Augusta Chiwy, ‘Forgotten’ Wartime Nurse, Dies at 94Posted in Articles, Biography, Europe, History, Media Archive, Women on 2015-12-23 20:10Z by Steven |
Augusta Chiwy, ‘Forgotten’ Wartime Nurse, Dies at 94
The New York Times
2015-08-25
Sam Roberts, Urban Affairs Correspondent
 Augusta Chiwy was honored in 2011 for saving Americans during World War II. Credit Eric Lalmand/European Pressphoto Agency |
Augusta Chiwy, a Belgian nurse whose unsung bravery in saving countless American soldiers wounded in the Battle of the Bulge was belatedly celebrated in 2011, died on Sunday near Brussels. She was 94.
Her death was confirmed by her biographer, Martin King.
Ms. Chiwy (pronounced CHEE-wee) was mentioned in passing only as “Anna,” a black nurse from Congo, in Stephen Ambrose’s book “Band of Brothers.” She was played by Rebecca Okot in an episode of the television series based on the book.
It took Mr. King, a British military historian, to trace her to a retirement home near Brussels, overcome a condition called selective mutism, which prevented her from speaking about her wartime experience, and finally identify her in a 2010 book published abroad titled “The Forgotten Nurse.” His TV documentary “Searching for Augusta: The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne” was released last year.
As a result of Mr. King’s efforts, 67 years after her battlefield heroism, Ms. Chiwy was awarded the Army’s Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service “for selfless service and bravery” and knighted by the king of Belgium…
 A book in 2010 about Ms. Chiwy’s experiences. |
…Augusta Marie Chiwy was born on June 6, 1921, in a village near the Rwandan border that is now part of Burundi. Her father, Henri, was a veterinarian from Belgium. Her mother was Congolese.
Her father took her to Bastogne when she was 9. She planned on becoming a teacher, but when the war began she turned to nursing.
She married a Belgian soldier, Jacques Cornet, in 1950. They had two children, Alain and Christine, who survive her.
She later worked in a hospital treating patients with spinal injuries. She rarely spoke about her wartime experience…
Read the entire obituary here.