Beulah Ream Allen
Beulah Ream Allen | |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 1922–1979 |
Awards | Medal of Freedom (1946) |
Beulah Ream Allen (January 26, 1897 – March 17, 1989) was an American nurse, physician, and civilian physician during World War II. After graduating with a nursing degree in 1922, she worked as a supervising nurse and headed the educational department for the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. She worked as a hospital inspector for the state of Utah until 1928, when she moved to San Francisco to attend medical school. While earning her degree at the University of California, San Francisco, she worked as a nurse in the Bay Area. Upon her graduation in 1932, she moved to the Philippines, where she opened a medical practice.
During World War II, she volunteered as a civilian surgeon for the
Early life and education
Beulah Estelle Ream was born on January 26, 1897, in
Career
Nursing and further education (1922–1932)
After her graduation in 1922, Ream moved to
Physician in the Philippines (1933–1945)
Upon her graduation, Ream traveled to the
On December 8, 1941, Japanese bombers began an air raid at
As before, Allen worked in the camp hospital, but had a difficult relationship with its head, Dr. Dana Nance.[20] Allen pressed for improved sanitation controls to limit the cases of dysentery and disease among the camp chickens,[Notes 2] suggesting that all garbage be buried.[5][20][11] She pushed for the isolation of new internees until it could be determined if they had communicable diseases. Nance ignored her suggestions, as well as her recommendation for the staff to move outside of the hospital so that the patients were not housed in tents.[20] Conditions in the camp were poor and inadequate food supplies often led to malnutrition. Allen gave yeast supplements to the patients to improve their health.[11][22]
Frustrated that women were not allowed to vote on the General Committee that operated the camp, Allen organized a Women's Committee and demanded that the General Committee include both men and women in camp governance. The committee polled the prison population, and though Allen's proposal won the majority of votes, the General Committee ignored the result and maintained a men-only voting policy.[24] Eventually all of Allen's proposals were adopted at the camp, but she was no longer there to see the result.[25] After 18 months of captivity, she asked for a transfer and took her boys to the Santo Tomas Internment Camp, where there was a shortage of physicians, in early 1943.[14][25][26]
Conditions at Santo Tomas were dire. By 1943, the shortages of drugs, sheets, blankets,
When Allen arrived, she was appointed to several committees and at various times headed the camp's children's hospital.[33] She was assigned to serve both the children’s hospital and the isolation hospital along with D. Chambers, F. O. Smith, and Evelyn M. Withoff.[34] In addition to her appointment on the Medical Board, Allen served on the Food Committee, Committee on Releases to Outside Hospitals, and Public Health Committee and was elected to the Parents' Association Board.[35] On February 3, 1945, the camp was liberated by American troops.[36] Within a few weeks, the Allen family were headed back to the United States, arriving in San Francisco on March 30, 1945.[37][38] They were welcomed by Allen's family, the Reams. After her homecoming, an article in the Oakland Tribune called Allen "a real heroine...who worked 'sometimes night and day' caring for the sick".[37]
Allen was awarded the Medal of Freedom (later known as the Presidential Medal of Freedom)[Notes 3] by General Douglas MacArthur.[6][12] In 1947, she accepted the Soldier's Medal and Bronze Star Medal on behalf of her husband's service.[41]
Later career (1945–1979)
Allen re-established her medical practice in California. Initially, she worked with her brother Dr. Milton P. Ream, who lived in
In 1960, she was hired as the dean of the
Death and legacy
She died on March 17, 1989, in Mesa. Her funeral was held March 20 at the Oak Hills 4th Ward Chapel in Provo, before she was interred at the Golden Gate National Cemetery, in San Bruno, California.[6] In 2001, Lucinda and Helen Bateman published Beulah, the Good Doctor: A Biography of Beulah Ream Allen.[45]
Explanatory notes
- ^ Frederic Harper Stevens' notes on the Santo Tomás Internment Camp indicate Henderson was born on July 7.[16] He and his wife Patricia (née Ostland) died in a car accident in 1963.[17]
- beri-beri as well as "limberneck".[11] Mississippi State University's agricultural extension identifies that "limberneck" is caused by botulism.[21] Because Allen's treatment of the disease using yeast was successful, and yeast is a rich source of vitamin B1, thiamin deficiency seems likely.[11][22][23]
- ^ The Medal of Freedom was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945. It is the highest civilian honor awarded in the United States. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy reestablished the award and renamed it the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[39][40]
References
Citations
- ^ The Daily Herald 1989, p. 6; U.S. Census 1900, p. 14B; Birth Records 1897.
- ^ U.S. Census 1900, p. 14B.
- ^ U.S. Census 1920, p. 15A.
- ^ Academy of Idaho 1919, p. 128.
- ^ a b c d e f g Pardoe 1961, p. 6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Daily Herald 1989, p. 6.
- ^ Schryver 1930, p. 163.
- ^ a b c d e f The Daily Herald 1961, p. 8A.
- ^ a b c d e f Miles 1987, p. 97.
- ^ Bagamaspad, Hamada-Pawid & Balangoy 1985, pp. 291–292.
- ^ a b c d e The Deseret News & Telegram 1963, p. 24B.
- ^ a b The Oakland Tribune 1946, p. 10.
- ^ "Lt. Col. Henderson Wilcox Allen: 8 June 1893–17 June 1942 (Age 49)". ancestors.familysearch.org. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Pardoe 1961, p. 7.
- ^ Miles 1987, pp. 53–54.
- ^ Stevens 1946, p. 485.
- ^ The Daily Universe 1963, p. 4.
- ^ Miles 1987, p. 63.
- ^ a b Martz 1945, p. 9.
- ^ a b c Miles 1987, p. 96.
- ^ "Diseases of Poultry" 2020.
- ^ a b Pardoe 1961, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Tanphaichitr 1999, p. 382.
- ^ Miles 1987, p. 99.
- ^ a b Miles 1987, p. 100.
- ^ a b The Oakland Tribune 1945, p. 5.
- ^ Stevens 1946, p. 120.
- ^ Stevens 1946, p. 125.
- ^ The Salt Lake Tribune 1945a, p. 10.
- ^ Stevens 1946, p. 27.
- ^ Stevens 1946, p. 28.
- ^ Stevens 1946, pp. 107–108.
- ^ Stevens 1946, pp. 116–117, 124.
- ^ Stevens 1946, p. 129.
- ^ Stevens 1946, pp. 124, 420, 422.
- ^ Ephraim 2010, p. 143.
- ^ a b Hayes 1945, p. 3.
- ^ The Long Beach Independent 1945, p. 6.
- ^ Ray 2009.
- ^ Kennedy 1963.
- ^ The Oakland Tribune 1947, p. 25.
- ^ The Salt Lake Tribune 1945b, p. 10.
- ^ The Banyan 1964, p. 52.
- ^ The Daily Herald 1979, p. 17.
- ^ Bateman & Bateman 2001.
General bibliography
- Bagamaspad, Anavic; Hamada-Pawid, Zenaida; Balangoy, Bell (1985). A Peoples' History of Benguet Province. Baguio, Philippines: Benguet Province. OCLC 29914614.
- Bateman, Lucinda; Bateman, Helen Ream (2001). Beulah, the Good Doctor: A Biography of Beulah Ream Allen. Provo, Utah: H.R. Bateman. OCLC 52119775.
- Ephraim, Frank (2010). Escape to Manila: From Nazi Tyranny to Japanese Terror. Champaign, Illinois: ISBN 978-0-252-09111-7.
- Hayes, Elinor (March 31, 1945). "Words Fail Freed Yank Captives at Homecoming". Newspaperarchive.com.
- Kennedy, John F. (February 22, 1963). "The Presidential Medal of Freedom". Executive Order 11085. United States Government. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
The Medal of Freedom is hereby reestablished as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, with accompanying ribbons and appurtenances.
- Martz, Maxine (April 30, 1945). "Two Small Boys Survive Life in Jap Prison Camp". Newspapers.com.
- Miles, Fern Harrington (1987). Captive Community: Life in a Japanese Internment Camp, 1941–1945 (1st ed.). Jefferson City, Tennessee: Mossy Creek Press. ISBN 0-9618895-0-0.
- Pardoe, Katherine (December 8, 1961). "From Prisoner of War Doctor to Dean of Nursing: The Story of Beulah Ream Allen". The Galaxy. II (2). Provo, Utah: The Daily Universe: 6–7. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- Ray, Michael (August 13, 2009). "Presidential Medal of Freedom". Britannica. Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Archived from the original on September 7, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- Schryver, Grace Fay (1930). "A History of the Illinois Training School for Nurses: 1880-1929" (PDF). Chicago, Illinois: The Board of Directors of the Illinois Training School for Nurses. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- Stevens, Frederic Harper (1946). Santo Tomas Internment Camp: 1942–1945. New York, New York: Stratford House, Inc. OCLC 283895.
- Tanphaichitr, Vichai (1999). "Thiamin". In Shils, Maurice E.; Olson, James A.; Shike, Moshe; Ross, A. Catharine (eds.). Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease (9th ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: ISBN 978-0-683-30769-6.
- "1900 U.S. Census, Dingle, Bear Lake County, Idaho". FamilySearch. Washington, D. C.: National Archives and Records Administration. June 26, 1900. p. 14B. NARA microfilm series T623, roll #231, lines 84–93. Retrieved September 4, 2020. – via FamilySearch (subscription required)
- "1920 U.S. Census, Long Beach City, Los Angeles County, California". FamilySearch. Washington, D. C.: National Archives and Records Administration. January 10, 1920. p. 15A. NARA microfilm series T625, roll #104, lines 17–23. Retrieved September 4, 2020. – via FamilySearch (subscription required)
- "Army Honors Woman Doctor". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "Auto Accident Claims Lives of Young Couple". The Daily Universe. Vol. 15, no. 120. Provo, Utah. April 2, 1963. p. 4. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- "Baby Born to Ex-Internees". Newspapers.com.
- "Beulah Ream Allen Weds Joseph Jarvis". Newspapers.com.
- "Class of 1916". The Idaho Technical Institute Bulletin. V (2). Pocatello, Idaho: Idaho Technical Institute (formerly the Academy of Idaho): 128. July 1919. OCLC 47245466. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- "College of Nursing". The Banyan. 1964: 52. 1914.
- "Diseases of Poultry". Mississippi State University Extension. Starkville , Mississippi: Mississippi State University. September 4, 2020. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- "Former Dean of BYU Nursing School Dies". Newspapers.com.
- "Heroine of World War II Prison Camp: New Dean Appointed for BYU College of Nursing". Newspapers.com.
- "Idaho, Birth Index, 1861–1911: Beulah Estelle Ream". FamilySearch. Boise, Idaho: Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics. January 26, 1897. certificate #365978. Retrieved September 4, 2020. – via FamilySearch (subscription required)
- "Logan Native Dies in S. F." Newspaperarchive.com.
- "More L. B. Persons Freed in Manilla". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "U. S. Warned to Be Strong". Newspaperarchive.com.
- "War Doctor, Beriberi Battler—Now Directs BYU Nursing". Newspapers.com.
- "Woman Tells of Life in Jap Prisons". Newspaperarchive.com.