Participant Info
- Membership Number
- 3039
- Salutation
- Mrs
- First Name
- Phyllis Edholm
- Middle/Maiden/Previous
- Last Name
- Carper
- Address 1
- 104 Davis Drive
- Address 2
- City
- New Llano
- State
- LA
- Zip Code
- 71461
- Phone
- 337-239-2744
- Code
- RO
- Work Code #
- State Membership
- LA
- Status
- 1
- Date of Birth
- 12/31/1925
- Date of Death
- 06/23/2023
- Deceased At Join?
- No
- Comments
- For two years Phyllis welded copper boxes used on Norden bombsights--a device used for daytime attacks. After helping at home during World War II, this Rosie the Riveter would also serve abroad. Through the Nurse Cadet Corp program, Phyllis commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Army in 1950. She spent 3 years as a triage nurse stationed in Japan during the Korean War, receiving patients directly from Korea by the plane loads. "They'd be in their dirty uniforms, all beat up. They were scared to death, you know, they were going home--they wanted to go home but they didn't want to go home broken and you had to tell them, you're going to be okay, your family is going to want to see you no matter what and we'd send them off to San Francisco." Phyllis recalls one of her first assignments, overseeing a frost bite ward of some 200 G.I.s "These poor kids would be there with these fingers and appendages that had been frozen and they were thawing and they would be in pain and they would be crying. A lot of them would have nightmares and you'd go up and talk to them soothe them and then you'd tell them to 'buck up!' punch them on the shoulder and show them 'you can get through this, kid!' and they would." ADVERTISEMENT Phyllis says it was an often traumatic experience, but one she'll always cherish. "I had always told my mother when I was in high school that I wanted to go around the world. I didn't make it around the world but I made it halfway that way and half way that way!" Earlier this month Phyllis was on an honor flight to D.C. where she spent 3 days with a group of Korean War veterans. She says she was the only woman of 22. Originally from the Midwest, Carper came to Vernon Parish when her husband retired after 33 years in the Army. She also writes for the American Rosie the Riveter Association.
- Name/Location of Company Worked
- Dates of Work
- Type of Work
- Rosie Name if Rb or Rv
- Is/Was Rosie a member of ARRA?
- Yes
- Contact Name (Deceased Rosie Contact)
- Contact Email Address
- Contact Phone Number
- Contact Relationship