Augusta Chiwy, nurse who saved hundreds of lives during the Battle of the Bulge, dies at 94

Augusta Chiwy, a nurse who saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge, died Sunday near Brussels. She was 94.

Born June 6, 1921, in what is now Burundi, she was referred to as a woman from the Congo named Anna in the book Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. Intrigued by her story, biographer Martin King decided to track the nurse down, and found her in a Brussels retirement home. She had selective mutism, which had prevented her from talking about her experience during World War II, but King was able to get her to overcome this condition, The New York Times reports. He wrote about her life in the 2010 book The Forgotten Nurse.

Chiwy was 23 when she volunteered to work with U.S. Army Dr. John Prior in a makeshift triage, providing care to soldiers despite the fact that rules at the time said blacks could not treat white soldiers. Prior told the wounded soldiers "either let her treat you or you die," and it's estimated that Chiwy saved hundreds of lives over the course of a month, the Times reports. After the war, she worked at a hospital, treating people with spinal injuries. Because of King's book, she received the Army's Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service and was knighted by the king of Belgium. During the ceremony, she said, "I would have done it for anyone. We are all children of God." She is survived by her children, Alain and Christine.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up