Reed Celebrates U.S. Navy Nurse's 105th Birthday and Seeks to Collectively Honor U.S. WWII Nurses with Congressional Gold Medal

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI - Eighty years after the official end of World War II, it is easy for some to forget the sacrifices of unsung heroes who made valuable contributions to the war effort and helped the U.S. achieve victory. For U.S. Senator Jack Reed, there is an urgency to honor members of the 'Greatest Generation' and ensure they know how much people today appreciate their service.

Today, Senator Reed dropped by Anchor Bay at East Providence to salute Ms. Lillian "Chris" Nauta, one of the few female members of America's nearly depleted corps of World War II nurses. Reed said he was also there to help uplift the voices of Nauta's fellow World War II veterans and ensure their stories are widely shared and will never be forgotten.

Senator Reed helped celebrate Ms. Nauta's 105th birthday (her actual 105th was last week), highlighted her devoted service as a U.S. Navy Nurse during World War II, and urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to collectively award Ms. Nauta and her fellow World War II U.S. Army and Navy nurses a Congressional Gold Medal - one of our nation's highest honors. The medal would be struck to honor women veterans who proudly put on the uniform to care for our sick and wounded service members on the front lines, those stationed on ships, bases, and hospitals at home and abroad, and especially for those nurses who were killed in action and never made it home.

Born in Rhode Island, Ms. Nauta was just 18-years old when World War II began. She proudly served as a Lieutenant Junior Grade as a Navy Nurse during the war and her service was marked by the highest standards of professionalism and devotion to duty. Stationed at a Navy hospital facility in Massachusetts, Ms. Nauta helped care for servicemembers who were injured and returning home from World War II.

Lillian met her husband, Russell Nauta, a fellow Navy servicemember, while she was serving in the Nurse Corps. They married and put down roots in New London, Connecticut to raise their son, Russell J. Nauta, who would later be inspired by his mother's service and go on to become an acclaimed teaching surgeon. After the war, Ms. Nauta continued serving as a nurse in private practices throughout New England for many years.

In addition to serving up slices of Gregg's Lemon Burst Cake - Ms. Nauta's favorite - Reed announced that he is teaming up with U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Steve Daines (R-MT) to cosponsor the WWII Nurses Congressional Gold Medal Act (S.2195). The bipartisan and bicameral bill would award the Congressional Gold Medal to recognize nurses from the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and U.S. Navy Nurse Corps who served during World War II.

Reed says passing the legislation will be no easy feat: The bill requires two-thirds support in each chamber - 67 U.S. Senators and 290 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. So far it only has a dozen sponsors in the Senate and ten in the House.

Reed says he thinks the more people hear about the bill, the more support it will get. But time is of the essence: "This would be a heavy lift and it has to be bipartisan. Next year, when we're back here celebrating Ms. Nauta's 106th birthday, I hope to have a Congressional Gold Medal to present her. Navy nurses like Ms. Nauta didn't do it for the glory, or the recognition. They did it because it was the right thing to do. Their talents and dedication made a world of difference. And for that, she's a hero to me. Medal or no, the contributions of Ms. Nauta and her fellow nurses were essential to the war effort and deserve to be recognized. Her life has been a remarkable journey: she and her fellow nurses helped make history."

Even at 105, Ms. Nauta is remarkably vibrant and engaging, surrounded by loving family and dear friends, and not even her walker slows her down.

Established on May 13, 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt, the Navy Nurse Corps set high educational and professional standards for nurses who within the next decade were stationed at hospitals and aboard U.S. Navy hospital and transport ships both at home and around the world.

During World War II, there were more than 10,000 women serving in the Navy Nurse Corps across 12 hospital ships, 40 naval hospitals, 176 dispensaries, and medical evacuation planes. Today, only a few are still living. One of the most famous examples of women serving as nurses during World War II are 'the Angels of Bataan' - also known as the 'The Battling Belles of Bataan' - members of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps who served during the Battle of the Philippines. When Bataan and Corregidor fell, 11 Navy nurses, 66 Army nurses, and one nurse-anesthetist were captured and imprisoned in and around Manila. They continued to serve as a nursing unit while prisoners of war. After years of hardship, they were finally liberated in February of 1945.

On April 10, 2024 in Washington DC, the Rosie the Riveters of World War II were awarded, collectively and symbolically, a Congressional Gold Medal that is now on display at the National Museum of American History. Senator Reed hopes the nurses will be next.

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