Forgotten Women of the Forgotten War: Australian Nurses in the Korean War, 1950-1956

Abstract

This thesis is the first major study to explore Australia's military nursing contribution to the Korean War. Detailing the work and experiences of Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service (RAAFNS) and Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (RAANC) nurses, including their service in Japan and the post-armistice period, the thesis highlights the full extent of the Australian military nursing contribution to the war. The study traces the work and experiences of these nurses in Japan and Korea, ending with the diversity and complexity of their return to, and recognition, in Australia. In examining the Korean War from the military nursing perspective, the thesis broadens the boundaries of the conflict revealing new insights into the history of Australian military nursing and the involvement of Australian forces in the Korean War. The significance of Japan as a site of war work and the contributions of Australian forces following the armistice are highlighted as major themes. The opportunities for cultural interaction are also explored through the relationships between Australian nurses and their British Commonwealth medical colleagues, United States and United Nations personnel, and the Japanese and Korean civilians with whom they had contact. Finally, the thesis reveals the Korean War era as a period of continuity and transition in the culture of military nursing. The RAAFNS and RAANC both developed as more career-orientated organisations during this period. Yet despite these changes strong connections with past military nursing traditions remained. These transitions and continuities are explored throughout the thesis.