World War II Veteran
June Sullivan
1920 - 2021
Interviewed by:
Max Christopher & Tanner Cornell
June Sullivan 1943
June Sullivan, December 2015
"In medicine, there’s really no discrimination to take care of people. No matter whether it's their
religion, color, or their background of any country."
~ June Sullivan (5:28)
Name:
June Sullivan
Date of Birth / Death:
June 1st, 1920 -
June 7, 2021
Branch of Service:
Army Nurse Corp
Dates of Service:
May 26,1943 - 1946
Location of Military Service:
Camp Edwards/ Scotland/
London England
(Throughout Europe)
Residence at Time of Interview:
Rockport, MA
June Sullivan's Story:
June Sullivan saved hundreds of lives. Unfortunately, her heroic life began with a rough childhood. She was born in Minneapolis, but with a few sudden deaths in her family, she was forced to move around. Finally, a family friend took in June and her brother in Brockton, Massachusetts. From her new home, June went to Cambridge City School and graduated with a degree in nursing in 1942.
Soon after, she enlisted in the Army Nurse Corp and went overseas in 1943 to serve in World War II. While in Europe, she treated hundreds of soldiers, saving their lives from lethal wounds. She was responsible for mostly chest surgery and saw countless bayonet wounds. She also witnessed severe frostbite wounds which often led to amputation. June’s humanitarian heart didn’t end there, for when her hospital was changed into a German Prisoner of War hospital, she showed kindness to the prisoners who expected only harsh treatment. She touched the souls of many, to the point where the prisoners paid her respect back. June Sullivan witnessed the horrors of war, but her kind spirit was never smothered, even in the face of her challenging work.
Coming home almost three years later, she married and moved to Rockport, Massachusetts. she raised seven children, two of which, followed in her footsteps and joined the service. Her story is enlightening and reveals war's true casualties. June Sullivan’s heroic actions as an Army Nurse are indescribable, and her struggle and achievement are second to none.
London England, June at #10 Downing Street with fellow nurses. (1943)
From Left to Right: Hazel Hearn, Frances Melle,
Grace Russell, June Sullivan.
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
June and patients from the African Italian Campaign in 1943 outside of the Bristol England Village of Falfield.
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
June and fellow nurses in Bowen, France.
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
Snapshot of the action outside the hospital June worked in. A new group of patients were just arriving.*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
Picture taken of one of the new patients coming into the hospital. New patients were always present in the hospital.
A picture showing the countless stretchers the hospital needed and a new patient being brought into the hospital. This photo expresses the endless amount of new patients coming into the hospital. *Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
An example of a patient being brought in on a stretcher to be treated by nurses.
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
Examples of German Prisoners of War that were held and treated by June.
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
A picture that shows the security of the hospital. A fence of barbed wire separated the nurses and prisoners from the outside.
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
This is a patient of June's from when she was in England. (From the interview: the German Prisoner of War who acted as a hospital translator because he spoke several languages)
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
Princess Elizabeth (of England) in Swindon Wilts 1943. A photo taken by June when the princess came to inspect the Swindon Wilts Hospital.
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
Gunther Dolle: (age 18) The young German soldier that gave June his Luftwaffe Wings.
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook
Article featuring June marching in the Rockport Memorial Day parade with her son, Lieutenant Commander Brian Sullivan, soon after her 90th birthday. She marched for 2 miles and has participated in the parade for over 40 years. (2010)
*Photo Taken From June's Scrapbook