Sammie M. Rice Collection

Details

Who's responsible?: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries (Repository)
How much has been digitized?: Only a part of this collection has been digitized.
What's in the full collection?: Correspondence 1942-1947; various photographs of Sammie in her ANC uniform with friends; and fellow service members, circa 1942-1945; Various newspaper clippings on Sammie's service; college choir involvement and college commencement ceremony, circa 1942-1950.
Full biography: Sammie Mae Rice (1913-2006) was among the first African American nurses to serve in an overseas theater during World War II. Sammie Mae Rice (1913-2006) of Laurens, South Carolina, enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps on 24 July 1942. At the time of her induction Lt Rice was assistant superintendent of Gillespie hospital in Cordele Georgia She was sent to Fort Bragg, NC, and Camp Kilmer, NJ, until February 1943, when she left for the African theatre with the 25th Station Hospital. When her shipped docked in Morocco in mid-March 1943, she became one of the first African Americans to serve overseas, and certainly the first African American nurse from South Carolina sent to that theatre during WWII. After stops in Dakar and Freetown, Rice arrived in Liberia, where she working as a nurse in the Officers ward of the Army hospital. By November of 1943, she was in Northern Africa, and by January 1944 Lieutenant Rice had returned to the United States, where she was stationed at Camp Livingston, Louisiana. Rice was discharged on 1 March 1946.
Topics: Women's History
Military
Branch of service: Army -- Army Nurse Corps
Conflict: World War II era (1940-1946)
Subject headings: World War, 1939-1945
United States. Army--Women
Contributing Institution: Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries

: African American ANC nurse; An unidentified army nurse poses outside a building, probably at Fort Bragg, N.C., in the ANC beige summer uniform, circa 1943.

: African American army nurse Gertrude Marguerite Bertram; Gertrude Margaritte Ivory-Bertram stands outside a building, probably at Fort Bragg, N.C., in her ANC blue service uniform, circa 1943.

: African American army nurse Sammie M. Rice; Army nurse Sammie M. Rice stands outside a residence wearing the ANC blue service uniform with garrison cap, circa 1943.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice tells her sister of her arrival at her new base, but due to censorship cannot tell where she is stationed.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice is traveling to a new station, says she is doing well, and writes of a mutual friend who is now a lieutenant.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice, somewhere in Africa, tells of her trip to the capitol city, school children visiting the hospital today, and a USO show she saw starring Frederic March. She is currently in charge of the psychopathic ward of the hospital.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice mentions mail she received from various friends and that she will be unavailable for the following two weeks.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice has moved to a new base in Northern Africa. There, she has attended football games and gone out to dinner.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice believes she will be sent overseas soon. She writes of her hopes to get to Florence, SC, before leaving; writing her will, taking out Army Insurance; and her friend's promotion. She will be among the first African American nurses sent overseas, so she is excited to be a part of history.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice is at a new base, possibly in the U.S., and has received several letters upon her arrival.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice is back in the U.S. She tells of visitors she has had, letters she has written and received, and care of German prisoners in the hospital. Currently she is Charge of Quarters, meaning she answers the telephone and doorbell.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice, back home in the U.S., writes of mutual friends, pictures that she hopes to send home, and money matters.

: Letter from Sammie M. Rice to Estelle Rice; Rice, now in Africa, tells of her visits to Casablanca, Dakar, and Freetown on her way to her latest destination. She discusses money matters, and that she had been Camp Kilmer, N.J., before departing the States.

: Letter from W.T. Briscoe to Sammie Rice; Briscoe, at Camp Tyson, Tennessee, has completed Barrage Balloon Service School but was not assigned to an advanced school. He notices from her letters that Sammie has changed in several ways since joining the army.

: Letter from W.T. Briscoe to Sammie Rice; Briscoe writes of hearing Roland Hayes in concert and seeing a performance of "Porgy and Bess," which he loved. He writes of his strong feelings toward Sammie and hopes that they are reciprocated.

: Sammie M. Rice and boy; Army Nurse Sammie M. Rice stands beside a young boy, circa 1943. She wears the ANC blue service uniform with the jacket unbuttoned.

: Three African American ANC nurses; Army nurses Sammie M. Rice (left), an unidentified woman (center), and Gertrude Marguerite Bertram (right) stand with one another, probably at Fort Bragg, N.C., circa 1943. Rice wears a blue service uniforms with a 1st pattern service hat, Betram wears a blue service uniform with a garrison cap. The unidentified nurse wears the ANC beige summer uniform with visored hat.