Submitted by Addie Morgado on the 2020 winter session program in Paris, France and Geneva, Switzerland sponsored by the School of Nursing…
During my second week abroad, we drove down to Normandy from Paris, France. It is through this trip that we got to step outside the busy city of Paris and observe the French countryside. Once we arrived, we visited the same beaches that American troops landed on in 1944 to liberate Nazi-occupied France. We also visited the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer and observed the white gravestones honoring the 2,500 American lives lost on the D-Day invasion. Walking through this memorial and reading the stories of survivors was deeply moving. I also learned that World War II would forever be a turning point for nursing. Women would deliver emergency care for wounded soldiers on the front lines while also trying to avoid the line of fire. It is through the events of WWII that nurses were able to demonstrate their skills and progress into providing emergency and trauma care under harsh conditions.
