 Proudly, we hail! From New York City, where the American stage begins, here is another program with a cast of outstanding players. Public service time has been made available by this station for your Army and your Air Force to bring you this story as Proudly, we hail the Army Nurse Corps. Our story is entitled, The Gals from Dogpatch. This is the story of Captain Phyllis Laconte of the Army Nurse Corps and the members of the First Mobile Army Surgical Hospital to reach Korea after the outbreak of fighting. Our first act curtain will rise in just a moment, but first... With the rapid expansion of the United States Army, more nurses are needed. If you are a registered nurse, volunteer for service with the Army Nurse Corps. There are assignments in this country and overseas. Only qualified graduate nurses can fill them. Write the Surgeon General, United States Army, 25 D.C. Do it now. And now your Army and your Air Force present the Proudly, we hail production, The Gals from Dogpatch. They call them The Gals from Dogpatch, with the American GIs ability to cover something serious with a cloak of humor. But these gals were not from any such imaginary place. They were from such real towns as Galveston and Glens Falls, Traverse City and Tukumkari. And they were also from the Army Nurse Corps, members of the First Mobile Army Surgical Hospital to Reach Korea. This story about the first 12 Army nurses to reach the Korean front after hostilities began starts in Tokyo. Captain Ori Gregory and Lieutenant Mary Lou Metzger stationed at the 155th Hospital had spent their day off picnicking. On their way back to the base, the radio and Captain Gregory's car set the girls to thinking. Hey, Ori, you get to spend April in Paris. If you'd call two weeks April, I'd get one. I didn't get to go overseas. The war ended a month after I joined. Well, you're overseas now, Mary Lou. And believe me, the Chestnuts and Blossom in Paris are nothing compared to the cherry trees in Puebloom here in Tokyo. And peace. I suppose the war was pretty awful. You just pray they'll never be another. Oh, honestly. How someone like you ever happened to take up a realistic career like nursing beats me. Well, Ori. But how you happened to turn out to be such a good nurse is even more valuable. Why, if I didn't know you so well, I would say... We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin. The United Press reports from Seoul that North Korean communist troops have crossed the 38th parallel and have engaged the South Koreans. I'll repeat that. The United Press reports from Seoul that North Korean communist troops have crossed the 38th parallel and have engaged the South Koreans. Stay tuned to this station for further bulletin. That means war, doesn't it? Well, if it's true, we'd better beat it back to the hospital and find out what's really happening. Anything here at the hospital about it? I think it's only a rumor. When my commanding officer orders me to organize the nursing service of an MASH hospital and be ready to leave for Korea in 24 hours, it's no rumor. Do you need a nurse, Phyllis? Yes. Heaven help me. Taking any volunteers? I need a leaven, Ori. You only need 10 now. Count me in. Thanks. May I go, too? Take her. She's got the stamina of a plow horse. I don't think that's much of a compliment, Ori. It is to me, Lieutenant Metzger. Now, you two get ready to leave at 05.30 tomorrow. I've got to start lining up equipment. If we can help, let us know. Bye, Captain. Let's see. We need to sterilize this. Looks like we're going on a Girl Scout hike back home. We seem to have everything. Mary Lou, you don't have to go. Nobody will blame you if you change your mind. Now, you are, Shory. I'm going. I know this isn't a Girl Scout hike, and I know they're going to need nurses who are strong as plow horses like me. Mary Lou, you're a good gal. Now, I'll tell you what. Let's go to the Wisteria Gardens again and take pictures to send home this time. We'll wear our fanciest dress, too. Oh, this may be the last chance we had to dress up for five months. I think I'll wear my new red shirt. I'll wear my white organza. But, Mary Lou, this time, don't forget the camera. The gardens are so lovely and peaceful. You can hardly believe there's any fighting anywhere in the world. Just look at all this Wisteria. We've got a little bitty vine climbing up the veranda at home, but not like this. Give me the camera. I'll snap you, so you can send your phone. Give me the camera. I'll snap you, so you can send your folks a picture of you under a whole arbor of it. Okay. I bet you thought I'd forget the camera again. You wouldn't have dared. Move it that way a little more. There. Maybe I better take another, though, Justin. Mary Lou. What's wrong, Lori? You remembered the camera, but you forgot to put in any film. My, how could I have been so crazy? Oh, excuse me, ladies. I couldn't help overhearing what you said. Won't you use my camera? That's mighty sweet of you, Lieutenant. Always glad to help a lady in distress, especially pretty ones. Thank you. Here, Mary Lou. Watch the birdie. Your girl's going to be in Tokyo long? No, we're leaving in the morning. Well, give me your name and dress. I'll be glad to mail you the print negative of that. Oh, you stationed here permanently? Yes, yes. I'm in finance. Here's my name and where to send the picture, Lieutenant. Are you at the hospital? Yes. We're Army Nurse Corps. I thought you were tourists. Oh, hey, look at the time. Mary Lou, we've got to get back. Won't you let me buy you girls a soda first? Oh, we'd love to, but we'll have to take a rain check. It's a date. When? Five months. Five months? To the day. We're leaving in the morning for a tour of duty in Korea. Well, good luck, but it's still a date. Your attention, please, girls. Orders are to set up the hospital in this abandoned schoolhouse and be ready to receive patients in 24 hours. Our equipment and cleaning supplies haven't arrived, but this building must be cleaned up. You can see how filthy it is. How this is to be done, I leave to your ingenuity. Use plenty of disinfectant and DDT every crack and crevice. Captain Gregory. Yes, Captain? You're in charge of the cleaning detail. Lieutenant Hardy, get another detail and keep them supplied with water with you. Oh, it's easy, Ori. Easy to make a broom. Sure. We cut off some branches from those bushes and tie them together with a string. Oh. What do we use for handles? To read branches, silly. Well, now how in heck did you figure that out? I learned it in the Girl Scouts. Mary Lou, you are a constant surprise to me. The rooms are working very well indeed. Well, thank heaven some of the equipment's arriving. We'll be ready in time. The operating room's all set up in the other room. We have no beds, so make up the litters on the floor here. Two sheets to each one. Two clean sheets will do more for the boy's morale than anything else. Now, when this is done, give the men a hand in getting your tents up, and don't forget mosquito netting. Each of you take a helmet for the boy. Brother, can I sleep? I thought we'd never get this tent up in all that wind. I don't understand it, Ori. It was never this hard when I was a Girl Scout. Hey, turn that flashlight over this way while I take a cold shower in my helmet. Isn't it awful? And now the school is clean and we're not. Personally, I think if we just stood outside in the rain, we'd have a better... Oh, Mary Lou, what is it? The flashlight. You use my helmet, Mary Lou. You just come to welcome us to our new home. Those Korean mosquitoes are more like heavy bombers. Oh, quick. Let's hide behind a cloud of mosquito netting before they get us in their sights. And turn off the flashlight so it won't attract another squadron. Okay. I'm worried about tomorrow. Go to sleep. If you could come through the day and still look fresh as a daisy, you'd be all right tomorrow. No, no. I mean, do you think it'll be pretty awful? We'll manage somehow. Yeah, but... do you think there'll be lots of patients? We're likely to be plenty busy. It's what's so awful. There are so few of us. Yes, I know. We always need more nurses. Well... I'm glad. Yes, Major Brandt already. Better have one of your nurses give him plasma before we take him to the operating room. Yes, sir. How do things look? Pretty bad, I'm afraid. The enemy still has the offensive. Well, we're ready. Receiving ward, five operating tables, ward for critical cases. Our setup is crude, no running water, of course, but my nurses are the best. Captain. Oh, carry that man in here, please, men. What's the diagnosis, Major Brandt? Abdominal wounds, machine gun fire. What are your orders, sir? He's just had a shot of penicillin and one of sodium amatol. Give him 500 cc's of whole blood and prepare him for surgery. Yes, sir. Lieutenant Metzger? Yes, sir. Prepare this man for surgery as soon as you can after administering transfusion. Yes, ma'am. Take off your temporary bandage. Be as gentle as I can. You're the prettiest medic I ever saw. Just keep your eyes closed in my eyes. I can't close my eyes. Too glad to see you. Mighty glad you can see me, too. Get some sleep. I had some sleep yesterday, sir. Two hours. How much did you get? That's beside the point. I bet you haven't had two hours sleep in the whole two weeks here. I went to sleep standing up a while ago. I don't want that to happen any more now. Get some rest. Is that a direct order, Captain? Not if you're sure you can carry on. Thank you, Phyllis. I can. There were only a dozen war anesthetists and nurses and doctors. Oh, that reminds me. I've got to see Major Brant right away. Well, I hope he makes you get some sleep. Bring him in. Well, it just came in, Major. He's pretty badly hit, I'm afraid. All right, I'll take a look at him, Captain. That's such a sad case. A little 14-year-old Korean boy helped bring him in. They got caught in some machine gun fire, and now the boy's wounded, too. Poor kid. Here they are, Major. Let's see. The fracture of a femur. And the treading wounds and the extremities. Take care of the little guy. We will, son. We will. Doc, that was unrecognizance where they got me. They got three divisions back up there, bearing down this way. We only got one. If they break through... Thanks, Captain. We'll be prepared. Oh, Captain. We're going to evacuate the hospital. Yes, Major Brant. That bad, is it? Right so. Looks like a major breakthrough. Then you don't think our boys can... I think they can, but it's a question of time, though, now. We'll be ready to move. That must have been the railroad bridge. We had a dynamite just in case... It was dynamited. But, Major, if the bridge is out, the train can't get through. If it doesn't come, how can we transfer our patients to a point of safety? I'll turn that problem over to the CEO. He'll get a train here if he has to build one. We just have to trust in some miracle. Well, we'll start getting the patients ready for transfer to the loading platform. Captain Gregory. Yes, Captain? Take only such personal belongings as you can carry by hand. Yes, Captain. Send Lieutenant Phipps here, out of way. God, let us get these boys out of here. In time. You are listening to the proudly-behaved production The Gals from Dogpatch. Our story will continue in just a moment after this important message. Here's a message to young women with college degrees in physical education or the biological sciences. You may be eligible for a commission as a physical therapist in the Women's Medical Specialist Corps. Receive all the benefits of a second lieutenant while you attend the Army Special Physical Therapy course. Write the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, Washington, 25 D.C. You are listening to Proudly We Hail. And now we present the second act of The Gals from Dogpatch. Now it was the courage of desperation. Ready to drop in their tracks, Captain Laconte and 11 bone-tired Army nurses worked feverishly to dismantle the hospital and transfer the patients to the landing platform where they hoped the commanding officer would send a train to the hospital back to safety. But not daring to use a light of any kind, they worked by the glare of bursting shells. Captain Laconte was supervising from the landing platform. Bring that man right over here, please. Where is that train that ever come? That's the last patient, Captain. Oh, good. Everything in order? Plasma bottles, handy? Everything's safe, Carol. Thank you. We're all ready to move. Nurse! Yes, soldier? What is it? When are we getting out of here? Oh, dear, now it's all right. We have plenty of time. The train will be here in a moment. The train? There's not any train. Why don't you tell us the truth? Corporal, I am telling the truth. The train will come. Marie, do you really think the Captain's going to find a train? I know it. She can manage anything. What on earth are you doing? Putting on some lipstick. From the light of those shells? Sure. Now, don't tell me you learned that in the girls' town. Major, you've got to do something. We've got to move these boys. Yes, I know, I know, Kevin. The train should have been here long ago. But maybe it didn't get across the river. Isn't there some other way? I've got three jeeps, but that's not enough to move all those men. No. Well, we could get them all into that boxcar on the siding if only we had a way to move the boxcar. I wish I knew a magic. Then you could turn three jeeps into one locomotive. No, you're swasting it. What did you say, Captain? I said then you could turn three jeeps into one locomotive. I misunderstood, but I've just had an idea. You couldn't mean to hitch the jeeps to the boxcar instead of an engine. Why not? Two in tandem could certainly pull that freight car down the track with a couple of tow chains. Oh, Major. I will have that boxcar pulled over to the landing platform and the patient's safety behind the lines in no time. Captain Blake, bring your driver here. I've just had a great idea. I was a miracle we got the patient out and settled back here without losing a single one. The only casualty of the trip was our clothes, thanks, Evan. Uh-oh. Hey, I'm plum out of soap powder. It doesn't matter. This is our last sheet. I swan, Ori. I rubbed my fingers off to the second joint on this washboard. I never realized before that the automatic laundry was the most important part of a hospital. Now for a bath and some clean clothes. Borrowed, but clean. One good thing about moving. We got fresh bath water for our helmets. What size shirt did you get, Mary? 17 and a half. Wow. The shoulder seems hang down to your elbows. Oh, judging by these garments they lend us, all soldiers are built like Superman. Well, we can reef in the trousers with a belt and roll up our sleeves and pant legs. But what are we going to do about these shoes? I don't know. This pair I drew were the smallest they had, enough for Goliath. Look at them. We'll fall all over the patience with these things on, providing we find a way to keep them on. Hey, I know what let's do. You got three pairs of those heavy wool socks, didn't you? Yeah. Well, maybe if we put on all three pairs at once, it'll help the shoes to fit. We've got to try it. We're on duty in ten minutes. Man, did you ever see anything funny? Funny than what? There's nurses in their borrowed GI clothes. Well, they weren't made to fit the female of the species. Yeah, especially the shoes with those tapes hanging out the back and all of five sizes too big. You know, those girls look like a bunch of gals from Dogpatch. Gals from Dogpatch? Yeah, they sure do. Oh, hey, look at that one coming. That's the head nurse. I hope she didn't hear us. Doctor, hey, Doc. Not the doctor. I'm the nurse. But may I help you? Well, nurse, I heard your footsteps. It sounded like... I know. We lost our clothes when we moved here and we're wearing government issue. I overheard a couple of boys calling us nurses the gals from Dogpatch. Now, do you get the picture? Yeah, thanks. I wish I could see you in those cloud-upper shoes. Don't worry, you will pretty soon. Yeah. Now, what can I do for you, soldier? I wondered if you'd write a letter to my mother for me. Well, of course. If I know you're busy... You're not too busy to write your mother. And you'll mail it right away? Of course. It's terribly important, you see. I know she'll get a letter from the adjutant general. I'd rather she heard it from me first. Heard what from you? That I'm blind. How do you know you are? Can't you see these bandages over my eyes? Certainly, but that doesn't prove anything. Here, let me take a look at your chart. Oh, stop, stop all that. Just write the letter, won't you? Well, from the looks of this, it won't be necessary. And it would be pretty hard for your mother to get a letter like this from you if there was no need for it. What do you mean? I just don't want her to hear it from the army first. Private Vodsburg, according to your record, you've been badly wounded with involvement of the eyes. But you're due to be flown out of here in a couple of hours to a hospital in Tokyo where there's every reason to believe that expert surgery will save your sight. Why not write the letter after that? Honest. And the army won't write mom till after that? No. Well, if you're sure... I'm certain of it. Now, don't you worry about it. I remind you, Captain, there's a tremendous risk of both you and your patients being clobbered between here and the Astrid. You hear that heavy barrage of artillery going on? It's a calculated risk, Major. But assuming you got through, there aren't any Air Force nurses available to care for patients on the plane. They're all out on scheduled evacuation missions. Then I'll fly with them. But, Captain, we can't run this hospital without you. You'll manage. And these patients need complicated surgery as soon as possible. Delay would be tragic. I'll be back in 24 hours. See you tomorrow, Major. Clare boys, we're circling the field now. Captain LaCona. Yes, Private Bosberg? I'm scared. Oh, but you're doing beautifully. I couldn't have managed without your optimism and good humor to help me keep the other patients going. Oh, I was just whistling in the dark. What am I saying? I'll always be in the dark from now on. You're going to see again. I know it. I'm going to be right with you until after the operation so I can say I too. Sergeant Bosberg's operation, Doctor. Successful, Captain LaCona. The boy will recover his sight. I knew it. But if the operation had been delayed another two hours, you're doing a wonderful job, you gals from Dogpatch. What? I'll take your pardon, Captain. It slipped out. That's all right. But how did you know they called us that? Well, the news travels with the speed of light in the army. Good news, that is. Have you heard how things are going in our sector? No, I haven't. Oh. Well, the news isn't good, I'm afraid. I've got to get right back. Give my best to Private Bosberg, will you? But, Captain LaCona, you haven't had any sleep. I'll sleep in the plane. Leave in ten minutes. Going, Captain Gregory. Phil, thank heaven you're back. The artillery. I don't hear it. What's happened? Isn't it wonderful? Let's just say we cut them off at the path. Oh, I'm so glad. So very glad. Now, let's get back to work. So ended the first two weeks the army nurse corps spent in Korea. But for more than four months they continued working under unbelievably difficult conditions with courage, skill, and good humor saving lives. Perhaps even more important, helping wounded soldiers recover completely. Finally, in November, their tour of duty over, the first 12 army nurses to land in Korea returned to Tokyo. Among them, Captain Gregory and Lieutenant Metzger. Their first day back, the two girls returned to Kameido Park to keep a casual appointment they had made five months before. There's the Takabachi. Let's wait for a while, Mary Lee. Oh, probably the Lieutenant's forgotten all about that rain check, or it was five months ago. He'll show, don't worry. We don't even know his name. Hey, you girls waiting for an ice cream salad? Look, I haven't. Howdy. She bet me you'd forgotten. Well, I bet myself you'd forget, but I checked to see when you'd get back just in case. Oh, we had to come to thank you for sending the pictures. Oh, don't mention it. Incidentally, I know you're a Lieutenant Metzger, but I wonder if you might be Captain Laconte. No, I'm Captain Gregory. Why? Oh, my brother told me how grateful all the boys in Courier Art are to all you Army nurses, but he said Captain Laconte was an angel. She saved him from going blind by flying with him all the way to Tokyo. Ori, he must be talking about Private Busburg. Yeah. Did you know him? As a matter of fact, we did. Well, knowing my brother makes us practically old friends. Hey, hand me that camera so I can take a picture of you two and send it to him. Sure, here you are, Lieutenant Busburg. Thanks. Now, you two stand there by that Japanica bush. Now, smile. That's good. I better take another, though, just to make sure it... Uh-oh. Mary Lou. Ori, I swear I put film in on the bow. Well... Well, to tell the truth, Lieutenant, your brother wouldn't recognize this all slicked up in dress uniform anyhow. Suppose you're sending this picture I have in my wallet instead. You mean a lot more to him. What's this? It looks like one of those comic strip characters, one of the gals from Dogpatch. That's what they called us. Now you see why. Oh, well, that is a picture of you. No, it's a picture of a good friend of your brother's, Captain Phyllis Lacan. Oh, thanks. Funny thing. My brother told me she was an angel and this is the first time I ever saw an angel wearing size nine infantry boots. If you are a registered nurse, there are outstanding opportunities for you in the Army Nurse Corps, a nursing career with a future, performing world travel, specialized training, and a good salary. You will begin as a commissioned officer, enjoying the same prestige, pay, and benefits as the male officers. You'll work with the best of equipment, develop your professional skills. You'll receive a 30-day vacation each year with pay. Most important, you will get a tremendous satisfaction from your work, and you'll be doing your country a vital service. Act now. Write the Surgeon General, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, Washington, 25 D.C. This has been another program on Proudly We Hail, presented transcribed in cooperation with this station. Proudly We Hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center for the United States Army and United States Air Force Recruiting Service. This is Kenneth Fanghart speaking and inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on Proudly We Hail.