Remembering Evelyn Ahern

Evelyn Ahern, who grew up on a farm between Minneota and Taunton in the early 1900s, saw the grim side of World War II from the operating room in parts of Europe.
After attending Taunton Public School and Catholic School in Ghent, Eveleyn completed her Registered Nursing degree at St. Joseph’s School of Nursing.
Evelyn, who never married, enlisted in the military at age 34 in 1942 with the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. She spent time as a surgical nurse with Army Field Hospitals in the United States, including Taunton, Massachusetts.
Evelyn eventually was sent to England “on a very crowded ship” and ended up participating in five campaigns in Europe, including Normandy, France and Germany. Evelyn’s campaigns followed Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army.
Michaela Ahern, Evelyn’s niece, interviewed her aunt for a Minneota High School project several years ago. Some of that information, as well as information obtained from her niece Maureen (Ahern) Stores of Ortonville, was used for this article.
When Michaela asked her aunt what prompted her to enlist in the Army, Evelyn told her it was because she was already connected to the Red Cross and because a war was going on, she knew people were needed. During her time in Europe, Evelyn and other nurses stayed in private homes and were entertained at “tea time” and enjoyed very good meals.
It wasn’t uncommon for Evelyn and other medical personnel to work 24 hours at a time depending on the number of casualties brought in. Other times, they were fortunate enough to have some free time to take in sites and events.
Evelyn was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th Auxiliary Surgical Group and was later promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
A couple of days after the Normandy invasion, Evelyn and other medical personnel landed on Utah Beach, a few miles down from where the main invasion occurred, and they found themselves digging foxholes to make sure they were protected.
During her interview with Michaela, Evelyn remarked that she and other nurses were viewed in a different light because of the war.
“I think it really changed the relationship between doctors and nurses, not only in the war, but everywhere,” Evelyn said. “Up until the war, nurses had been treated almost like servants from doctors and surgeons. Because of the war, people began to see the value and dedication of the nursing profession.”
Evelyn told her nieces that while in Europe, there were times when they were close to the action and would hear the bombs going off throughout the night. When the shelling would be close, they would leave their tents and sleep in ditches.
After returning from the war, Evelyn went to work at a Veteran’s Hospital in the Twin Cities, working as a surgical nurse before retiring in 1968.
In 1973, Evelyn returned to her roots and lived with her brother, Maurice, on the family farm outside of Taunton.
After Maurice’s death, she moved to the Madison Avenue Apartments in Minneota in 1997.
Evelyn passed away on March 14, 2005 at age 97. She is buried in St. Edward’s Catholic Cemetery in Minneota, along with several of her family members.