Erma Lee Young Bonham
1921-2017
WWII
Upon graduation from the nursing program at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1942, Erma Lee (Young) Bonham entered the Cadet Army Nursing program during World War II. She later worked in several hospitals in the Chicago area.
Established in 1943, the Cadet Nursing program was designed to alleviate the acute nursing shortage in the country during the war. Cadet nurses came from every state in the U.S.; they were the daughters of farmers and mechanics, of teachers, lawyers, clerks and businessmen. In the course of their training, cadet nurses served in Army and Navy hospitals, with the Indian Health Service, with the Veterans' Administration, and in Public Health hospitals.[57] By the time World War II ended, student nurses were providing 80 per cent of the country's nursing care in more than 1,000 civilian hospitals.
A native of Cedar Rapids, Erma married WWII Navy veteran James Bonham in 1948, settling in Mount Prospect, IL. They moved to Barrington in the 1960’s and had two daughters. James is also buried in Evergreen Cemetery.
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Remember. Honor. Teach.
Courtesy of Signal Hill Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.