Born in 1921 in Racine, Wisconsin, Jacqueline Marie Jacquet wanted nothing more than to serve her country in the air like her older brother, Edward. After graduating from Edgerton High School in Wisconsin and then from the Ravenswood Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago, Illinois, Jacqueline “Jackie” was stationed in San Diego before being selected for Navy Flight Nurse School at NAS Alameda. As part of the Naval Air Transport Service, Jackie would support Admiral Nimitz in the evacuation of wounded Marines from the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. 

The role of the flight nurse was a novel and revolutionary concept first implemented during World War II. No physicians accompanied them on the flights, and the male surgical technicians worked under their authority. Flight nurses were trained to start IVs and oxygen—tasks, which, at the time, were usually reserved for physicians—and to respond to medical emergencies including shock, hemorrhage, and sedation. During the eight-week program, the young women received instruction in specialties like aviation physiology, aircrew survival, treatment for shock, and redressing wounds in addition to training in field survival, map-reading, camouflage, and parachute use. Flight nurses also had to undergo water survival training, where they had to complete a mile swim and tow a patient nearly a quarter mile in ten minutes or less. Of the experience, Jackie recalled, “We had doctors who lectured to us, and nurses, and we had to sit in hyperbaric chambers until some of the girls passed out.”

In 1945, Jackie was only 24, but along with 108 other flight nurses, she was thrust into an active warzone in the Pacific theater. Jackie would travel 11 times between Guam and Okinawa with an 8-hour flight each way to evacuate wounded soldiers under treacherous conditions with destroyers launching missiles and the skies constantly swarming with kamikazes. Since the aircraft used for evacuation also transported military supplies, they could not display the Red Cross to indicate their non-combatant status, making them even more vulnerable to enemy attacks. During an interview, Jackie reflected, “I [...] was afraid, and I started thinking ‘What am I doing here?’ once in a while when I got scared, but the pilots and the men were all so wonderful. Everything worked like clockwork.” Within three months, Lt. Jacquet and 107 Navy flight nurses would evacuate 96,000 wounded.  Before her passing on May 23, 2021, Jackie was one of only two surviving of the original 108. 

After serving in World War II, Jackie was recalled for duty at NAS Glenview during the Korean War. It was there that she met Marine Lt. Martin Melvin, and the two married in 1950 at El Toro Marine Air Station. Melvin was deployed to Korea with his Glenview-based squadron VMF-721, and following his safe return, the couple raised a large family of 8, four of whom would go on to also serve proudly in the military. In fact, their daughter, Comdr. Marren Christopher, was stationed at Glenview in 1981 as a flight nurse like her mother. 

Jackie was an active member of the Navy Nurses Corps Association and continued raising awareness for veterans for the rest of her life. Of her efforts, Jackie said, “We have to support them if we can because they love their country, they love their flag… it’s so important for our country.”

SOURCES


https://niwot.org/veterans-banner-project-2/ 

https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/21204991/jacqueline-marie-melvin 

https://www.midway.org/blog/navy-flight-nurses-in-wwii/

https://www.9news.com/video/entertainment/television/programs/colorado-and-company/united-veterans-coalition-january6/73-03bee15e-d43e-4739-9d13-67dca420bb15 (interivew with Jackie)