MASH units were normally the
closest points to the line where women served in
Korea. To most wounded they cared for, the TV
series was as much like Korea as Hollywood is
like Middle America. Boots replaced by battered
slippers for the moment, this genuine Angel of
Mercy may not look much like Hot Lips, but
she's worth infinitely more than the whole
cast of the TV series, in my book.
Life was less grim for Nurses not
actually at these forward units.
The 8055 MASH, a 60 bed hospital,
was the first medical unit to arrive in Korea, in
Pusan on July 6, 1950. Below, in an airport Aid
Station, 8055 MASH Army Nurse Capt. Phyllis
LaConte and Flight Nurse Lt. Marguerite Liebold
prepare wounded for travel to hospitals in Japan.
August, 1950
