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US Fifth Army landing at Anzio, Italy, 22 January 1944
(US Army Center of Military History) |
Courage under fire.
When we hear that phrase,
we picture a soldier in the trenches, a sailor manning his guns, or a pilot
dodging enemy fighter planes. But how about nurses and physicians?
In my novel, On Distant Shores, the hero serves as a
pharmacist in the US 93rd Evacuation Hospital in World War II. On
January 23, 1944, the 93rd Evac landed at Anzio, Italy, one day
after American and British forces had landed. The armies succeeded in
surprising the Germans and faced very little opposition. Due to overcautious
leadership and insufficient reinforcements, the forces waited and consolidated the beachhead before driving
inland. That proved to be a deadly delay.
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US Hospital Area at Nettuno, near Anzio
(US Army Medical Department) |
While the Allies waited,
the Germans shored up their defenses. For the next four months, the Allies
would remain trapped on a narrow beachhead, and over 4000 American and British
soldiers would die.
To care for the 11,000
wounded—and the sick—four US Army hospitals served on the beachhead at
Nettuno, just south of Anzio, close to the ocean. While evacuation hospitals
were usually set up out of artillery range, the front lines at Anzio were less
than ten miles from shore. The khaki hospital tents were marked by enormous red
crosses on a white circle, but artillery fire did land on the
hospital site—both accidental and deliberate fire.
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US 56th Evacuation Hospital after an air raid
(US Army Medical Department) |
The Luftwaffe battered
these hospitals too. On February 7, 1944, a German fighter pilot, fleeing from
US fighters, jettisoned his bombs for greater maneuverability—while over the 95th
Evacuation Hospital. Twenty-eight patients and hospital personnel were killed.
Ironically, later that day the pilot was treated at the same hospital after he
was shot down.
During the four-month
period, dozens of patients, physicians, and medics were killed—and six nurses.
When the US Fifth Army made noise about evacuating the nurses, the ladies made
even more noise. They insisted on staying with their patients, and the Army
relented.
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US hospital digging in at Anzio, spring 1944
(US Army Medical Department) |
So they endured. They
learned the “Anzio Shuffle,” a duck-walk to stay low and avoid shells. They
leaped into slit trenches half full of water during air raids. They lived, and
often slept, in their helmets. And they cared for their patients, performing
surgery while bombs fell. Several were killed while shielding patients.
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US hospital dug in at Anzio, Spring 1944 (US Army Medical Department) |
The water table was too high
to dig in the hospitals, but as spring dried out the ground, the hospitals
dug down. Conditions were so dangerous that some patients deserted the
hospitals for the relative safety of the front line, where at least the soldier
could shoot back.
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Beach at Nettuno, Italy, looking north to Anzio, July 2011
(Photo: Sarah Sundin) |
In July 2011, I was able
to visit Anzio. The beaches are now covered with Italian families on holiday
and cobalt blue beach chairs and resort hotels. Little remains to commemorate
the Battle of Anzio—a single room crammed with artifacts in a local museum and the
American cemetery.
But I remember. I am
inspired by these men and women who endured, who sacrificed, and who cared.
They truly demonstrated courage—and grace—under fire.
Labels: 93rd Evacuation Hospital, Anzio in World War II, World War II, World War II hospitals