One of the highlights at our 2003 annual induction ceremony was the presentation of the Heart of Nursing award to Retire

UMASS BOSTON SIGMA CHAPTER HONORS ARMY NURSE VETERAN

One of the highlights at our 2003 annual induction ceremony was the presentation of the Heart of Nursing award to Retired Colonel Mary C. Quinn of North Weymouth, Ma. Our Chapter proudly chose Col. Quinn for her “love (caring), courage and honor” as manifested in her service to our country as a US Army nurse, highlighted by her battlefront tours of duty as a trauma nurse specialist in Korea and Vietnam. Our choice of Col. Quinn for this award was enthusiastically affirmed by the new inductees and invited guests when they gave her a rousing standing ovation. Ms. Quinn responded with an inspiring message on the meaning of nursing.		Mary returned from Korea in 1952 and worked on neonatal intensive care units in San Francisco, Virginia, and Germany where she developed special skills in pediatric nursing.. She also worked at several hospitals on medical surgical units. She even managed to find time to get her Bachelor's Degree from the University of San Francisco in 1964 when relatively few nurses had a college degree. In 1968, Mary served as Chief Nurse in South Vietnam during the 1968 Tet Offensive when her hospital compound was struck eight times by rocket fire.
		When she returned stateside from Vietnam, she continued in nursing administration as Chief Nurse at Fort Devens, and later in Germany. She ended her career at Fort Hood in Texas. After 26 years in the US Army, she retired, but she has kept active in nurses' and veterans' organizations. You should all check out the nurses' war memorial on Rt 3A in Weymouth near St. Jerome's Church (Mary's beloved parish) and the Korean War Memorial at Jackson Square in Weymouth. Mary had a lot to do with both of these memorials.
Mary Quinn began her nursing career in 1945 on a maternity unit at Carney Hospital in Dorchester. Five years later, she joined the army and worked on a TB unit in Denver, Colorado. Her next assignment was acute care/trauma nursing on a mash unit in the battlefields of South Korea.		For those of us who know Mary Quinn, we stand in awe of her love, courage, and honor, along with her professional achievements as a nurse clinician and leader. But what really stands out about Mary is her sheer goodness, her humility, her faith, and her dedication to her civic and parish communities in North Weymouth.

One of the highlights at our 2003 annual induction ceremony was the presentation of the Heart of Nursing award to Retired Colonel Mary C. Quinn of North Weymouth, Ma. Our Chapter proudly chose Col. Quinn for her “love (caring), courage and honor” as manifested in her service to our country as a US Army nurse, highlighted by her battlefront tours of duty as a trauma nurse specialist in Korea and Vietnam. Our choice of Col. Quinn for this award was enthusiastically affirmed by the new inductees and invited guests when they gave her a rousing standing ovation. Ms. Quinn responded with an inspiring message on the meaning of nursing.

Mary returned from Korea in 1952 and worked on neonatal intensive care units in San Francisco, Virginia, and Germany where she developed special skills in pediatric nursing.. She also worked at several hospitals on medical surgical units. She even managed to find time to get her Bachelor's Degree from the University of San Francisco in 1964 when relatively few nurses had a college degree.

In 1968, Mary served as Chief Nurse in South Vietnam during the 1968 Tet Offensive when her hospital compound was struck eight times by rocket fire.

When she returned stateside from Vietnam, she continued in nursing administration as Chief Nurse at Fort Devens, and later in Germany. She ended her career at Fort Hood in Texas. After 26 years in the US Army, she retired, but she has kept active in nurses' and veterans' organizations. You should all check out the nurses' war memorial on Rt 3A in Weymouth near St. Jerome's Church (Mary's beloved parish) and the Korean War Memorial at Jackson Square in Weymouth. Mary had a lot to do with both of these memorials.

Mary Quinn began her nursing career in 1945 on a maternity unit at Carney Hospital in Dorchester. Five years later, she joined the army and worked on a TB unit in Denver, Colorado. Her next assignment was acute care/trauma nursing on a mash unit in the battlefields of South Korea.

For those of us who know Mary Quinn, we stand in awe of her love, courage, and honor, along with her professional achievements as a nurse clinician and leader. But what really stands out about Mary is her sheer goodness, her humility, her faith, and her dedication to her civic and parish communities in North Weymouth.