IN PERSON
Elva Bertha at the Women ’ s Military Service Memorial in Washington , D . C .
A Calling to Give
World War II veteran Elva Bertha is still giving back at 97 .
BY TRACY FEDKOE
In 1936 , it must have been a calling for Elva Bertha ( then Elva O ’ Brien ) to enter nursing school at St . Francis Hospital when she graduated high school . After she finished nursing school she worked as a surgical nurse in the VA hospital known as Leech Farm . The head doctor there was in the process of recruiting a wartime medical unit when the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor in December 1941 .
Several of Bertha ’ s family members were in the service and her fiancé had already enlisted so the decision wasn ’ t a difficult one .
“ The moment I heard about Pearl Harbor , I wanted to join . I knew I could do something to help because I was a nurse ,” said Bertha .
There were more than 100 nurses from all over Pittsburgh who answered their calling and joined the Army Nurse Corps . They formed the 27th General Hospital Unit , five of them Bertha ’ s co-workers from Leech Farm .
In July of 1942 , the unit entered active duty and was sent to Fort Lewis , WA , for infiltration courses and worked at the military base hospital . After a year , they were sent to Brisbane , Australia , one of the places where General MacArthur went to recruit .
As the fighting moved , so did the hospital unit . Bertha ’ s next transfer was to Hollandia , a port on the Dutch side of New Guinea , known today as Jayapura . The unit was flooded with casualties from the fighting in the Central Pacific islands and worked endless hours in makeshift hospitals , built quickly by the troops with metal roofs and screen walls . There , Bertha took care of many of the psychiatric patients in addition to those who were wounded or sick . While she
Elva in New Guinea .
had all of the nursing experience and education needed , “ nothing could really prepare you for the emotional side of war ,” she recalled .
With close bonds forming between those who worked together in desperate situations ,
Hospital construction in New Guinea
Bertha was able to make the most of her surroundings and enjoyed recreational activities when she owned and rode a horse in Australia and grew gardens with watermelons in New Guinea . She joked that the soldiers took their watermelons , but admitted she would have given the fruit to them anyway .
Bertha and several other nurses she had worked with were transferred to Manila in the Philippines , where they worked at St . Thomas University and stayed in a convent . Entering the army as a 2nd Lieutenant , she was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant in 1945 , and also supported the 134th and 54th Hospital Units in Manila . While transferring around took its toll , luck brought Bertha to the right place at the right time when she was able to be present for one of the most memorable moments of the war . After the United States bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , effectively ending the war , she was at Clark Field in the Philippines when the Japanese proposed signing the Peace Treaty to General MacArthur .
14 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall