Of the sixteen women in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps were killed directly from enemy fire during World War II, six of them were killed at Anzio. Ellen Ainsworth was one of those six.
Assigned to the 56th Evacuation Hospital, which they called “a Half Acre of Hell,” Ainsworth cared for the wounded men at Anzio for only a few short weeks from late January until her eventual death on February 16, 1944. But she was able to make such an impact in that short time!
On February 12, 1944, the nurses of the 56th Evacuation Hospital rushed patients to nearby bunkers during a massive artillery bombardment. Ainsworth realized that some medical personnel needed to remain behind at the hospital tent to take care of the wounded, so she chose to stay. A German artillery round landed just outside the tent, and a piece of shrapnel penetrated Ainsworth’s chest close to her lungs. Even though she was wounded, Ainsworth continued to treat her patients.