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Military Service
Florence Gildea

REMEMBER: Click on underlined words! They are links to photos, articles and/or additional information.



Lieut. Florence E. Gildea
 Photograph from a publication of St. Joseph's Nursing School
Savannah, Georgia - January 1944, Vol. 8, No. 1
Florence "Aunt Honey" was a graduate of the school in 1935.

Unsure of date of photo.
Click on image for larger photo.
Note: large cut in picture repaired in Photoshop.
 



Honey's U.S.A. Medical Department Red Cross identification card.


Date: 4 May 1944; Place:Army Post Office 170

The following information was provided by the National Personel Records Center
Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100
11 July 2005

Name: Florence E. Gildea
Branch of Service and Serial/Service Number: Army of the United States 727 604
Dates of Service: August 30, 1942 to January 9 1946
Duty Status: Discharged
Rank/Grade: 1st Lieutenant

Assignments and Geographical Locations:
ASF 4 SVC Camp Blanding, Florida [Army Service Forces 4 Service Comand]
 Camp Shelby, Mississippi, August 30, 1942
4th SC SO 222/1, 60th Station Hospital, September 4, 1942 [4th SCSU Service Comand Service Unit]
Camp Kilmer NJ, November 30, 1942   [Honey crossed 7 December 1942 on the Queen Elizabeth.]
110th Station Hospital, December 17, 1942

Decorations and Awards:
World War II Victory Medal
Lapel Service Button
Place of Entry: Savannah, Georgia
Place of Separation: Camp Blanding, Florida

Florence cared for soldiers in the psychiatric ward at the 110th Station Hospital Netley Abbey, Southhampton England around the time of the D-Day invasion. Above is a photo of the 110th at Warrington England in 1943 prior to locating in Southhampton. In the book, "No Greater Sacrifice, No Greater Love: A Son's Journey to Normandy" author Walter Ford Carter mentions that his father was a doctor with the 110th Station Hospital in which Florence Gildea served. I contacted Mr. Carter and he forwarded these items which mention life in the 110th and the arrival of the nurses (including Aunt Honey) to Camp Kilmer in New Jersey on November 30, 1942. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who knew Aunt Honey as it chronicles her time in England up until Norval's death in Normandy.
Letter from Norval Carter      Excerpts-Letter from doctor who served in the 110th   

Erin Rossiter, a reporter for the Savannah Morning News, in an email dated 20 June 2001, writes: "My grandfather worked for the Morning News before he went into the Navy during World War II. Consequently, some of the letters he wrote home from England were published in the paper. In one of those he mentions having seen another Savannahian there - Florence Gildea."

Certificate of Service Front Back
*Note that it says her eyes were "brown". This is WRONG. Her eyes were blue. Never trust one source for factual information.

Separation Record

Visit the World War II Memorial for service record information.

Special thanks to Lorraine Bonnell, Honey's friend of many years, for her assistance in making this page possible.

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