Aleda E. Lutz logged 814 combat hours and completed 196 evacuation sorties during World War II, establishing a record of intensity for U.S. military flight nurses. Her service in unmarked C-47 transport planes involved traversing active battlefronts in Tunisia, Italy, and France, often landing under direct enemy fire to retrieve wounded soldiers from the field.
Early Development and Nursing Education
Born in Freeland, Michigan, in 1915, Lutz was the youngest of ten children in a bilingual household. After graduating from Saginaw Arthur Hill High School in 1933, she completed her training at the Saginaw General Hospital School of Nursing in 1937. Prior to the war, she served as a staff nurse at Saginaw General Hospital, while also remaining active in the local athletic community, specifically within the Saginaw Women's Bowling Association.
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Lutz entered the Army Nurse Corps on February 10, 1942, receiving the rank of second lieutenant. Following a period at the Station Hospital at Selfridge Field in Mount Clemens, Michigan, she volunteered for the demanding role of a flight nurse. Out of 59,000 nurses in the U.S. military during the war, only two percent earned this designation. Lutz was one of the few who passed the rigorous physical requirements, eventually transitioning to the 802nd Medical Air Evacuation Squadron.
Combat Service and Aerial Evacuation
Attached to the 12th Air Force, the 802nd operated in high-risk zones without Red Cross insignia on their transport planes. Lutz participated in six major battle campaigns, including engagements in Tunisia, Sicily, Rome-Arno, Southern France, and the North Apennines. Her performance at the Anzio beachhead, where she conducted four sorties in a single day while under artillery bombardment, highlighted the hazards inherent in her assignment.
Final Mission and Posthumous Recognition
On November 1, 1944, Lutz died in a C-47 crash near Saint-Chamond, France, while transporting 15 patients to Italy. There were no survivors. By the time of her death, she had transported over 3,500 patients. In December 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt posthumously awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross, making her the first woman in the military to receive the honor.
Fast facts
- Born: 1915, Freeland, Michigan
- Died: 1944, Saint-Chamond, France
- Military Rank: First Lieutenant
- Total Patients Transported: Over 3,500
- Combat Hours Flown: 814
- Distinguished Flying Cross Awarded: 1944
- Michigan Women's Hall of Fame Induction: 1994
- Burial Site: Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial
Questions readers ask
Was Aleda E. Lutz the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross?
She was the first woman in the U.S. military to receive the award, though Amelia Earhart had previously received the medal as a civilian.
How many American servicewomen were killed in combat during World War II?
Lutz was one of sixteen American servicewomen killed in combat during the war.
Achievements
- Air Medal
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