Lt. Agnes Nolan and sister Lt. Madonna Nolan served in the 16th Evacuation Army Hospital during the Italian Campaign in World War 2. The clearly marked Red Cross hospital ship(Newfoundland) that Agnes and Madonna were serving on in the Mediterranean was bombed by the Nazi bombers. This was near Salemo September 1943. Several were killed and wounded the British doctors and nurses did not survive. The ship caught on fire and was abandoned before it sank. Wounded Agnes and Madonna along with the American nurses made it off the ship. After being rescued from the sinking ship both Agnes and Madonna were treated for concussions and hearing lost. They were separated and hospitalized for 3 days not knowing if the other had survived until they were reunited in the hospital. When the opportunity for them to return to the U.S came up they declined wanting to stay with their unit tending to the wounded. Before shipping home they stop at the Nettuno Military Cemetery to visit the grave of their brother Bill Nolan who was killed at Anzio on February 29, 1944. I didn't have their picture in my book. Their picture and this condensed story of their service was submitted to me by Catherine Nolan Miller. Their story and others were published in a book called G.I.Nightingales.
Provided by Roger Ashmore
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