Papers (1942-1945) including correspondence, vaccination records, drawings, personal history, and miscellany.
Sarah Moore (b. 1919), the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Wahab of Belhaven, NC, graduated from Belhaven High School (1936) and attended nursing school at Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, MD (1938-1941). Moore joined the Army and was assigned to a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit, the 142nd General Hospital in Fiji (June 1942-September 1944) and later in Calcutta, India, where it took over from the 263rd General Hospital (October 1944-April 1945). She served in Augsburg, Germany (1953-1956), at Tripler General Hospital in Hawaii, where she got married [1956?], and retired from active duty at Fort Detrick in Frederick, MD, on January 1, 1965.
The collection consists of a few pieces of correspondence from Moore while in Fiji and India. Topics include hospital training and routine, activities of the 142nd General Hospital, military operations in Fiji, cultural difficulties, and travel by railroad in India.
Miscellaneous items include Moore's immunization card, programs, menus, post cards, photographs and a painting from scenes in Fiji, along with a clipping from the News and Observer (August 28, 1942) stating that Mr. and Mrs. Wahab had two children serving in the Armed Forces simultaneously. Other materials concern Moore's personal history and remembrances of her active duty. Recounted are travel by boat to nursing school in Baltimore; schedules and curriculum; liberty; travel to Fiji, India, France, and Germany; treatment of Jews; war broadcasts; President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's election; MASH unit life; and a concentration camp visit. Also mentioned are First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1943), gangster Al Capone, and Commander U.S. China-Burma-India Theatre, "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell.
Further records contain a history of the 142nd General Hospital prepared by the Department of the Army. Additionally, there is information concerning military operations in Fiji, including invasions and casualties during the battle of Guadalcanal. Also included in this collection are certificates, awards, and military records of Sgt. Claude R. Taylor, with six original pencil drawings of military men and women, and German scenes. A note on one drawing concerns the flying of surrender flags and a description of small German towns.
See also Sarah Wahab Moore Oral History #151.
Gift of Mrs. Sarah Wahab Moore
Encoded by Apex Data Services
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