Dates

• Majority of material found within 1908 - 2004

Extent

2 boxes Linear Feet (Beulah Mabel Johns Brennen (May 27, 1908-June 22, 2004) was born in Washington Township in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. She dedicated her life to helping others, and was a registered nurse until her retirement in 1979. In 1933, Beulah Johns trained at Butler Memorial Hospital and became a registered nurse. She started to attend the University of Pittsburgh to earn her BS in Nursing. All of that changed, however, in 1941. Right after hearing of the attack on Pearl Harbor, even before the draft was enabled, Beulah Johns volunteered to be a nurse in the U.S. Army. Because of her RN training and education, upon enlisting during World War II, Beulah Johns was made a Second Lieutenant and later First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Her first assignment was in New Guinea, where she began work in evacuation hospitals for the injured Americans. Shortly after, she was then transferred to Sukarnapura, where she took care of as many as forty patients at a time. After serving in Japan she was once again transferred, this time to the Philippines. In the Philippines they had to establish a hospital, but shortly afterwards, Japan surrendered and her unit was discharged in November 1945. After returning home, Beulah Johns joined the Pittsburgh Chapter of Overseas Service League where she received a medal for her services in the World War II. First Lieutenant Beulah Johns Brennen received an Honorable Discharge from the Army Nurse Corps, USAR, on January 5, 1962. In 2001, she was honored by the Leader Times as one of the oldest living veterans of the war. In 1950, she married James Harold Brennen (1897-1967) who was also a veteran of World War II. Shortly after getting married, Beulah Johns Brennen decided to go back to the University of Pittsburgh and finish her BS in Nursing. She graduated with her BSN in 1957. Up until 1979, when she retired, Beulah Johns Brennen worked as a registered nurse for the Butler Memorial Hospital. The items in Manuscript Group 128 pertain to the life of Beulah Johns Brennen, with special emphasis on her nursing career and military service during World War Two. Content List (2 Boxes): Box 1 (25 folders) 1. Family Genealogy; 2. Beulah Johns Brennen and James H. Brennen (1897-1967); 3. Personal Records, 1906-1966; 4. Work Record, 1922-1957; 5. College Transcripts and Grades, 1933-1957; 6. My Sunday Missal (1938) and Song and Service Book for Ship and Field (1941), 1938-1941; 7. War Souvenirs and Medals of Honor; 8. Military Assignments, 1942-1950; 9. Christmas (booklet), Fort Lewis, Washington, Station Hospital, 1942; 10. Beulah Johns, My Life in the Service, Diary, 1942-1943 and Sketch Book with Photographs from New Guinea, 1942-1944; 11. World War II documents, 1943-1944; 12. Holiday Cards and Medic Echoes, 1943-1944; 13. In the Jungles of New Guinea by Unknown Soldier, given to Beulah Johns, circa 1944; 14. Medical Records, 1944-1945; 15. U.S. Army Military Records and Discharge/Separation Papers, 1942-1962; 16. Newspaper Articles, circa World War II and 2001; 17. Post Chapel Program, Fort Lewis, Washington, circa World War II; 18. The Beautiful Illawarra (booklet), South Coast of New South Wales, Australia, circa World War Two; 19. Illustrated Guide to Taronga Park Zoo and Aquarium, Sydney, N.S.W., circa World War Two; 20. Street Map of Sydney, Australia, circa World War II; 21. Retirement Records, Military Service, 1950-1962; 22. Certificate of Honor, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, February 6, 1953; 23. Miscellaneous World War II Related Materials, 1992-1997; 24. U.S. Constitution Day in Butler, Pennsylvania, September 1987; 25. Scholarly Article written about Beulah Johns (2017): a. Heflin, Tanya. (Summer 2017). “Some Job! The Private Diary of World War II Combat Nurse Beulah Johns,” Women’s History (8), pp. 30-35. Box 2 (3 items): 1. Beulah Johns: “Salute to Butler” (Pittsburgh Press, January 8, 1939) see Box 1 Folder 24; 2. Beulah Johns: World War II Scrapbook; and 3. Beulah Johns: University of Pittsburgh Diploma, B.S. Nursing – June 12, 1957.)

Language of Materials

English