In Service of Mercy

In Service of Mercy Preview

Commemorating the service of Evansville women in the Great War

They volunteered for lifting spirits, healing souls and saving lives. They served the armed forces, Salvation Army, YMCA, YWCA and Red Cross. They heard a call from across the ocean. They were women at the battlefront. They were known here but cherished by the troops.

“We had to be brave all the time and not let these wonderful boys suspect that our hearts were breaking, for we tried to lift every man’s sorrow from his heart and bear it ourselves.”

Stella Carmickle (right), Lieutenant, Salvation Army, describes comforting homesick, war-weary troops. Photograph courtesy of the Salvation Army Museum.

Evansville women in WW1 created a legacy, but a legacy often silenced during the times in which they lived. Their stories were denied, their suffering unheard and their contributions diminished.

The “In Service of Mercy” project intends to make their voices heard. Evansville Wartime Museum is the exhibiting partner in this project, with plans for an online exhibit, an onsite exhibit and presentation of the In Service of Mercy documentary film.

This trailer and the documentary film, “In Service of Mercy: Evansville Women in the Great War,” is co-directed by Amber Gowen and Emily Schuster. The editor is Emily Schuster. The project is produced by Amber Gowen in partnership with the Vanderburgh County Clerk’s archive and the Evansville Wartime Museum.

About the Project

Deep in the archives rested a book of names. Women’s names. These were names of nurses whose nursing licenses were registered with Vanderburgh County in Indiana.

They registered a century ago. Around the time of the Great War. Who were these women? Did they serve overseas? What are their stories?

“Everywhere, the lack of nurses is the general cry. Our nurses are needed and must respond. I surely feel like a slacker not to have come among the first.” -Army Nurse Katherine Rehsteiner, Summer, 1918. Photograph: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. LC-USZ62-62662.

Those questions kicked off a years-long quest for the answers. Amber Gowen, the Archivist of the Vanderburgh County Clerk’s Archives, leads the project. Named “In Service of Mercy,” it includes stories of more than 150 women with ties to the Evansville, Indiana area who served in WW1. Many of them came home to establish themselves as key members of the Evansville’s medical and social health community.

Through the project led by Amber Gowen in association with the Vanderburgh County Clerk’s Archive and Evansville Wartime Museum and the assistance of the Tri-State Women Veterans Group, these women's stories will be told. As often as possible, using their own words, in film, exhibit and print.

The Indiana Centennial Commission selected “In Service of Mercy” as an official Indiana World War 1 Legacy Project. But we still seek funding for the film, the exhibit and the exhibit book.

Donate

Visit the In Service of Mercy Webpage. Find more information about the project here.