1LT US Army, Isabel Elizondo Oesterreicher

Isabel Elizondo (Oesterreicher) joined the Army Nurse Corps in December of 1942. ¹ She was commissioned at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and subsequently stationed as a combat nurse in the Naples-Foggia, Naples-Apennines, Naples-Arnos campaigns, and Anzio Beach from 1943 to 1945. ^{1, 2} Her first overseas post was in Oran, North Africa with the 94^th Evacuation Unit, attending to patients to be sent back to the United States. ³ On September 16, 1943, her unit landed on the beaches of Paestum, Italy. Within a week they were receiving the wounded near Battaglia during the drive to secure the port of Naples. From there, the 94^th Evacuation Unit moved to Maddaloni, Riardo, and Mignano, Italy. The unit left Mignano briefly in 1944 to prepare for the Anzio beachhead. When they landed at Anzio, the hospital consisted of ten miles of beachhead ringed on three sides by German forces. ³ Because of continuous German shelling and gunfire, the nurses lived in dug-in tents for protection.

Despite the danger, eight nurses, including Elizondo, toured the town of Anzio in May of 1944, an event that received national attention. ⁴ As the nurses headed into town, men called from their foxholes to not be scared. In response, Elizondo called back, “What makes you think we’re scared?” to the approval of her fellow nurses. ⁴ In “Angels of Anzio,” a 1959 New York Times Magazine article, Jack Foises explains, “Anzio beach was a place of terror and death—and bravery…. It was only at Anzio that American nurses of World War II were exposed to consistent artillery fire and bombing raids.” On February 7, 1944, the hospital was dive-bombed by a German pilot, though the beach was clearly marked as a hospital. Twenty-eight people, including nurses, were killed and 68 were critically wounded. ⁴ A week later the hospital was shelled killing 30 people, including two nurses. After the war, being stationed at Anzio was a mark of courage at nurse reunions. ⁴ Of her experience, Elizondo said, “We were frightened but it was something that had to be done.” ³ Her military decorations include the Europe-African-Middle-Eastern Campaign Medal and three Bronze Service Stars. ¹ She was honorably discharged in January 1946. ¹

Elizondo was born in Eagle Lake Texas to Josefa and Santiago Elizondo of Mexico. ⁵ She graduated from Albuquerque High School in 1939. ⁶ Following high school she attended the Regina School of Nursing in Albuquerque, graduating in 1942. ⁷ After retirement, she was a member of the Española Community Chorus and the Federated Women’s Club of Espanola, and she volunteered at medical facilities in Albuquerque. ^{8, 9, 10} In 1997 she won the award for “Volunteer of the Year” for her work with the volunteer group Myrtle Romero and Friends. ¹⁰