Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1241832
20 Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com April 27–June 15, 2020 Originally assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, Relief was also active in the Pacific, stopping in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and the Samoan Islands. She participated in naval maneuvers and served as an outside medical consultancy on both sea and shore. She also acted as a floating dispensary and clinic for other, non- medical ships and provided U.S. military personnel with access to dental care and other specialty services like radiology and ear, nose and throat treatment. DURING PEACETIME, a ship like Relief was an attractive assign- ment for nurses, offering an opportunity to travel and see the world. However, even in times of peace, Relief was no cruise ship. In a let- ter home in March 1923, one anonymous nurse described the ongoing cacophony of bells, whistles and mechanical noises. "Does that sound as if one could ever sleep?" she wrote. The nurse added that while underway, constant work was punc- tuated by periodic "abandon ship" and fire drills as well as the occasional shout of "Man overboard," which wasn't always a drill. Navy nurses also had to learn a new vocabulary, including the abil- ity to distinguish, as one nurse put it, "starboard from port, fore from aft, abeam from abaft [and] a boat from a ship." During peacetime, Relief was an attractive assignment, offering nurses an opportunity to see the world. Above: Patients were often survivors of gruesome injuries that ranged from flash burns and chest wounds to broken limbs and amputations. Bottom: Navy nurses had their own quarters, their own mess hall and privileges like commissioned officers.