Kathryn Jean Gibb

Amanda Denton writes:

My grandmother, Kathryn Jean Gibb, trained as a nurse at Barre City Hospital in Barre, VT. As a a Cadet Nurse, she was assigned to care for former internees at Santo Tomas, Manila. She was haunted by what was inflicted on these people and spoke very little about her experiences. Some years ago, a memorial wall went up at our local high school with the names of all the graduates who served. I was surprised that she wasn't included. I contacted the sponsors, they did some digging and her name was added. I was stunned to realize that she wasn't considered a veteran! She went oversees as a bright-eyed girl of 20 and came home a sadder, wiser woman. Enlisting in the Cadet Nursing Corp allowed her not only to serve her country, but to flee small town life and step into who she would become, an independent career woman. Such gifts come at a great cost, though, and I feel that she left parts of herself in Santo Tomas-- mainly her optimism, her faith in the goodness of people, her unmitigated joy of life. Afterward, she kept her war experiences tucked in close, like a wounded wing. We didn't press and she didn't disclose.

My Grandma Kay passed away January 7, 1995, a veteran of war and of her country's lack of recognition.