Retired nurses portrayed historical caregivers
Bonners Ferry Herald | UPDATED 3 months, 4 weeks AGO
Two older ladies were pictured following the Revolutionary War soldiers during the 250th Fourth of July parade in Bonners Ferry. They represented the camp followers, an integral part of supporting the troops during bygone years. They cleaned, cooked, mended, and nursed the soldiers when they succumbed to sickness or injuries.
Portraying these often-forgotten citizens of our American Revolution were 79-year-old JoAnn Danner and myself, 73-year-old Lottie Leader. JoAnn pushed the wooden cart and I carried the yoke and buckets. Our story is unique in that we, too, are nurses, each with more than 50 years of nursing experience as registered nurses, and they served together as Air Force nurses at Ramstein Air Base in Germany during 2010.
I was the active-duty nurse manager of the 86th Contingency Air Staging Facility (CASF) and JoAnn was the Commander of the Air Force Reserve medical unit deployed from Travis Air Force Base.
From an office that they shared, we trained the medical staff, facilitated the movement of the injured and sick from the Middle East and Europe to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), and served as communication liaisons between Aerovac, the Army, the Marines, and the Navy.
The CASF was comprised of approximately 90 medical technicians and officers, tasked to go out to the flightline every day several times a day, to meet the C-17s, KC-135s, and other aircraft of opportunity transporting those needing health care. Members of the CASF met the planes in buses and ambulances with trained technicians, medical supplies, and equipment to treat injured troops on their 45-minute ride to LRMC. Once stabilized, the process was reversed, and CASF members retrieved the injured from Landstuhl and took them back to the flightline so they could be flown to Andrews Air Force Base on the East Coast for more definitive care. The unit moved approximately 1,000 injured or sick troops per month.
JoAnn and her husband moved to the area and established and operated the Dancing Goat Farm. She retired from the Air Force Reserves in 2015. I returned to the area in 2016 after my active duty retirement. We have remained good friends ever since, even working together at Sunset Assisted Living Center for a short time.
LOTTIE LEADER
Naples