Posted on 07/02/2005 9:38:56 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
COVINA, Calif. (AP) - Lillian Keil, a decorated flight nurse who helped evacuate thousands of wounded U.S. troops from the battlefields of World War II and the Korean War, has died. She was 88.
Keil died of cancer Thursday at a convalescent home in Covina, said her daughter, Lillianne Wittman. Keil flew on more than 425 missions during the wars, rescuing men who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, on the beaches of Normandy, and in the Inchon invasion. She loaded troops onto C-47s and other transporter planes, then treated them en route to hospitals in safety zones.
"They were her boys. And she needed to help her boys," Wittman said.
A member of the Army Air Corps, which later became the U.S. Air Force, she rose to rank of major and earned scores of awards, including four Air Medals, two Presidential Unit Citations, an American Defense Medal, an American Campaign Medal and a World War II Victory Medal.
In 1954, a Hollywood movie, "Flight Nurse," starring Joan Leslie and Forrest Tucker, was based on Keil's war experiences. Last year, she was the honorary grand marshal of the National World War II Memorial Dedication parade in Washington, D.C.
After being honorably discharged due to pregnancy in 1955, she moved with her husband, Walter, to the Los Angeles suburb of Covina and started her second career as a mom. She continued working as a nurse in emergency rooms and hospitals.
"She was an absolutely a wonderful heroic woman. She was my role model, but as a mother," Wittman said.
Born in Arcata in Northern California, she studied to be a nurse before becoming an airline stewardess, joining the military in 1943.
She is survived by daughters Lillianne, of Big Bear, and Adrianne Whitmore, of Chino Hills, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Her husband died in 1980.
A funeral with full military honors was scheduled for July 8 at Riverside National Cemetery.
"She was an absolutely a wonderful heroic woman. She was my role model, but as a mother," Wittman said.
A fitting tribute.
Captain Lillian Kinkella Keil 1950's -- In 1938, Lillian Kinkella Keil's mother thought her daughter might like to be one of a brand new group of women, called "stewardesses," so she advised her to go to United Airline's Oakland base and take a look. Keil, a registered nurse, had never seen an airplane and never heard of a stewardess, but one look and she was hooked. This pioneer in passenger care would later combine her two careers and become the most decorated woman in U.S. military history.
Here she is at work.
Rest In Peace Major Keil. I am sure there are men alive today that think you really was an Angel.
God Speed my Hero!
Yet another real American hero surfaces. Shame more kids don't have the details of these type folks. Perhaps their hero worship would move from big name rock stars to those that better fit the description of hero.
"A funeral with full military honors...". RIP great lady.
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