Oral History Project World War II Years, 1941-1946 - Lottie Shultz

Lottie Stradtman Shultz was born 26 February 1920 in Walsrode, Germany, and at age four came to the US with her parents. The family lived on several farms in southern Minnesota, eventually settling in the St. Peter area. Lottie graduated from high school in 1938 in St. Peter, and from the nursing program at the State Hospital in St. Peter in 1942. Following some time working as a nurse in Mankato, Minnesota, in January 1944 Lottie enlisted in the US Army. Basic Training was at Ft. Carson, Colorado, after which Lottie was sent to England and posted to the 187th General Hospital Unit at Tidworth. Lottie’s duties ranged from surgical room nurse to regular shifts in the amputee and colostomy wards. Following the end of the war with Germany in May 1945 Lottie was transferred to a new unit and scheduled for re-assignment to the Pacific, but V-J Day in August 1945 made this unnecessary; she spent some months at a base in Alabama before being discharged in December 1945 with the rank of 1st lieutenant. After military service, Lottie got married (husband William) and spent four years living in Pennsylvania before returning to Minnesota in 1949. She worked in the nursing profession in the Twin Cities for many years, finally retiring in 1994