Helen
Briggs Geckle graduated from Samaritan Hospital Nursing School
in Ashland, Ohio, in September 1942. She entered the U.S. Army
Nurse Corps in August 1943, completing basic training at Fort
Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis. In November 1943, Helen was
transferred to Camp Atterbury, Ind., for further
training. The 317th Station Hospital was formed there and
then moved to Camp Kilmer, N.J., for further activation.
On Dec. 28, 1943, (Helen’s 22nd birthday), the unit shipped out
aboard The Bremmerhaven, which was headed for Belfast, Ireland.
They were at sea for 10 days among various ships in the convoy,
which carried supplies and artillery. The unit spent six months
living in Quonset huts while in Belfast, staying through D-Day,
June 1943. Helen served as a surgical nurse. From Ireland the
unit traveled through Scotland, London and on to Cheltenham,
England, where they spent nine months functioning as a
rehabilitation hospital treating wounded soldiers.
Helen served in detached service away from her unit along with
other nurses in Hereford, England. Upon returning to the 317th,
the unit traveled through Le Havre, France, on to Reims, France,
where the peace treaty was signed. After Germany surrendered,
the unit crossed the Rhine River to set up the 317th Station
Hospital in Weisbaden, Germany. This was the first American
hospital created after the peace treaty was signed. The hospital
functioned much like a civilian hospital providing care to
soldiers and officers of the U.S. Army. Helen served as an
operating room nurse as well as a floor nurse.
Helen remained in Germany through January 1947. Upon returning
to the United States, she completed her duty at Percy Jones
Hospital in Battle Creek, Mich. Helen was discharged on May 31,
1947, at the rank of captain. She was awarded the
European-African-Middle Eastern campaign medal and the World War
II Victory Medal. One of Helen’s most vivid memories was meeting
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gen. Omar Bradley who both visited
their unit while they were stationed in Weisbaden.