Leonora
“Lee” Whildin graduated from high school in 1943. Influenced
by propaganda encouraging women to contribute to the war
effort by becoming factory workers, she took a job
assembling switches for parts used by the military in a
small shop in Boston. She also hoped to earn higher wages
to finance her education in nursing. She then entered the
Cadet Nurse Corps, a physically demanding government program
developed to staff civilian hospitals as older and more
experienced nurses joined the military.
Following
the war, Ms. Whildin worked for a short time overseas as a
Department of the Army
civilian nurse in an American military hospital. Her
dedication to public service both as first
woman council person and, in 1977, first woman mayor of
Randolph, New Jersey, stands as a
testament to the determination and commitment of World War II women
striving to better
themselves both as individuals and in service to their country.
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LEE
WHILDIN |
