Mariette Landwehr Lodermeier Oral History

Authors

St. Cloud State University

Document Type

Interview

Publication Date

10-19-1989

Abstract

Biographical Information:

Mariette Landwehr Lodermeier was born July 29, 1917 in St. Cloud and attended the St. Cloud State laboratory school as a child. She graduated from Cathedral High School and the College of St. Benedict. After graduation, she enrolled into the St. Cloud School of Nursing in August 1935. She completed the program in the summer of 1939. She served in the Army Nurse Corps from 1942 to 1946. After World War II, Lodermeier attended the University of Minnesota on the GI Bill. She earned a bachelor of science with a major in public health. She married Virgil Lodermeier on December 26, 1953. They had two children: Laura and Chris. She died July 4, 2000 and buried in St. Joseph’s Parish Cemetery in St. Joseph, Minnesota.

Transcript Summary:

Mariette, a volunteer, was initially a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps, was assigned to the South Pacific in May of 1943. She was sent to the 116^th Station Hospital following a 23 day voyage on a zigzag course to avoid submarines. After landing in Brisbane, Australia, she then traveled up to Port Moresby, New Guinea. There, Mariette and the other nurses would treat troops injured in combat two to three days after they had been assessed in a field hospital. In late 1944, she was on Leyte Island in the Philippines. She recalled that in 1945 they received more patients for venereal disease than anything else. About six weeks after the dropping of the atomic bombs, she returned to the United States aboard the Everlea, caring for civilians during the trip. She also spoke about life aboard the hospital ships and in station hospitals.

Interviewed by Nancy Baker

Comments

Image ID: 14269

See additional files below for full transcript.

Recommended Citation

St. Cloud State University, "Mariette Landwehr Lodermeier Oral History" (1989). World War II Veterans. 10.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/worldwar_oh/10