WWII nurse celebrates 100th birthday at Milwaukee VA
A Wisconsin Veteran who served as a nurse during World War II celebrated her 100th birthday Wednesday, and the Milwaukee VA Medical Center helped her celebrate.
Milwaukee VA employees lined a hallway, holding congratulatory posters, as Marie Ehnert made her way through the hospital for a doctor’s appointment. She was feted with flowers during a small gathering and was celebrated at the Veteran Recognition Ceremony, part of Patient Experience Week.
Ehnert was truly surprised by all the hoopla made by the Milwaukee VA staff.
“When I came around the corner from the elevator and saw balloons and all the people, I just couldn’t believe it was for me!” Ehnert said. “Then I get back up to my room and it’s all decorated – these people have done just such an amazing job of it.”
Born April 26, 1923, in Sturgeon Bay, Ehnert was the fifth of seven children. She grew up helping in her father’s bakery and enjoying the outdoors, including ice skating, hiking, cycling and swimming.
After high school, she moved to Milwaukee to become a nurse, graduating from St. Mary’s Hospital Training School for Nurses.
When she began her career, penicillin was being trialed.
“Every vial had to be accounted for,” she remembered. “They gave massive doses of 25,000 units” compared to today’s 150 units. “They even had to mix the vial with water themselves.”
She soon enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps, going through basic training and Camp McCoy in Sparta, Wis., before being sent to Vaughan General Hospital at the Hines VA near Chicago.
Her next stop was Camp Blanding, Starke, Fla., where she learned how to camp, put up a pup tent and march. Then she went to Mississippi where, she said, “We learned how to save ourselves in case the ship went down … and how to make a float out of our trousers.”
Finally, in Seattle, she boarded a ship to Tinian Island, in the South Pacific. Known as the home base for the Enola Gay, it was also used for soldiers recuperating from their injuries.
After the war, she was stationed in Osaka, Japan, for a short time before returning home to Wisconsin.
She met her future husband Glenn on a blind date. They were married Feb. 19, 1949, and their marriage produced nine children. They made their home in West Allis for more than 50 years.
Marie continued working as a nurse, retiring after 43 years from Milwaukee County General Hospital. She joked that nursing helped her “preserve her sanity” while raising nine children.
Marie now has 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.