WORLD WAR II - Evlyn Marie Hamilton Baum, Nurse

 

Evlyn Marie (Hamilton) Baum, WW II Nurse

We must pause to give credit and thanks to all of the nurses who served so bravely behind the front in aid to the WW II soldiers.

Evlyn M. Hamilton was born in Defiance on February 15, 1913, the oldest child of Edward Earl and Louisa Ann (Schmitt) Hamilton. She attended and graduated from Defiance High School where she was known for her outstanding voice. 

Her family is so blessed to have an autobiographical account of her life which revealed her one big dream -  to be an opera singer. 

Evlyn attended Johns Hopkins School of Nursing from 1934 - 1937. She began work at Toledo Hospital, Toledo, Ohio, in 1939, and then, because she wanted to travel, she took a new job in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Hollywood.

While in California, her mother became ill and requested that Evlyn come home. She came back to Toledo Hospital from 1941 - May 1942. The war was on, and Evlyn had that desire to travel and serve, so she joined the 18th General Hospital (a Johns Hopkins Hospital unit) that was to be sent on foreign duty from San Francisco on May 17, 1942.

She was in New Zealand only seven weeks as they were still building the hospital at that time, and there really wasn't much for the nurses to do without space and equipment. Then, she was put on a train with others for a ride to Fiji where she stayed 28 months.

Fiji Hopkins 18th Unit

She wrote that in August 1942, they had ward tents in Fiji as the engineers were still building the hospital building, to be known as Fiji Hopkins. It was a 500-bed hospital that usually held 700 patients; those who were ambulatory were sent to the tents.

One online source stated, "The great skill of the Johns Hopkins doctors and nurses was readily apparent as only eleven patients died during the unit's first year. Battle lines began moving away from Fiji, reducing battle casualties."

During her time in Fiji, Evlyn became quite ill herself with influenza and a kidney infection. She was over a month in the hospital and sick in her quarters for another 12 days at different times.

In June 1944, the Army command felt that the Fiji Hospital was being underutilized, so they redeployed Evlyn's unit to the India - Bombay theater. They left Sept. 16, 1944, to Bombay, India, going by train on a one week journey. They were surprised to learn upon arriving that two other hospitals were already there, the 69th and 20th General Hospitals. Here they were stationed for six months, and the nurses had several weeks of no work. They were ordered to set up in a dilapidated structure and make it ready for patients. In this area, many were treated for disease as well as wounds.

Hospital units in India

Good news came for them on March 22, 1945, when they were assigned to their next rotation - Home!  They embarked out of Calcutta on the General Charles C. Ballou with stops in Singapore, Malaya, Manila and finally San Francisco.

It wasn't long until the Army called Evlyn back into service as RKO Studios wanted six nurses to join various tours around the country to boost the 8th War Loan Drive. She had all her expenses paid as she did radio interviews and 3 stage shows a day, traveling from Ohio to D.C. and on up into the New England states, ending in Maine.

Perhaps her wanderlust was now satisfied, as she separated from the service.

At 32, she was not done learning and teaching. She was head nurse of Obstetrics at Harper Hospital in Detroit and taught several related classes there. She had received a B.S. in nursing in 1951 and then continued her graduate work part-time at Wayne State University. As the nursing program was not yet set up, she signed up for a Master's degree in Sociology.

She had several other hospital assignments before marrying in 1955. Their daughter was born in March 1956, after which Evlyn was critically ill and was hospitalized for five months and had surgeries. Her obstetrician suggested that she not finish her thesis which would have finished her graduate degree. She grew bored on their farm, acting as a business manager as they subdivided the property, playing bridge four times a week, and acting as chairperson for different fund drives, so she decided to become a teacher. She had a strong background in child growth and development and sociology.

In September 1961, she began teaching fifth grade in a low socio-economic school, just the challenge she wanted. She went on to earn a Master's degree in Education from Wayne State University. 

Evlyn Hamilton Baum succumbed to cancer on July 3, 1973, having served her community and her country to her utmost.

Submitted by Jim Hamilton, Nephew of Evlyn

Researched by Wendy Baum, daughter of Evlyn