On Nov. 11, please join me in paying tribute to World War II veteran Audrey Beyer Jones of Corpus Christi, Texas. This 101-year-old native of Madison, Wisconsin, stepped on France soil as a nurse with the 12th Evacuation Hospital about eight weeks after D-Day on June 6, 1944. That offensive, the largest seaborne invasion in history, turned the tide of the war in the Allies’ favor.
Attack on Pearl Harbor was unforgettable
Audrey graduated from Milwaukee-Downer College in 1941 with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in foods, nutrition, and chemistry. She was in Denver doing her hospital internship at Colorado General Hospital when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
“My roommate and I listened to the radio all that Sunday afternoon. That night, I had a dinner date with a U.S. Air Force soldier stationed at Lowry Field. The minute we walked into the restaurant, there were cheers, pats on the back, and offers of drinks. He couldn’t spend a dime. Our meals were paid for, and only patriotic tunes played on the nickelodeon. That was heady stuff!” Audrey recalls.
How Audrey got ‘over there’
Audrey’s first nursing job was in New Orleans, but there was a war on. The U.S. Army needed hospital dieticians.
“So I enlisted and was sent to England with orders to report to the 12 Evacuation Hospital, a 750-bed ‘tent’ operation managed by Lenox Hill Hospital in New York,” she says.
Previously operating in Wales for 15 months, the 12th Evacuation Hospital moved to southern England in preparation for the D-Day Invasion.
“On the night of June 5th, 1944, an armada of planes began flying over our location for hours. The invasion had begun!”
Heading for France on July 31, 1944
“We crossed the English Channel in a boat that dropped anchor at Utah Beach in France. After several bivouacs, we rode on trucks inland, where the liberated French people met us with cheers. For the next 10 months, our hospital was constantly on the move, closely following behind the Third Army.”
Evacuation hospitals received casualties and provided major medical and surgical treatment before the wounded moved to rear medical installations.
“Sometimes, we took over a hospital or barracks as in Reims, Nancy, Luxembourg and Trier. We also worked and lived in tents in Verdun, Frankfurt and Nuremburg.”
General Eisenhower and General Patton visited the 12th Evacuation Hospital several times during Audrey’s World War II service in France and Germany. The USO brought stars like Bob Hope and Bing Crosby to entertain the hospital’s patients and staff.
The war ended when the Western Allies celebrated Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945. After that much-anticipated event, Audrey was then sent to Marseille, a port city in Southern France, to board a troop ship sailing to New York. She was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army on Dec. 28, 1945.
Lives of valor
Audrey is especially proud that four 12th Evacuation Hospital medical staff received a Silver Star medal for parachuting into Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. That is the third-highest military decoration for valor in combat awarded by the United States Armed Forces.
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, only 167,284 members of the Greatest Generation are living now, according to The National World War II Museum.
Audrey is one of those surviving veterans.
At the great age of 101, Audrey and every member of the 12th Evacuation Hospital that so courageously cared for injured U.S. personnel are due our gratitude and heartfelt thanks for their fearless service. Let’s remember and honor their contributions to winning the war.
If you’d like to send Audrey good wishes for Veterans Day, please type your message in the comment box below. Paul will see that his mom receives all our messages.
Let’s make this Audrey’s most memorable Veterans Day ever!
* * *
Other WWII-related posts I’ve written:
- Every Day is Memorial Day for Wayne Givens - May 26, 2023
- A Woman Ahead of Her Time - May 5, 2023
- Spring in an Old Texas Cemetery - April 21, 2023
Audrey Jones has memories like no other! It is wonderful that she related her memories to you and that you have shared them with your readers. We are thankful for Audrey’s service during the war.
Thanks, Deb. You probably noticed that Audrey lives in Corpus Christi. She is one of those people whose personal story is remarkable. For a young woman to practice her nursing skills in the dangerous makeshift hospitals not that far behind the front lines of WWII gives us a glimpse of her character and work ethic, as well as patriotism.
Great article. You are truly gifted in capturing the lives and stories of those we owe so much. Thank you.
Thank you, Margo. That means a lot coming from you! People like Audrey Jones fly under the radar screen and deserve to be honored.
Happy Veterans Day, Audrey. What a wonderful service you performed. –Kay Marburger
Yes, Audrey did perform a necessary service. Think of all the soldiers who passed through those field hospitals.
What an exciting and exceptional life and it continues today at 102 years young. You are amazing and so pretty. Would never have guessed your age. Happy Veterans Day Audrey! Keep on going.
You’re right! Audrey is an inspiration to us all.
Audrey, I celebrate your service to our country and thank you. I also celebrate my cousin who gave his life during WWll. I like to think that maybe you were one of his nurses. Again thank you for your service. From a Navy veteran in Corpus Christi.
Thank you! The loss of your cousin in the service to his country during WWII will be with you forever. He is not forgotten. We are grateful for his ultimate sacrifice so we live in freedom today.
What a lovely tribute for a lovely, brave and patriotic woman! So proud of you and all you’ve done!
What courage it must have taken for young Audrey to enlist in the U.S. Army!
God bless you, Audrey! Thank you for your care of our wounded American soldiers in the midst of war!
Your service and sacrifice is not forgotten!
What lovely, kind words, Kathy. Like your father, Audrey is an unforgettable member of The Greatest Generation.
Thank you so much Elaine. We have so few left now and we must treasure their memories because they are the reflection of real history. Back here in Alberta, we have a birthday tomorrow of a Leading Aircraftswoman who will celebrate her 100th Birthday on November 5th. She, along with Audrey and all the other ladies who volunteered, sacrificed and in too many cases, died, truly are unsung heroes.
Yes, Malcolm, you are so right. WWII veterans like Audrey lived our history. I hope the Alberta woman who is celebrating her 100th birthday tomorrow joy. We thank her, too, for her service.
Happy Veterans Day, Audrey! My, what an abundant life of great sacrifice and excitement you have had in your 101 years. It is difficult to imagine one of today’s young women giving up her comfortable, materialistic life in order to display the degree of valor shown by you during war time. How proud we are of you! How thankful we are for you.! I loved your story shared so beautifully by Elaine.
Brenda Miles
Thank you, Brenda, for such loving and thoughtful words. I’m sure Audrey will be touched.
A very happy Veterans Day Audrey from Down Under! Thank you for sharing your story. It’s so important that stories like yours are told.
Thank you for the greetings from Australia! I’m sure Audrey will enjoy knowing her story has made it around the world.
A collection of wonderful memories of Audrey’s very important service to so many. Audrey, everyone of us is in your debt, and will continue to be forever. As an aside, my father flew two missions on D-Day as co-pilot of a B-24 Liberator. On the 12th o June his plane was shot down and he was hidden by the French underground. All survived from his plane, except the one, whose parachute malfunctioned.
I know Audrey will enjoy reading your remarks and be interested in your father’s service on D-Day and his narrow escape from captivity. The French Underground helped so many Americans.
Elaine, what a great story. It’s a time to thank all our veterans, and especially the people behind the front lines, like Audrey. They don’t always get the credit they deserve for the jobs they did in supporting our young men both yours and ours.🇨🇦
You are so right, Jan! We should, indeed, give credit where credit is due – long after the fact.
As always, I love reading your true life stories. You bring the details and stories to life. Thank you
I’m so glad you enjoyed some highlights of Audrey’s service as a nurse in the European Theater during WWII. Of the 16 million Americans who served in the second world war, the majority never said much about their experiences.
Audrey, Thanks for your bravery and selfless service for our country! Women like you helped to strengthen my own resolve to enter the world of medicine when very few women did so. You are an amazing pioneer and motivator for all of us who came after you.
Elva, what kind, supportive words of praise you have shared with Audrey. She was, indeed, a pioneer in the field of medicine when her talents were desperately needed in a cruel, demanding environment.
We admire and appreciate your service, Audrey! Thank you for your bravery and nursing skills which resulted in bringing comfort to our Nation’s enlisted personnel. God Bless You!
And thank you, Marvy, for your comments recognizing Audrey’s selflessness in serving her country.
Audrey: Thank you for your service to our Country. You and your generation have set the bar very high for all of us to follow.
Elaine: Thank you for bringing remarkable historical stories to all of us.
Yes, the Greatest Generation is still inspiring us. Audrey is one of that remarkable generation who sees nothing extraordinary about her contribution to winning World War II.
Dear Audrey, my wonderful friend Eleanor Jones Stampfli, who is now 100, was also a nurse in WWII in the Pacific War, enlisting at age 20 just after Pearl Harbor. The U.S. Navy wasn’t enlisting women, but the U.S. Army/Air Force was glad to have her. Eleanor still talks about “my boys.” Blessings and honor on you both.
Thank you so much, Susan, for honoring the service of both Audrey and Eleanor. They both have earned our admiration!