sounded.”

Following Victory in Europe Day or “V-E Day” in May 1945, Wright spent the next four months in Verdun, France and about three months in Germany to set up the first American hospital in Berlin.

According to the U.S. Army, more than 59 thousand nurses served in the Nurse Corps during World War II.

“The skill and dedication of these nurses contributed to the extremely low post-injury mortality rate among American military forces in every theater of the war,” according to a brochure published by U.S. Army Center of Military History. “Overall, fewer than 4 percent of the American soldiers who received medical care in the field or underwent evacuation died from wounds or disease.”

After the war, Wright continued working as a nurse for another 30 years.

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