Dozens of the nurses who died in France during the First World War were American. Sometimes joining the conflict very early, even before their country declared war, they served under the Red Cross of a belligerent country. Helen HOMANS was one of them.
Under the gaze of Aesculapius
Boston, Massachusetts, east coast of the United States. Helen HOMANS was born on 26 January 1884. She was the daughter of Dr John Homans, an abdominal surgeon, and his wife Helen. The family has been known and recognised as a medical dynasty for several generations. Through her family line, Helen descended from John ADAMS (2nd US President) and John Quincy ADAMS (6th US President).1
Little is known about Helen’s early life. She came from a privileged background and received a good education. In 1902, she made a pleasure trip to England.
On 07 February 1903, her father died at the age of 66, leaving a fortune of several thousand dollars to his family.
In 1905, Boston was elected mayor. Helen voted, giving us the first copy of her signature.
From 1908 to 1913, Helen studied at Radliffe College, an institution for the education of women run by Harvard University.
Commitment
When the First World War broke out in Europe, the United States was officially neutral. Nevertheless, some joined up and crossed the Atlantic. This is what Helen did at the beginning of 1915. She applied for a passport stating that she wanted to spend 1 year travelling or working in a hospital in Spain, Italy, France or the UK.
This document gives us a clearer idea of her physical appearance at the age of 30. Helen is about 1.70 m tall, brunette with brown eyes and an oval face. A photo completes this description.
In May 1915, Helen was in France. As she was not a qualified nurse, she began her training at the Hôpital de l’Alliance in Yvetot (76), which lasted until September of that year.
On her return to the United States, her 1915 passport application expired and she applied for a new one for 6 months. Once again, she embarked and served in Yvetot hospital from February to December 1916.
January 1917 saw a change of posting, but still in Normandy. Helen was transferred to Pont-Audemer (27) to the 109 Auxiliary Hospital. This establishment, located in the town’s former minor seminary, had been open to the wounded since August 1914 and had a capacity of 225 beds.2
In order to regularise her administrative situation, Helen went to the American embassy in Paris to renew her passport.
In action
In September 1917, Helen bids farewell to Normandy. Transferred to automotive surgical ambulances 21 and 23, she headed for the Aisne. As the autochthons were associated with a Hôpital d’Origine des Etapes (H.O.E.), the American settled in Vasseny (02).
A month later, the Battle of Malmaison put the nurse to the test and she earned the nickname ‘the new Miss Nightingale3. Probably while on duty at Ambulance 21, Helen was photographed at H.O.E. 18 between 2 soldiers.
The man to the right of Helen, with his arm in a sling and his head bandaged, is a tirailleur, as evidenced by the yellow piping on his collar. Unfortunately, the image grain makes it impossible to distinguish the battalion number4. On the left, there is a compatriot of the nurse, whose uniform is recognizable by his greatcoat and cartridge pouches. He might be an officer due to his belt (without the pouches for rifle magazines, he only carries a holster for two Colt .45 magazines, possibly a binocular case on his right at the hip, and a gas mask case on the left side).
February 1918. After months of hard work, Helen was given leave to return to her family in Boston. A few weeks’ rest, away from the hustle and bustle. But in June, she had to return to France. A new passport was applied for. This time, the period of validity was extended to the end of the war, with no set deadline.
This application was accompanied by a document on the letterhead of the Société de Secours aux Blessés Militaires (Society for the Wounded in the Army) showing proof of his service in France.
EFinally, this is the last opportunity to have a photograph of Helen.
The single ticket
Miss HOMANS returned to her ambulance, which had arrived in Pontoise (95), and found herself attached to Complementary Hospital 65 in the town’s new cavalry quarter. Delivered in October 1916, this building has since been used as a hospital until the 22nd Dragoon Regiment moves in.5
The hospital, full of wounded, was hit hard by the Spanish flu epidemic that swept the world in the second half of 1918. Helen had to be confined to bed. All attempts to save her failed. Helen HOMANS died less than a week before the armistice, on 05 November 1918, and was commemorated as ‘Died for France’. She died unmarried and had no descendants.
By order of 18 November 1918, Helen HOMANS was cited in the Army Order for her conduct and was posthumously awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm.6 She may have been awarded it unofficially before her death, before the official announcement came a little late, but still bearing the mention of her illness in the present tense.
Buried temporarily in Pontoise, her body was repatriated to the United States, where it lies in Milton cemetery, Massachusetts.
Two commemorative plaques bear the name of Helen HOMANS in the United States: one in the King’s Chapel in Boston, the place of her baptism, and one at Radcliffe College.
Sources et notes:
Thanks to A. CAROBBI, T. BOULEAU for identifying the soldiers in the photograph at Vasseny, and Chrisitan « Alvin » from forum Pages 14-18 for the details regarding the American uniform
American government documents, photographs by Helen HOMANS: familysearch, findagrave websites
Fond Valois available on the Paris-Nanterre website: ICI
Memorial sheet: ICI
Regimental civil status indexed on the geneanet site: ICI
- Harvard Univesity memorial https://memorialchurch.harvard.edu/world-war-i-%E2%80%94-women-radcliffe-college ↩︎
- Forum Pages 14-18 : https://forum.pages14-18.com/viewtopic.php?t=40488 ↩︎
- Bulletin S.S.B.M., october 1919 : https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9687941p/f4.item ↩︎
- Article of 75e BTS : https://parcours-combattant14-18.fr/51-75e-bts-oise-aout-1918/ ↩︎
- Pontoise website : https://www.ville-pontoise.fr/la-caserne-bossut-pontoise-une-tradition-militaire ↩︎
- Official Journal of 02/04/1919 : https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6361174j.image ↩︎
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