Cordelia E. Cook

Cordelia E. Cook
First Lieutenant Cordelia Cook 1945
Born	March 17, 1919 Fort Thomas, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	June 19, 1996(1996-06-19) (aged 77) Upper Arlington, Ohio, U.S.
Resting place	Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate, Campbell County, Kentucky, US
Occupation	registered nurse

Cook tending a wounded serviceman in 1943, showing her shrapnel wound, for which she received a Purple Heart award

Cordelia Elizabeth Cook (March 17, 1919 – June 19, 1996) was an American combat nurse in the United States Army Nurse Corps during World War II. She was the first woman in the U.S. Army to receive both the Bronze Star Medal award and the Purple Heart.

Early life

Cook went by the name "Betty".^[1]

Military duty

Cook attended the Christ Hospital School of Nursing in Cincinnati, Ohio.^[1] She continued her nursing duties in World War II in the Presenzano sector at the Italian front.^[2] She received a Bronze Star Medal award for her service, being the first woman to receive the award.^[3][4]

Footnotes

1. Frank 2013, p. 161.
2. Loomis 1958, p. 75.
3. "World War II Honoree". National World War II Memorial. American Battle Monuments Commission; National Archives and Records Administration. 2003. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
4. Jackson 2006, p. 58.

Bibliography

• Frank, Lisa Tendrich (2013). An Encyclopedia of American Women at War. ABC-CLIO. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-59884-444-3.
• Jackson, Kathi (2006). They Called Them Angels: American Military Nurses of World War II. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-7627-3.
• Loomis, William Raymond (1958). Fighting firsts. Vantage Press.

Further reading

• Baron, Scott (1998). They Also Served: Military Biographies of Uncommon Americans. Military Information Enterprises. ISBN 978-1-877639-37-1.
• Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah (2007). Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. Yorkin Publications. ISBN 9780787676773.
• Read, Phyllis J.; Witlieb, Bernard L. (1992). The Book of Women's Firsts: Breakthrough Achievements of Almost 1,000 American Women. Random House Information Group. ISBN 978-0-679-40975-5.
• Robinson, Victor (1946). White caps: the story of nursing ... Lippincott.
• Columbus Dispatch newspaper (Columbus, Ohio) - Thursday, June 20, 1996 - obituary, p. 7F

External links

• Cordelia Cook; Find-A-Grave.com listing