A Nurse in Two Wars
by Camryn Dreyer
Erin Cannon
July 17, 1923-November 26, 2001
Erin Cannon was born in Augusta, Georgia on July 17, 1923.[1] In 1944 she received a nursing degree from University Hospital in Augusta[2] and subsequently enlisted in the US Army in 1945.[3] She would serve in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Assigned to the 8063rd Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea, Cannon was among the first group of nurses who landed at Pohang Dong with the First Cavalry Division in 1950.[4] During the Korean War, U.S. forces had to contend with serious shortages of nurses; this had been an issue since the end of World War Two.[5] It was not until 1955 that President Eisenhower approved the Bolton Act which allowed men to serve in the Army Nurse Corps as commissioned officers.[6] This act came after vigorous campaigning by Mrs. Frances P. Bolton and her allies who presented evidence on the army nurse shortages across the globe. Prior to this change in legislation the only solution to this shortage was for women like Erin Cannon to work longer and harder hours to make up for the lack in personnel.[7]
Unfortunately, after World War Two the public was weary of hearing about women’s involvement in the armed forces. So, although many army nurses in the Korean War went above and beyond the call of duty, the army was reluctant to publicly acknowledge or celebrate the contributions of women during this period. During the Korean War, only nine nurses received the Legion of Merit.[8] For context, in Fort Logan Cemetery alone, there are 138 male Korean War veterans awarded with the Legion of Merit.
Following the Korean War, Cannon continued her service in Vietnam where she served in the Can Tho Province as Chief Nurse of the 29th Evacuation Hospital.[9] In Vietnam, army nurses served twelve month tours, just like men in combat.[10] Nurses in Vietnam experienced the aftermath of brutal combat and even put themselves at risk of injury or death.[11] Highly decorated for her service, Cannon earned the Vietnam Service Medal as well as the Gallantry Cross and the Civic Actions Medal from the Republic of Vietnam.[12]
In 1959, Cannon earned a degree in nursing education from the Medical College of Georgia and a Master’s degree from University of Colorado in 1967.[13] Upon retirement in 1974, she was awarded the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit Award for her service in the armed forces. She retired to Boulder, Colorado and spent the next two decades as an active member of Boulder Rollers, her local Catholic church, and the Army Nurse Corps Association,[14] an organization dedicated to preserving the history of the Army Nursing Corps and connecting both active and retired nurses throughout the country.[15] Cannon died on November 26, 2001 and was interred at Fort Logan.[16]
Footnotes ↓
[1] Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, prepared by the Department of Commerce in cooperation with the Bureau of the Census (Washington, DC, 1930). Retrieved from https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=6224&h=17991701&ssrc=pt&tid=48028744&pid=12873194761&usePUB=true
[2] "Erin Eugenia Cannon Army Nurse, 78." Denver Post (Denver, CO), Dec. 21, 2001. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.du.idm.oclc.org/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=favorite%3ADPCC%21Denver%2BPost%2BCollection%2Bwith%2BHistorical%2BArchives&sort=YMD_date%3AD&maxresults=20&f=advanced&val-base-0=erin%20eugenia%20cannon%20army%20nurse%2C%2078&fld-base-0=alltext&docref=news/0F08F9D7DEB6267C
[3] US, Select Military Registers, 1862-1985, 2013, (Provo, Utah). Retrieved from https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/interactive/2345/40014_1821100517_0677-01294/2631189?backurl=https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/1261575/person/1881831704/facts/citation/600257785439/edit/record
[4] "Col. Cannon Retiring as Army Nurse." Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA), Aug. 27, 1974. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21960775/the_atlanta_constitution/
[5] Sarnecky, Mary. “Army Nurses in the Forgotten War,” The American Journal of Nursing 101 no. 11 (2001). https://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/Fulltext/2001/11000/Army_Nurses_in__The_Forgotten_War_.21.aspx
[6] US Army Medical Department, Office of Medical History. “Evolution of Male Army Nurse Corps Officers” last modified June 7, 2009. http://history.amedd.army.mil/ancwebsite/articles/malenurses.html
[7] US Army Medical Department, Office of Medical History. “Evolution of Male Army Nurse Corps Officers” last modified June 7, 2009. http://history.amedd.army.mil/ancwebsite/articles/malenurses.html
[8] Sarnecky, Mary. “Army Nurses in the Forgotten War,” The American Journal of Nursing 101 no. 11 (2001). https://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/Fulltext/2001/11000/Army_Nurses_in__The_Forgotten_War_.21.aspx
[9] "Col. Cannon Retiring as Army Nurse." Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA), Aug. 27, 1974. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21960775/the_atlanta_constitution/
[10] La Salle, Margaret Ann. “Vietnam Nursing: The Experience Lives On.” Military Medicine 165 (September 2000): 641.
[11] Spelts, Doreen. “Nurses Who Served and Did Not Return.” The American Journal of Nursing 86 no. 9 (1986). https://www.jstor.org/stable/3425583?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents
[12] "Col. Cannon Retiring as Army Nurse." Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA), Aug. 27, 1974. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21960775/the_atlanta_constitution/
[13] "Erin Eugenia Cannon Army Nurse, 78." Denver Post (Denver, CO), Dec. 21, 2001.
[14] "Erin Eugenia Cannon Army Nurse, 78." Denver Post (Denver, CO), Dec. 21, 2001.
[15] Army Nurse Corps Association, “ANCA and Army Nurse Corps History.” http://e-anca.org/History
[16] US Veterans Gravesites, ca. 1775-2006, National Cemetery Administration. https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=KIb296&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&qh=Hq%2BHYmGNachYNR1lX6pxHQ%3D%3D&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Erin%20&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Cannon&gsln_x=0&msbdy_x=1&msbdy=1923&catbucket=rstp&MSAV=0&uidh=md5&gss=angs-g&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=23938662&dbid=60525&indiv=1&ml_rpos=6
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