Aunt Emily lived to be 92
years old and died in 1975. Emily did not marry until very late in life,
possibly she was almost 50 before she married? Emily was a nurse at the Jennie
Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. where I was born. She was there when her
father died in 1916. During WW-I she was a surgical nurse in France. She left
for France on Dec. 24th 1917 and a write up of her activities will
follow. Emily was living in California in the Long Beach area as early as
1930. We have pictures of her cooking outside her home during the earthquake
of 1933. I visited her with my Wife and Mother in 1957 in Long Beach. I
remember we had a picnic in the park and we talked about the old days. Aunt
Emily was a favorite of my Mother.
In the summer of 1996
Elaine (my sister) and I found some additional information on the unit that
Emily served in WW1. At the Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, we found the
following story and pictures. Further documentation was obtained at the
Council Bluffs public library.
If you watched the TV show M.A.S.H., you may be interested to
know
that the direct
ancestor of M.A.S.H. was Mobile Hospital 1, the nucleus of which was Unit K
from Council Bluffs. The French had developed the concept of a mobile hospital
for the battlefields of World War I, but the first one actually in the field
for the U.S. Army was Mobile Hospital 1. Dr. Donald Macrae jr., chief surgeon
at Jennie Edmund-son Memorial Hospital had organized unit K, or the Council
Bluffs unit as it was called alternately,, with nurses and orderlies from the
hospital. Dr. Macrae not only organized the unit but also raised money and
completely equipped it. All the members were trained under his direction
before they were sent to France. Since Unit K was the first such organization
in the U.S. Army, the government patterned other units after it.
Familiar names on the list
of doctors (if you are old enough!) were Capt. Earl Bellinger, Lt. Aldis
Johnson and Lt. Robert Moth. Nurses were enrolled and accepted by the American
Red Cross, among them Mattie Gibson, the first graduate of the Jennie
Edmundson School of Nursing. Of the 21 nurses, 15 were graduated from Jennie
Edmundson and 1 from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Council Bluffs.
Emily Vuagniaux - click to enlarge photo
Emily was awarded France's highest honor for
her service. Follow this link for more on her award. Emily was awarded the
Croix de Guerre with a bronze star. She was one of four woman from Council
Bluffs Jennie Edmundson hospital to receive this award . Two of the other
three women were Mattie Gibson and Ella J McManigill. The name of the fourth
woman is unknown. Of the thousands of women from the USA who served in France
in various capacities, only 32 women received this award. Emily was head
surgical nurse of Mobile Hospital No. 1
Croix
De Guerre More about this award at this link.
The dynamic
and patriotic Dr. Macrae joined the 51st Iowa Volunteer Infantry
and was appointed assistant surgeon and first lieutenant in 1898 when his
group went to the Philippines for active service. His spirited wife was a good
match for him, so when he wrote from the Philippines that there were not
enough medicines or wholesome food for the men to eat and that clothing was
scanty and supplies were held up by red tape, his wife at once had a platform
set up on her lawn, hired an orchestra to play on a certain night and got a
lot of publicity for her idea. Thousands of people came, and she passed the
hat in the crowd to raise a great deal of money to send to her husband’s
unit. When he returned from the Spanish-American War, the enlisted men
presented him with a sword as an expression of their affection.
For added information on Dr. Macrae's service in the Spanish American
War follow this link. Pottawattamie
County in the Spanish War
At the beginning of World
War I, Dr. Macrae organized and equipped Unit K through a whirlwind fund
raising campaign which netted $12,000,-a lot of money in those days. His wife,
after selling her car and discharging her servants, reported every morning at
8:30 at the Council Bluffs city library to roll bandages and knit. She
organized the Unit K Club, composed of mothers, wives, sisters and other women
relatives of the unit’s members.
Unit K was sworn in on
June 18, 1917 and trained all summer while waiting for orders. During this
time, the men made many trips through Southwestern Iowa in the interests of
various war activities. People in the towns they visited became interested in
the Council Bluffs unit and added many things to their equipment. Manila
furnished an ambulance, Oakland donated uniforms to each enlisted man,
including hat and shoes, and many other towns contributed money.
In November the officers
and orderlies were ordered to Ft. Porter, NY, as their first step on their
trip to the war front. To quote Dr. Macrae, who wrote his own history of Unit
K, "The unit arrived January 15th in Hoboken, NJ, and
immediately boarded the Cunard steamship Carpathia, which was torpedoed on its
return trip and is now at the bottom of the ocean. The nurses were on board
the Carpathia when the men boarded the ship, having arrived that same day. The
nurses had not received traveling orders from Council Bluffs until Christmas
Eve, December 24, 1917,
--2--
On which date they
departed for Ellis Island, and there awaited the orders for overseas duty.
That same afternoon the Carpathia set sail for "Somewhere." At
Halifax, the Carpathia anchored for two days, this being the rendezvous for
the convoy, which later proceeded to the other side. Entering the submarine
zone, the convoy was met by eight destroyers who accompanied the troop ships
in. The Carpathia, however, with one other troop ship and two destroyers, left
the convoy and proceeded around the north coast of Ireland and docked at
Glasgow, Scotland, January 30, 1918. The same night saw the officers and men
entrained for Winnel Downs "Rest Camp" at Winchester, England, while
the nurses proceeded to London. After three days "Rest" at
Winchester, the organization was sent to LeHavre, France, by way of
Southampton, to another "Rest" Camp. After 24 hours "Rest"
here, the outfit was ordered to Angers, France via French box cars, arriving
there the night of Feb. 6th, 1918. This long trip was made without
heat in the cars."
Soon the organization of
Mobile Hospital 1 was begun. It was described as the most unique hospital
organization in the American Expeditionary Forces. It was the first of its
kind to enter the field with the American Army in France. The French had
developed the concept and Mobile Hospital 1 pioneered the embodiment of it.
The object and function of these units was to provide elaborate surgical
operating equipment on a mobile basis, the equipment necessary for performing
the most delicate operations near the front line on the non-transportable
wounded and quick evacuation within 24 to 48 hours after recovery from the
immediate effects of the operation. This system could handle an enormous
number of the most severely wounded very soon after injury.
The trailblazing Mobile
Hospital 1 consisted of 16 tents for wards added tents for personnel, kitchen,
morgue and other needs. Tent halls connected all tents, so that the whole
laced together provided complete tentage. Rolling kitchens, laundries, dryers,
X-ray and elaborate sterilization equipment with complete electric lighting
for the whole hospital produced one of the most complete and unique outfits in
the American Army. One unusual item of equipment was a cage of guinea pigs.
French equipment was taken over as well as U.S.~ Army and Red Cross supplies.
The Unit K Red Cross equipment was purchased and made in western Iowa, and
Mobile 1 stocked many items not thought necessary by the French. A complete US
field laboratory was added.
Maj. Macrae standardized
all procedures, and the hospital was commended for its remarkable record from
June 15 to Aug. 11 when the largest number of battle casualties that had yet
received attention from a like unit in the same length of time was cared for
and evacuated. Mobile 1 became the showplace of advanced war surgery. From
June 13 to July 29, 1918, there were 3,869 operations performed on wounded by
Mobile 1.
The pioneer in active
service, Mobile 1, was in time for the great Chateau Thierry drive, arriving
on June 2 to take a position close behind the Allied lines. For 72 hours
surgeons, nurses, and orderlies worked without ceasing, surrounded by hundreds
of wounded and dying men. Surgeons stood by their tables until they fell from
exhaustion. From this time until the Armistice the unit kept close to the
frontlines. Its record as a mobile hospital outfit surpassed in excellence
that of any similar organization. The energy, knowledge, courage and
patriotism of Maj. Macrae were vital to this group. Thousands of Americans
lived because of the work of Unit K, the heart of Mobile 1, due to its being
close enough to the front lines to render effective aid before it was too
late, at Dr. Macrae’s insistence on that close position.
-3-
At Chateau Thierry there
was a demand to absorb Mobile 1, but it was fought off. Weather here was very
warm and flies and bees were a menace. Fracture patients began to be evacuated
down the Marne and the Seine to Paris. Behind the hospital was an artillery
camp, and surrounding hills had anti-aircraft batteries. One immense German
bomb fell within 50 yards of the nurses’ quarters, and many bombs fell near
the hospital. 900 wounded were handled at Chateau Thierry, of whom 50 died
When Mobile 1 moved, the
Army usually sent no trucks, so trucks had to be found locally in the area.
According to Dr. Macrae’s account, a Lt. Hanisch seemed to be their
specialist in. rounding up anything that was needed,--trucks, tents and other
necessities,--so I was happy to see that his efforts were finally rewarded at
the end,--he was made a captain
Moving to a location near
the planned offensive at St. Michele, personnel had to stay under cover during
daytime and live in wood huts, which had to be cleaned up and the leaks
stopped. They were to take over an old French hospital. Mobile 1 was 4 miles
behind the front, so all precautions were taken to conceal personnel, but
shelter trenches were dug and gas attack precautions were the rule.
"At the Meuse-Argonne,
"wrote Maj. Macrae, "the field hospital was functioning within 100
yards of our station. Thus, many of the severely wounded were carried by
litter from the sorting station to Mobile 1. The condition of the wounded
received at this point was deplorable. Some wounds had not been dressed, many
patients came in without having received antitoxin; some were exposed on the
field for two or three days before arrival; ambulances appeared hauling dead,
the men having died en route; ambulances were sometimes 24 to 36 hours on the
road bringing wounded from the dressing stations a few kilometers away. This
was due largely to the frightful congestion of the roads. To add to the
situation, the steep hillside over which the patients had to be transported
from the sorting station nearly exhausted the litter bearers. Some relief was
offered by a detachment of 25 German prisoners who, under the command of
Chaplain John Lewis, A.R.C., were detailed as litter bearers and gravediggers.
The Germans proved themselves most adapted to the work, showing careful
training along these lines."
Mobile Hospital 1 grew
from 12 doctors to 47, 21 nurses grew to 46, and 50 orderlies to 100. It moved
14 times, its last move from 4 miles north of the battlefield at Verdun. From
June 13 to Nov. 11, 1918, Unit K and its Mobile Hospital 1 was within range of
enemy guns and was several times the object of enemy fire. Every clear night
brought hostile planes on bombing missions. The unit was never more than 6
miles behind the war front and usually less than that, since Dr. Macrae
insisted on being close to the fighting front for better care of the wounded.
Miraculously, through it all there was not one casualty among the personnel of
Unit K and Mobile 1. One man and one nurse died of pneumonia, but no one was
wounded. Unit K and its Mobile Hospital 1 took care of more wounded
soldiers than any other institution in the American Army, --26,000 men
in 6 weeks.
Unit K and its Mobile 1
was the first hospital to receive a group citation; it received two. Dr.
Macrae, now a Colonel, was awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm from France
and the Distinguished Service Cross from the United States, which he accepted
" in the name of my men and nurses to whom this honor is justly
due."
--4--
Col. Macrae had firm
ideas, as on one occasion when a general sent three cars to borrow some nurses
for a dance while the unit was in the Argonne. "Where are your men?"
asked Col. Macrae of the colonel who represented the general. "In the
trenches," replied the line colonel. "So are my nurses in the line
waiting to take care of your men. My respects to your general and tell him to
go to hell’ Not a nurse leaves the reservation this night, sir," said
Macrae.
In civilian life, Dr.
Macrae was the same man. Elected Mayor of Council Bluffs in 1904, he single
handedly raided two gambling saloons and had all the men arrested, since he
strongly disapproved of gambling. He was always active in many organizations,
civic, military, and civilian. His wife at one time started to run for the
U.S. Senate, but she did not follow through with it.
The bonds formed between
Unit K and their leader lasted in civilian life; when former members of Unit K
needed an operation, Dr. Macrae refused to charge them. His reason was that
the members of the unit had done so much for him in France that he refused to
accept any payment from them.
When Unit K returned home,
Dr. Macrae said, in his history. "In spite of the time of night fully
25,000 people were assembled at the station and on the surrounding streets to
welcome the boys home. A march to the armory and final roll call. Dismissed.
Thus ended the history of Mobile Hospital No. 1 (Unit K), having served in the
zone of advance continuously from June 15th until the Armistice,
Nov. 11th, and thereafter remaining in the shell holes until Christmas Eve
1918. During the entire service of this organization in the United States and
France, with one or two exceptions, no leaves of absence or requests were
granted to officer, nurses or enlisted personnel. Each officer, nurse and man
of Hospital Unit K gloried in the fact that each volunteered almost
immediately after the Declaration of War, and had the great privilege of being
spared to serve the United States Government and aiding and saving the lives
and relieving the suffering of the American soldier. The motto of Mobile
Hospital No. 1 was, "DELIVER THE GOODS."
Council Bluffs was
smothered in decorations to welcome Unit K home. Experts were imported to
decorate the individual store fronts with red, white and blue. For several
days they worked, until only a few places in the business stretch of Broadway,
Main and Pearl streets were not draped and decorated. On alternate trolley
supports on Broadway up to the Methodist Church and on Pearl and Main to the
Rock Island station appeared big red banners with the word "Welcome"
in blue on a white background. Welcome banners and American flags flew
everywhere and banners saying "Welcome K."
The staff of the Jennie
Edmundson Memorial Hospital were especially happy about the return of Unit K,
since losing their chief surgeon and so many nurses and orderlies had made
life much harder for those who remained at home.
Unit K and Mobile Hospital 1 set a new pattern
for future Army care
of the
wounded on the battlefield and brought international attention to a town in
Iowa called Council Bluffs, since the famous Unit K was called "the
Council Bluffs unit" interchangeably, and it provided a pioneering
example.
After the war Emily became a public health nurse in Toronto,
Canada where he nursed the poor who were unable to afford regular health care
facilities and personnel. Later she went to Long Beach, California and was
also a public health nurse. While there she married a man whose last name was
Guy. She would have been in her forties or possibly fifties when they married.
Mr. Guy was a member of a family who made a fortune in the California gold
rush. He was an astute investor and made a fortune off the income from his
family trust. When he died no further income came from the trust, however, he
had invested wisely and left Emily a small fortune. Emily lived until
1975 when she died at the age of 92. She gave some of her most prized
possessions to members of the Vuagniaux family.
The
Nurses of Unit K - Photos
Other
documents
Photos of Emily and
her family
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