Lieutenant Jane Louise Kendeigh - A Sailor's Story


Lieutenant Jane Louise Kendeigh was born on March 30, 1922, in Oberlin, Ohio. She attended nursing school at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic before enlisting in the US Navy in 1944.

She trained as a transport nurse and was assigned to Naval Air Transport. Lieutenant Kendeigh became the first flight nurse to enter Iwo Jima, arriving on March 6, 1945. She worked on medical evacuations in Iwo Jima and the Mariana Islands before becoming the first flight nurse to begin evacuations in Okinawa, on April 7, 1945 —a mere seven days after the battle began.

After the war, Lieutenant Kendeigh continued nursing in civilian hospitals in San Diego, California. She died on July 19, 1987. Her ashes were scattered at sea.

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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to her travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

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