DOB/DOD: November 7, 1916 (Efland, NC) – August 14, 1968; 51 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
ENLISTMENT: Served in WWII from March 1, 1942, to February 8, 1946. Enlisted again on January 8, 1951, and served continuously until her death.
SERVICE NUMBER: N727004
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 3066 = Occupational Medical Officer
TOUR START DATE: November 16, 1967
UNIT: 91st Evacuation Hospital, 43rd Medical Group, 44th Medical Brigade
CASUALTY LOCATION: Phu Yen Province
THE WALL: Panel 48W, Line 12.
OTHER: Served in World War II, the Korean War, and in Vietnam.
FAMILY: Born to James D. (1880-1970) and Tinie H. Burton Graham (1888-1925). Two sisters, Alta C. Graham Smith (1910-1998) and Alma (1911-2005). Four brothers, Aubrey D. (1908-1978), Archie M. (1918-1980), James A. (1922-2003), and Arnold (1924-1991).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Airlifted to Japan, where she passed.
University of North Carolina, Class of 1950 yearbook
Ruth was admitted to the 91st Evacuation Hospital at 10:30 p.m. on 8 August, after suffering what appeared at first to be a fainting spell. Upon admission to the hospital, her illness was diagnosed as a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Due to the seriousness of her condition, she was evacuated, with one of the physicians in attendance, to the U.S. Air Force Hospital at Tachikawa Air Force Base, Japan, where, despite every effort to save her life, she died at 9:55 pm on the fourteenth of August. She was a veteran of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
From The Daily Times-News, Burlington, North Carolina, on August 16, 1968
Lt Col Annie Ruth Graham, 51, daughter of J.D. Graham of Rt. 1, Efland, and the late Mrs. Tinnie Burton Graham, died Wednesday in the U.S. Air Force Hospital at Tachikawa, Japan. She had been in critical condition since Aug. 8 and had been taken to the Japanese hospital from Vietnam, where she was chief nurse of the U.S. Army’s 91st Evacuation Hospital at Tuy Hoa. A native of Orange County, Col. Graham was a 1940 graduate of Watts Hospital School of Nursing in Durham. She received a B.S. degree in 1950 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She worked with the local health department for about a year in 1947 and had seen two tours of duty in Africa and one each in Italy and Japan. She had been in the service for 21 years and was stationed at Fort Bragg before arriving in Vietnam last November.
Col Graham was the sister of Allan B. Graham of Burlington. Survivors, in addition to her father and brother, are Taylor Graham of Efland; two sisters, Mrs. Alma Newberg of Efland and Mrs. Alta Smith of Washington, D.C.; and four other brothers, Aubrey Graham, Archie Graham, Atlas Graham, and Arnold Graham, all of Efland. Funeral arrangements are incomplete. Final rites will be held in Efland. Colonel Graham’s work in Vietnam included the treatment of both military personnel and Vietnamese civilians. The hospital at Tuy Hoa operates a comprehensive hospital program that has aided more than 1,000 civilians, including children, in the last six months.
From VVMF.org Wall of Faces
Ruth began her Army career as a 2nd Lt in 1942 general duty nurse. She served in WWII, the Korean War, and finally Vietnam. Her numerous tours of duty included caring for polio victims in Ethiopia. Ruth spent her off-duty hours in Vietnam caring for civilian landmine victims. Lt. Colonel Graham died in Vietnam on 8/14/68. Her last post was Chief Nurse at 91st Evac Hospital, 43rd Med Group, 44th Med Brigade, Tuy Hoa. She was never married and had no children. Buried in the nurse’s section of Arlington Cemetery. I am putting together a scrapbook of my Great-Aunt Ruth. If you knew her, or knew of her, I would appreciate anything you would like to say to add to the scrapbook. Thanks for any information you can provide.
— Christine Kirby
From army.togetherweserved.com
Annie Ruth Graham’s final Christmas Letter to friends and family, 1967:
Greetings!
This Christmas finds me a long, long way from North Carolina. I arrived in Saigon on 18 November and almost immediately departed for Tuy Hoa (pronounced Too-ey Wah), where our hospital (400 beds) is located directly on the beach of the South China Sea, which is perfectly beautiful but quite treacherous. All buildings here are tropical type, and the hospital is cantonment style. It is monsoon season now, so we have torrential rains at times. The climate is quite humid, but the nights are really rather pleasant. Getting used to my new outfit (tropical fatigues, jungle boots, and “baseball cap”) is not as “exciting” as in World War II, but I’m quite sure I’ll manage to survive it all! Our nursing staff consists of 59 nurses (12 male), who of our enlisted personnel and seem very well trained and apparently have been doing an excellent job. The tour of duty here is 12 months, so I plan to be home for Christmas next year. I hope you have had a good year and that your Christmas is filled with joy and the New Year with more happiness than you could possibly wish for. Hope, too, that everyone will pray for peace.
Love, Ruth
Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Avenue, Arlington, Virginia; Section 21, Site 569. Photo from FindAGrave.com and contributor “A Horan”.
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