Roses in No Man's Land

During World War I, the entire nation was mobilized for service. As in the Civil War, women answered the call by volunteering as nurses. 


^{A group photograph of Nurses at Base 22 Hospital taken in France in 1917} 

Helen Bulovsky was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1895, of immigrant parents. She trained at Madison General Hospital, and after her graduation in October of 1917 practiced as a registered nurse. Bulovsky had a heart defect, which it seems she was aware of when she enlisted in April 1918. She was assigned to Base Hospital 22.

Base Hospital 22 was formed at Knowlton Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The doctors became officers, but nurses were not given military ranks at this time. The staff was then supplemented with soldiers from regular Army sanitation units.

Aimee O’Keefe was born on a small farm in St. Croix County in 1889. She trained as a nurse in St. Paul, Minnesota. After being certified she practiced in Los Angeles, California; Lewiston, Montana; and Seattle, Washington. O’Keefe was called to active duty in April, 1917. She was assigned to Base Hospital 50, organized through the University of Washington Hospital.