Elizabeth M. Conner was born in Sharpsburg, PA on January 14, 1920. She was one of eleven children born to Horace C. Conner and Elizabeth M. Conner. After graduating from Sharpsburg High School, she enrolled in the St. Francis School of Nursing in Pittsburgh, PA in 1938, graduating in the class of 1941. She spent one year of "general duty" nursing following graduation.

On January 15, 1943, my mother enlisted in the U. S. Army, becoming a member of the Army Nursing Corps. Her field of emphasis was psychiatric illnesses. Her initial assignment was to Ft. Pickett in Blackstone, VA.

My mother was transferred to what was termed a "Station Hospital" at the New Orleans Port of Embarkation on June 6, 1943. On July 19, 1943, as part of the 619th Medical Hospital Ship Platoon, she was assigned to the USAT "Florida", a cruise liner which the Army had converted to a hospital ship, on which she served until Oct. 3, 1943. The Florida sailed in the Caribbean Sea, visiting numerous ports in South America, Trinidad and the Azore Islands, picking up and treating U. S. military injured. On Oct. 3, 1943, she returned to the New Orleans Port of Embarkation.

On June 27, 1944, Mother was assigned to La Garde General Hospital in New Orleans. This was a private hospital which the Army took over during WWII and was used to treat wounded American Army personnel as well as a large number of injured POW soldiers. Numerous barracks were constructed and the site was often referred to as Camp La Garde. She would remain at Camp La Garde until her eventual discharge from the Army in December of 1945. By then she had achieved the rank of 1st Lieutenant.

While at Camp La Garde, Mother met 1st Lieutenant Charles C. Bass, Jr., who was a patient at the hospital. He was a glider pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps. On the evening of June 6, 1944, D-Day, he had piloted a glider into Normandy, France delivering additional troops and weaponry in support of the 82nd Airborne. He was seriously injured in a crash landing and had been sent to La Garde for treatment, as New Orleans was his home city. He and my mother apparently hit it off pretty well and were married in a small chapel at Camp La Garde on September 4, 1945. He was also discharged from the Army in December of 1945.

I was born in 1946, my sister, Patricia, in 1948 and my brother, William, in 1949. In 1950 my mother and father purchased a home in uptown New Orleans where they would live for the rest of their lives. My father died in 1970 at the way too early age of 62. A few years after his death, Mother brushed up on the nursing skills she had learned so well at St. Francis and secured a job at Baptist hospital in N.O. She was a supervisor of a floor section. She worked until about age 70, when she retired.

After retirement, Mother spent time with friends of long standing and for many years volunteered her services at the Shepherd Center, a local church based activity center for the elderly. Ultimately, in her much later years, she would become one of the “elderly” herself, and either my sister, brother or I would take her there twice a week. That, and weekly trips to a favored hair salon, were things she looked forward to very much. In her late 80’s she had a couple of falls which were quite debilitating, but from which she recovered due to unbelievable determination on her part. She moved slowly about her house, using a walker, but never gave up. What a lesson for her children!

Mother died August 1, 2012 at the age of 92. She left behind only one remaining sibling, her sister, Rose. She also left behind wonderful memories for her family and friends. She was fiercely loyal and supportive of her family, generous to a fault, quick to praise others and slow to take credit for herself. I am quite fortunate to have had her as my mother for so many years.