A Soldier's Story: Lieutenant Colonel Nola Gladys. Forrest


Born on June 6, 1900, in Lake Wilson, Minnesota, Lieutenant Colonel Nola Forrest attended Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and completed nurses training at Eitel Hospital, also in St. Paul.

She enlisted in the U.S. Army Nurses Corps on February 25, 1927, eventually taking her to the Philippines as the Director of Nurses in the South Pacific. She was in the Philippines when World War II erupted.

Lieutenant Colonel Nola Forrest led nurses from field hospitals into Leyte, setting up a field hospital in an old cathedral under enemy fire, receiving more than 600 patients within the first three hours of the nurses' arrival.

Later, she led the detail of nurses into the liberation of Santo Thomas, taking over the care of the POW soldiers and nurses.

Lieutenant Colonel Nola Forrest retired from the army on September 30, 1946, and lived in the D.C. area until her death on July 30, 1999 and rests at Arlington.

Her life is memorialized in the book "Fearless Presence: The Story of Lieutenant Colonel Nola Forrest, who led the Army Nurses Through Heat, Rain, Mud, and Enemy Fire in WWII" by Eleanor Stoddard.


* Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here*

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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, writer, and photographer currently living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to the travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

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Location: St Paul, MN, USA

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