Duty. Honor. Sacrifice. Service. Love. Faith. Family.
My mother-in-law, Olga Prietula, lived these words every day. She passed away on June 19, 2023, at 100 and a half. She was a World War II Army nurse who inspired me to serve Veterans.
Her parents fled from the Ukrainian War of Independence in the 1910s, arrived in the United States and settled with the Ukrainian community in Chicago.
Born in 1922, she attended Loyola University and became a registered nurse by 1943. She soon joined the Army to “make sure our soldiers are taken care of,” she would say.
She didn’t like to talk much about the war itself, but was always ready to share good stories about her soldiers. One such story always made her laugh. Christmas in Europe 1944. A young Catholic-educated nurse was in her early 20’s, and Olga wanted her soldiers at the 101st General Hospital to have a proper Christmas tree. One of the other officers asked her to look at the tree in one of the wards. She was amazed to see a beautiful tree with lights and some “funny looking” ornaments. As she inspected one, she realized they were ornamented condoms. They all laughed. “You better hope you don’t need them later,” she said.
My mother-in-law loved being a nurse and taking care of people. She was very proud to have served in the military and to have contributed to the victory of our armed forces during WWII. Upon her return to the United States, she joined The Hospital for Children and Training School for Nurses (now Children’s Hospital) of San Francisco where she nursed patients affected by the polio outbreak.
She lived an amazing life and was truly an inspiration to many. She now rejoins the love of her life, who was an Army engineer during WWII. She will forever live in our hearts.
My in-laws and many other amazing and wonderful Veterans are the main reason why I #ChooseVA. I dedicate my work every day to the service members who have sacrificed so much to ensure we have a free country. I serve our beloved Veterans and live VA’s mission daily. I am here because of them.
Read this article to learn more about the 101st General Hospital and my mother-in-law’s unit. Her maiden name in the story is Olga Petza.
