Remembering the brave civilian nurses, Augusta Chiwy and Renée Lemaire, who volunteered to work in one of the aid stations in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944 - Jan 1945.
#InternationalNurseDay
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Captain Jack Prior was Battalion Surgeon in the 80th Armoured Medical Battalion, 10th Armoured Division.
After the evacuation of wounded from Noville to Bastogne on 19 Dec, 1944, due to the worsening of fighting, he set up an aid station in the town of Bastogne.
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Down to just a handful of medical personnel at the aid station, Prior heard about nurses from the town who had come home for Christmas to see their families. He went to the houses of Renée Lemaire and Augusta Chiwy, and asked for their help.
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The two women, just 30 and 23 years old, accepted and worked tirelessly alongside the Americans during the Siege of Bastogne.
When the German offensive began on 16 Dec, Augusta had been working with her uncle, a doctor, to treat civilian and military casualties.
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On Dec 21, she volunteered at the aid stn, along with Renée.
At just 5ft tall, wearing a U.S uniform when her clothes became too bloodstained, she would head out to the front line to collect wounded. If she had been caught by the enemy, she risked being executed or taken POW.
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Prior: "Augusta was always in the thick of the splinting, dressing, haemorrhage control. Renée preferred to circulate among the litter patients, sponging, feeding, distributing the few medications we had. The presence of these 2 girls was a morale factor of the highest order"
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He wrote of Renée in a commendation request: "she cheerfully accepted the Herculean task and worked without adequate rest or food. She changed dressings, fed patients unable to feed themselves, gave out medications, bathed and made the patients more comfortable....."
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"....Her very presence among those wounded men seem to be an inspiration to those whose morale had declined from prolonged suffering".
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From 23 Dec the Germans began to bomb Bastogne and the surrounding areas. On 24 Dec around 20.30 two bombs hit the aid station. Renée is said to have worked with others to reenter the burning building again and again to evacuate as many as they could.
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She managed to get 6 soldiers out but died while trying to save a 7th.
The soldiers who she worked with, who had called her the Angel of Bastogne, recovered her remains and wrapped her in a silk parachute. Dr Prior carried her back to her parents home.
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Augusta and Dr Prior survived the war and on the 50th anniversary of the war dedicated a plaque to Renée at the site of the aid station
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Augusta worked with Dr Prior, continuing providing medical care until Jan 1945, when Prior's unit left Bastogne.
In 2011, she was made a Knight of the Order of the Belgian Crown and was awarded the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service by the U.S Army.
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Augusta worked with Dr Prior until mid Jan '45, when Prior's unit left Bastogne.
In June 2011, she was made a Knight of the Order of the Belgian Crown, and was awarded the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service by the U.S Army
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