#VeteranOfTheDay Army Nurse Corps Veteran Dona Mills-Bozman

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Nurse Corps Veteran Dona Mills-Bozman. Dona served during World War II from 1942 to 1946.

Dona was born in November 1918 in Texas. She joined the Army Nurse Corps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor when she was working at the New Orleans Charity Hospital where nurses were being recruited to join the war. Dona volunteered and was one of the first 11 nurses to leave New Orleans as a unit in August of 1942.

Dona and other nurses trained and prepared for a year, traveled to New York and then headed overseas aboard the USS Santa Helena. Dona first worked in North Africa, then Naples. She also visited Florence and Rome. Most of her time overseas was spent working as a Nurse in the 24^th General Hospital.

In her Veteran’s History Project interview, Dona recalls that she was generally not afraid during her time overseas. She describes her time and duties in the hospital as the same as being in a civilian hospital back in the United States.

Dona voluntarily extended her service, and she thereafter worked in a hospital in Switzerland.

When Dona returned home, she got married. She continued to correspond with the nurses that she worked with overseas.

Dona reminisces on her trips overseas as a time of experience and a chance to see the world.

We honor her service.

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Veterans History Project

This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.