NURSES CLASS AT MERCY HOSPITAL -- Nurses who will receive diplomas Tuesday evening in the auditorium of the nurses' home at Mercy hospital include the following photographed: From row, left to right: Mary Bujewski, Pauline Stout, Ruth Rauch, Betty Schwarz, Irma Cox, Madeline De Sert, Margaret McCarthy, Mary Regenether, Margaret Lange, Helen Bousselet;
back row, left to right, Kathryn Ellsworth, Elizabeth Martin, Lucille Grosjean, Eleanor Thomas, Elna Carlson, Margaret Logan, Helen Pearson, Mary Pogge, Margaret Hanrahan, Mary Jean Sieben, Ileen Rohling. Two of the graduates, not in the picture are Sister Mary Roselita Hogan and Jean Hoover.
Source: The Daily Times, Davenport, IA - June 1, 1942 (photo included)
Enters Army Nurse Corps as Lieutenant
Pauline Stout, sister of Mrs. R.H. McDonald, Bettendorf, has enlisted in the army nurse corps and was commissioned a second lieutenant. She is to report for duty on Sept. 25 at Barksdale field, Shreveport, La, and has volunteered for overseas service with the army air forces.
Miss Stout is a 1942 graduate of the class of nurses from the Mercy hospital and since that time has been on private nursing duty.
She is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. L.S. Stout of Grand Island, Neb.
Source: The Daily Times, Davenport, IA - September 14, 1943 (photo included)
All work and no play makes Jill a dull girl. So the army nurses are having their fun at the end of a day’s work. During their idle hours at Barksdale field, Shreveport, La., the army nurses go in for bowling. Which presents a bowling problem for the A. B. C. to solve.
Lieut. Pauline Stout, a former nurse at Mercy hospital in Davenport and a sister of Mrs. Richard H. McDonald of Bettendorf, writes to tell us all about her bowling freak and asks for advice on the scoring.
The army nurse drew a seven-nine split, on her first ball. On her second ball she barely hit the seven, sliding it over to the nine pin, which started to fall but laid against the seven and balanced there at a 65 degree angle. The nine did not go down and the pin boy did not want to disturb it until a decision was made by the scorer. Bowlers on the other alleys stopped to look at the freak, expecting it to fall at any moment. But it was perfect balance and the pin boy had to remove the seven before the nine went down.
“I claim it was a spare because the nine fell when the seven was removed,” Lieut. Stout declares. And she’s perfectly right. Her friends sent the story of the freak shot to Ripley and expect it to be published in his “Believe it or not,” column.
The big problem, as we see it, is how Lieut. Stout hit the seven pin thin enough on the left side without her ball going into the gutter first. She didn’t mention that. And we doubt that even Ripley can figure that one out.
“Army life here is fine and all sorts of recreation is enjoyed on this lovely air field. Dancing, swimming, bowling, basketball, football, volleyball, baseball, tennis, wrestling, movies, U.S.O. shows, are held for the recreation of the air cadets,” writes the Davenporter. Sot it appears that army life isn’t as tough as some of the rookies try to make themselves believe.
Source: The Daily Times, Davenport, IA - November 11, 1943
Source: The Daily Times, Davenport, IA - November 14, 1943 (image of her letter included)
In the Armed Services
Three Davenport nurses recently met in northern France, where they have been stationed with the army nurse corps. All graduates of the Mercy hospital school of nursing, they are Lt. Kay Ellsworth, Lt. Pauline Stout and Lt. Rose Conkity.
In a letter received by her mother, Mrs. Freda Ellsworth, 1218 Adams street, Lt. Ellsworth, who is now stationed in Belgium, told of the reunion which occurred when she learned that the 67th field hospital to which the other two nurses were attached, was stationed nearby. She crossed the field which separated the hospital tents and the three were able to hold a brief reunion. A short time later, Lt. Ellsworth's group moved to Belgium, where for the first time since going to France for the D-Day invasion, the nurses found indoor living quarters.
Source: The Daily Times, Davenport, IA - November 27, 1944
Lieut. Stout Visits McDonalds Here
First Lieut. Pauline Stout of the army nurse corps, is visiting at the home of her brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Richard McDonald, 836 Jones street, Bettendorf, before reporting to Camp Stoneman, Calif., on Jan 24.
A graduate of the Mercy hospital school of nursing in Davenport, Lieut. Stout served 18 months in a field hospital in the European theater and since her return to the states eight months ago has been stationed at the Wakeman hospital at Camp Atterbury, Ind. She is in charge of the medical ward at the Wakeman hospital and also served on the board of governors, an officers association. Lieut. Stout has been recommended for the rank of captaincy for her superior work and leadership.
Source: Quad City Times, January 5, 1947
Obituary
Carrie Pauline Stout July 31, 1916 - Jan. 4, 2012
Former Resident of Oakland, Pauline was born in Hopedale, Illinois. Her family moved to Iowa where she graduated from State Center High School. She received an AA degree from Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa; an RN degree from Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa; and a BA-Nursing degree from San Francisco State University. A Master's was not completed because of a final tour of duty to Germany.
In 1943 she entered the Air Force Nurse Corps which later became the Army Nurse Corps. In 1944 her unit was transferred to England awaiting orders to France. On Omaha Beach they were the third wave in. She and eleven other nurses volunteered for frontline duty in the backup army for the Battle of the Bulge. Their unit set up field army hospitals behind the lines in all the battles. Toward the end of the war, she told of clearing a concentration camp, seeing to any living people, and meeting with the Russian Army soldiers for dinners. After the war, she was sent back to Stuttgart, Germany, where they assisted in helping civilians.
Later, she served in Okinawa during the Korean War.
After 20 years of service, she retired from the Army Nurse Corps with the rank of major. Later, she did private-duty nursing and finally joined the Emergency Room Staff at Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro, CA, where she worked for eight years.
She was a member of the American Legion, Women's Overseas League, VFW, and AAUW.
Pauline was preceded in death by her parents Dr. and Mrs. L.A. Stout, sisters Josephine McDonald and Phyllis Meidlinger, and brother Bryce Stout, and is survived by her sister Marcia. She was buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Gustine, CA.
Source: Published in East Bay Times on Mar. 4, 2012
