Annie Fox

As bombs rained down, Annie Fox jumped into action, leading a group of nurses and civilian volunteers in responding to growing casualties during the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

The casualties were so numerous that Station Hospital in Honolulu quickly became an overwhelming scene as the seriously wounded lined up and the dead passed through the 30-bed hospital that had opened just a month earlier, according to recorded firsthand accounts from hospital staff.

Fox, the head nurse, worked to organize civilian volunteers, rally her team of nurses, and arrange the hospital’s response to those wounded in the assault — actions that would lead her to become the first woman in U.S. history to be awarded the Purple Heart medal.

With explosions and the sound of machine gun fire whistling outside the hospital, the nurses quickly began administering medicine and sorting the casualties by urgency. Many faced severe shrapnel or burn wounds across their bodies.

As the assault carried on, the bombings moved closer to the hospital. According to accounts, one explosion created a 30-foot crater just feet away from the hospital wing. 

The smoke and fumes began to fill the air and, fearing a gas attack, the hospital staff wore gas masks and helmets as they treated the wounded.

The casualties also multiplied as the assault carried on. There were, however, just 82 Army nurses working at the three Army medical facilities in Hawaii on the day of the assault, in which more than 2,400 service members were killed and about 1,200 more were wounded.

During the most substantial period of bombing, Fox, who had joined the Army Nurse Corps at the end of World War I, participated in surgeries and administered anesthesia, according to the accounts. And when she could, she also joined other nurses in tending to the wounded.

While the Purple Heart is a high honor primarily bestowed on service members who were wounded fighting enemy forces, the medal at that time could also be awarded to those behind a “singularly meritorious act of extraordinary fidelity or essential service.”

In 1942, the 47-year-old lieutenant was awarded the Purple Heart medal.  

“During the attack, Lieutenant Fox in an exemplary manner, performed her duties as head nurse of the Station Hospital,” according to her citation. “[She] worked ceaselessly with coolness and efficiency and her fine example of calmness, courage, and leadership was of great benefit to the morale of all with whom she came in contact.”

— Olivia Beavers