Elsie Ott
Elsie Ott was a pioneering American military nurse born on November 5, 1913, in St. James, New York. After completing her nursing degree in 1936, she joined the US Army Nurse Corps in 1941, quickly rising to the rank of second lieutenant. In January 1943, she became the first woman to participate in a groundbreaking experimental flight that transported wounded soldiers from India back to the United States. Despite having no prior flying experience, Ott successfully managed the medical care of five injured patients during the challenging 11,000-mile journey. Her exemplary performance in this mission earned her the US Army Air Medal for heroic service, making her the first woman to receive this honor.
Ott's contributions were pivotal in validating and shaping the procedures for air medical evacuation, leading to the establishment of the US Air Force Nurse Corps and the specialization of flight nurses within military operations. After the war, she married Larry Mandot and later became a homemaker. In 1965, she had the privilege of christening the Nightingale, the first military aircraft designed specifically for airborne medical evacuations. Elsie Ott passed away on December 15, 2006, leaving behind a legacy of bravery and innovation in military nursing.
Elsie Ott
Flight nurse during World II
- Born: November 5, 1913
- Birthplace: St. James, New York
- Died: December 15, 2006
- Place of death: Cathedral City, California
Also known as: Elsie Mandot
Education: Smithtown High School, Lenox Hill Hospital School of Nursing
Significance: Elsie Ott was the flight nurse on the first air evacuation of wounded military personnel in World War II (1939–1945). For her work during the flight, she was awarded the prestigious US Army Air Medal. Ott was the first woman to receive the honor.
Background
Elsie Ott was born on November 5, 1913, in the Long Island community of St. James, New York. Ott graduated from Smithtown High School in 1933 and went on to attend Lenox Hill Hospital School of Nursing in New York City. Ott completed a nursing degree in 1936. Her first job was at Kings Park Hospital on Long Island. She later worked at St. Francis Hospital in Miami, Florida.
In September 1941, Ott enlisted with the US Army Nurse Corps and was made a second lieutenant. She was first assigned to the Barksdale Army Air Field Hospital in Louisiana and later to Fort Story in Virginia. In February 1942, Ott was transferred to the 159th Station Hospital in Karachi, India.
Wartime Accomplishments
In January 1943, the US Army selected Ott as the nurse for an experimental flight transporting wounded soldiers back to the United States for treatment. With the battlefields of World War II scattered over large, remote regions, the army wanted to find a quicker way to get the injured to medical facilities. Transporting the wounded by ground and sea routes would have been a three-month process in 1943. The proposed evacuation by air would take only about six days.
Ott was given just a few hours to prepare for the flight. She had never flown before and had no training in transporting patients by airplane. The army provided her with blankets, sheets, two cots, and two mattresses—it was up to her to collect the other supplies she needed. Ott was responsible for the medical care of five patients. Two were unable to walk because of broken bones and other injuries. The others suffered from glaucoma, tuberculosis, and manic-depressive psychosis. Her only assistance was a staff sergeant with some medical experience.
The plane was a D-47 transport plane and was not built to handle medical patients. It took off on January 17, 1943, and made several refuelling stops along its 11,000-mile (17,700-kilometer) journey. Stops were scheduled in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, West Africa, the Ascension Islands, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Florida. The final destination was Bolling Army Air Field near Washington, DC.
Each time the plane landed at an airfield other than a US Army base, Ott had to pay for the patients' meals out of her own pocket. At some stops, the immobile patients spent the night at medical facilities where Ott helped doctors change their bandages and treat their wounds. During a stop in the West African nation of Ghana, Ott and the wounded were moved to a better-equipped B-24 bomber. The plane had its own mattresses, which made caring for the patients easier. However, Ott was also charged with eleven additional patients who joined them for the final legs of the flight home.
The flight arrived at Bolling Air Field on January 23. Ott helped medics carry the patients off the plane. The patients were then transferred to Walter Reed Army Hospital, the leading army medical facility of the time. Ott was exhausted from her journey, but she took the time to finish her medical notes and make a list of twenty suggestions for future medical evacuation flights.
Ott's superior officers credited her efficiency, dedication, and skill with making the mission a success. On March 26, 1943, Ott was awarded the US Army Air Medal, a recognition of heroic service during an air mission in hostile territory. She was the first woman to receive the honor.
Ott was then assigned to the Air Evacuation School at Bowman Army Air Field in Kentucky. The school was the first army training facility for flight nurses. In 1944 she returned to India with the 803rd Military Air Evacuation Squad. Ott was later promoted to captain and honorably discharged from the army in 1946.
Impact
During the war, some members of the army questioned the practice of placing nurses aboard military aircraft. Ott's work on the flight not only changed minds, but also proved medical evacuation by air was possible. It was also instrumental in shaping the army's procedures. Many of her suggestions were implemented on future missions. Her recommendations highlighted the need for patients' medical records to be included with them on flights. She called for more bandages, blankets, wound dressings, and oxygen. Ott also said the skirt uniforms provided by the army at the time were impractical. She thought pants would make the job of treating patients easier.
The job of flight nurse grew from Ott's successful first effort into a valuable and highly specialized field in the armed forces. In the years after World War II, the military established the US Air Force Nurse Corps. Flight nurse is one of several positions offered by the Air Force Nurse Corps.
Personal Life
After her army service, Elsie Ott married Larry Mandot. She became a homemaker, and the couple settled in Wheaton, Illinois. In 1965, Ott was given the honor of christening a new aircraft dubbed the Nightingale at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. The Nightingale was the first military aircraft designed specifically for airborne medical evacuations. Ott died on December 15, 2006, in Cathedral City, California.
Bibliography
"Elsie Ott Mandot." Legends of the Flight Nurses of WWII, legendsofflightnurses.org/Uploads/Nurses/OtherInfo/Elsie%20Ott%20Mandot3.pdf. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
"Flight Nurses Revolutionize Military Medical Care." United States Air Force, 14 Mar. 2013, www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/109558/flight-nurses-revolutionize-military-medical-care/. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
Hanink, Elizabeth. "The Flying Feats of 2nd Lt. Elsie Ott." Working Nurse, www.workingnurse.com/articles/The-Flying-Feats-of-2nd-Lt-Elsie-Ott. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
"Honoring the American Heroine: The Story of 2nd Lt. Elsie S. Ott." Purple Heart Foundation, purpleheartfoundation.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/honoring-the-female-heroine-2nd-lt-elsie-s-ott/. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
Kelly, Kate. "Elsie S. Ott (1913–2006)." America Comes Alive, americacomesalive.com/2011/03/06/elsie-s-ott-1913-2006/. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
Millar, Anne M. E. "Ott, Elsie S." An Encyclopedia of American Women at War, edited by Lisa Tendrich Frank, ABC-CLIO, 2013, pp. 431–433.
Powers, Rod. "Air Medal in the Armed Forces of the United States." The Balance, 16 Aug. 2016, www.thebalance.com/armed-forces-air-medal-3344930. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
Rissman, Rebecca. Women in War. Essential Library, 2016.