Helen Fairchild

Helen Fairchild

Helen Fairchild (November 21, 1885 – January 18, 1918) was an American nurse who served as part of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I, and who became known for her wartime letters to her family in the U.S., which vividly depicted the realities of combat nursing during World War I. She died of post-operative complications after surgery for a gastric ulcer while on duty with British base hospital #10/#16 on the Western Front.[1][2]

Biography

Helen was born in Turbot Township, Milton, in central Pennsylvania to Ambrose and Adda Dunkle Fairchild in 1885.[3] She was the fourth of seven children and worked on the family farm in her earlier years. In 1913, Fairchild graduated from Pennsylvania Hospital and worked as a nurse. After the United States joined World War I, Fairchild and 63 other nurses from the hospital volunteered for the American Expeditionary Forces.[4]

In May 1917, Fairchild sailed from New York to London, and then went on to her posting in France at the Pennsylvania Base Hospital No. 10 at Le Treport, arriving in June 1917.[4] She volunteered for front-line duty for the Third Battle of Ypres and moved to a casualty clearing station in Dozinghem .[3] She served as a combat nurse and was exposed to heavy shelling including the use of mustard gas. On the night of 17 August, the casualty clearing station was bombed by German aircraft and the medical staff were evacuated back to Le Treport.[4]

Fairchild had a medical history of abdominal pain, which worsened after her combat experience. By Christmas 1917 she was vomiting after every meal. X-rays revealed that a large gastric ulcer was obstructing her pylorus. She underwent surgery for the ulcer on January 13, 1918. At first she recovered well but then lapsed into a coma and died five days later. The post-mortem examination suggested that she died as a result of hepatic complications from the chloroform used as the anesthesia during her operation, possibly worsened by her previous exposure to mustard gas.[3][4]

She was buried with full military honours in a cemetery in Le Treport and later shifted to Somme American Cemetery and Memorial in Bony, France.[3]

Honors

The Nurses' Post of the American Legion in Philadelphia was named the Helen Fairchild Nurses' Post #412 in her honor. She is registered in the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Bernard A. Cook. Women and War: A Historical Encyclopedia from Antiquity to the Present. p. 175.
  2. ↑ Vern L. Bullough, Lilli Sentz, MLS (2004). American Nursing: A Biographical Dictionary:, Volume 3. Springer Publishing Company. p. 83.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nurse Helen Fairchild: My Aunt, My Hero". www.gwpda.org. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Nurse Helen Fairchild". www.greatwar.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-30.

External links

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