GLENWOOD CITY, Wis. (Tribune News Service) — Second Lt. Ellen Ainsworth’s mother said she never wanted a memorial to her daughter in Glenwood City because she grieved for her daughter every day and did not need another reminder.

Instead, she wanted any money received for a memorial to go toward something useful and productive.

“Seventy years later I just can’t help think how useful and practical a post office is,” said Sally Berkholder, whose family donated a bench at the Glenwood City High School athletic complex in Ainsworth’s memory.

A dedication is planned and plaque unveiling Wednesday, Aug. 31, when the Glenwood City post office will carry the name Second Lt. Ellen Ainsworth Memorial Post Office to honor the only Wisconsin servicewoman killed by enemy fire in World War II. The dedication will be at 2 p.m. at the post office, 220 E. Oak St.

A bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wausau, was signed into law by President Barack Obama in June. Duffy and Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are expected to attend the dedication.

“She personified honor and dignity,” Duffy said during his comments on the House of Representatives floor during debate on the bill. “Her death was a tragedy to small-town Glenwood City. It will stand as a reminder of the bravery of one American from Wisconsin’s 7th District and most notably a brave woman.”

Ainsworth, after graduating from Glenwood City High School, went on to earn her nursing degree and volunteered for the U.S. Army.

Ainsworth, 24, died on Feb. 16, 1944, a few days after she was wounded by shrapnel in a German artillery attack on the 56th Evacuation Hospital located on the Anzio beachhead in Italy during WWII. She was one of the first women ever to earn a Silver Star for her service. She also earned a Purple Heart and the Red Cross Bronze Medal for heroic acts.

Berkholder’s father, Charles Rasmussen, had an inscription in a 1937 yearbook from Ainsworth that she would be in the front row to watch him play varsity sports, which she never was able to do.

Berkholder said she was thrilled the post office will be dedicated in Ainsworth’s honor.

“I am just happy it is finally happening for her sake,” Berkholder said. “It is a proud honor for her family.”

In January 1944, Ainsworth’s unit, the 56th Evacuation Hospital, along with other allies landed forces at Anzio behind German lines. It was one of four tent hospitals erected on Anzio beachhead. Despite the Geneva Conventions’ stipulation that in time of war hospitals are not to be targeted, the Germans deliberately shelled the hospital compound night and day for 10 weeks.

Canvas tents provided no cover for the wounded soldiers or the staff. Soldiers referred to the hospital tents on the beach as “Hell’s Half Acre.” Many survived battlefield wounds only to be killed by shrapnel ripping through the tents. And all through the bombings, nurses like Ainsworth continued to perform their duties with the same courage expected of every member of the armed forces. From January to May 1944, the hospitals on Anzio treated thousands of patients, including German prisoners of war who received equal medical treatment from the medical staff and personnel.

In Ainsworth’s honor, a nursing care building at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King is named Ainsworth Hall. A conference room in the Pentagon is named in her honor as well. The American Legion Post in Glenwood City is the Curry-Ainsworth Post.

After her death, Ainsworth’s family chose to have her buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy.

Contact: pamela.powers@ecpc.com

©2016 the Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.)
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