Medicine at War: A Digital History Project

This is a developing project that traces the involvement of U.S. doctors, nurses, and other health professionals in World War II. Further information will be added as the project continues.

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Women Physicians in the Navy during World War II

Fifty-seven women served as physicians in the U.S. Navy during World War II. The table below shows their names, the medical schools from which they graduated, their hometowns, and their specialties where available.

Name	Medical School	Home Address	Specialty
Bean, Achsa Mabel	University of Rochester	Billings, New York	Pediatrics; General Practice
Bernard, Marcelle Thomasine	New York Medical College	New York, New York	None listed
Burgess, Ruth	University of Utah	Roosevelt, Utah	None listed
Burke, Laura Weber	Temple University	Union City, New Jersey	Obstetrics & Gynecology
Burns, Catherine	University of Minnesota	Albert Lea, Minnesota	None listed
Buyer, Edith Michael	Johns Hopkins University	New Rochelle, New York	Psychiatry
Chamberlin, Dorothy Blake	Albany Medical College	Housatonic, Massachusetts	None listed
Conrad, Agnes	Johns Hopkins University	New York, New York	Psychiatry
Constantino, Nancy Mary	University of Buffalo	Dunkirk, New York	Internist
Davis, Harriet Josephine	Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania	Stonecrest, Buckingham Valley, Pennsylvania	Internist; Pediatrician
Dishong, Elizabeth Fletcher	University of Arkansas	Little Rock, Arkansas	General Practice
Dispensa, Johnette Gertrude	University of California	Los Angeles, California	General Practice; Psychology
Ellms, Evelyn Blanche	Tufts University	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Radiology
Everett, Meldon Ada	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Radiology
Feder, Ellen Wynne Posnjak	George Washington University	Los Angeles, California	Pathology; General Practice
Fitch, Edna Mae	University of Wisconsin	Boston, Massachusetts	General Practice
Furtos, Norma Catherine	Western Reserve University	Cleveland Heights, Ohio	Pediatrics; Tuberculosis
Grainger, Hazel Maude	University of Toronto	New York, New York	Pediatrics
Greenbaum, Regina Stolz	Rush Medical College	Chicago, Illinois	Internist
Gregory, Exie Mildred	University of Maryland	Clarksburg, West Virginia	None listed
Hadsell, Lillian	Washington University	New York, New York	General Practice
Haskin, Grace Edna	Western Reserve University	Cleveland Heights, Ohio	Internist
Hays, Anna Luvern	University of Michigan	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Pediatrics
Healey, Mildred Miller Templeton	University of Buffalo	Hollywood, California	X-Ray
Hershberger, Lydia Naomi	University of Iowa	Kalona, Iowa	None listed
Jolliffe, Tipton Mullins	University of Tennessee	New York, New York	Pediatrics; Public Health; Epidemiology
Josephi, Marion Gertrude	Cornell University	White Plains, New York	Pediatrics
Levy, Bertha Marion	Tulane University	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Pediatrics
McCorry, Catherine Louise	Loyola University	Chicago, Illinois	Psychiatry
McCoy, Bernice	University of Pennsylvania	Whittier, California	Pediatrics; Public Health
McCoy, Eleanor Holman	University of Virginia	Easton, Maryland	Pediatrics; Anesthesia
McLeod, Christie Ellen	University of Vermont	Portland, Connecticut	Pathology; Bacteriology
MacFarquhar, Murdina MacKenzie	Temple University	Elizabeth, New Jersey	None listed
Machles, Fannie	University of Texas	Galveston, Texas	None listed
Magee, Mary Catherine	University of Michigan	Springfield, Missouri	General Practice; Communicable Diseases
Ozarin, Lucy Dorothy	New York Medical College	Helmuth, New York	Psychiatry
Paul, Louise Mary	University of Minnesota	Wakefield, New Hampshire	General Practice; Anesthesia
Pettit, Mary DeWitt	University of Pennsylvania	Albany, New York	Obstetrics & Gynecology
Phelps, Orra Almira	Johns Hopkins University	Fort Plain, New York	General Practice
Phillips, Frances	University of Texas	Los Angeles, California	General Practice
Reese, Clare N.	University of California	Chico, California	Anesthesia; General Practice
Richman, Frances Beatrice	New York Medical College	Las Vegas, Nevada	Ophthalmology
Rosenthal, Bernice Gertrude	Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania	Boston, Massachusetts	Anesthesia
Ruby, Sylvia	Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania	Lynn, Massachusetts	None listed
Rupp, Pauline Elizabeth	New York University	Los Angeles, California	None listed
Saraniero, Gioconda Rita	Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania	Brooklyn, New York	Pediatrics; Hematology
Simonsen, Marie Nielsine	University of Nebraska	Sioux City, Iowa	Psychiatry; Surgery
Slack, Louise Wetherill	Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania	Lancaster, Pennsylvania	None listed
Stebbins, Margaret	Tufts Medical College	Los Angeles, California	Pediatrics
Stone, Elizabeth Alice	Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania	Romeo, Michigan	General Practice; Industrial Medicine
Taylor, Lois Ellene	University of Vermont	Belchertown, Massachusetts	Psychiatry
Thelander, Hulda Evaline	University of Minnesota	San Francisco, California	Pediatrics
Thomas, Irene Osgood	University of Michigan	Hawthorne, New Jersey	Pediatrics
Townsend, Eleanor Winthrop	Medical College of the State of South Carolina	Atlanta, Georgia	Pathology; Bacteriology
Wenner, Pauline Kathryn	Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania	Allentown, Pennsylvania	General Practice; Diabetes
Willoughby, Frances Lois	University of Arkansas	Traverse City, Michigan	Psychiatry
Young, Grace Victoria	George Washington University	Sherman, Connecticut	General Practice; Psychiatry

Those interested in more information about women physicians in World War II may enjoy Judith Bellafaire and Mercedes Herrera Graf, Women Doctors in War (College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2009).

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