Grace Berg (1920-1984)
Grace Berg is a Concordia alumna who served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II. She earned the title “angel of mercy” by being a nurse who took care of many wounded soldiers. Her involvement in the war and her passion for music can serve as an inspiration for women today considering careers in nursing and music.
Grace Berg was born in Nebraska on June 6, 1920, to O. G. Berg and Lillie Berg and later her family settled in Moorhead, Minnesota. After graduating from Moorhead High School, she studied at Concordia from 1937 to 1939 and then transferred to Swedish Hospital in Minneapolis MN, to train as a nurse.
While studying at Concordia College, Berg had occupied herself with many extracurricular activities, especially music. She was involved in choir, band, Music Club, and Lambda Delta Sigma sorority. Berg's love for music was evident in her various activities. When she began her education at Concordia in 1937, she was one of 57 students (out of 200 students) to be selected to participate in choir by Professor Paul Christiansen. After her selection, she went on to perform solos for the Life of Rachmaninoff and a Yule concert. In addition, she held a leadership position as the second vice president of the Moorhead Music club. [1]
Berg enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps on Feb 4, 1943, and traveled to Camp Hale, Colorado for basic training. Then on June 29, 1943, she was sent to Kilmer, New Jersey, and in September 1943, she was assigned to a hospital ship named USS Shamrock. On the ship, she worked 12-hour shifts as a nurse for wounded soldiers while traveling in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Africa. Even after finishing her education and entering the military, she took her love for music to her work. An article published by the Fargo Forum about her military service stated that “On the hospital ship, she conducted a choir of nurses who cared for the patients and at Christmas time went from ward to ward aboard the ship singing carols.” [2]
When Berg came back to the United States in March 1944 for furlough, she reported that nursing wasn’t her only task, she was also expected to keep up the morale of the wounded soldiers. She stated that she had made a total of twenty-four shuttle trips to places such as Sicily, Salerno, and Naples all while taking care of two hospital wards, teaching three subjects, and directing a choir. Her efforts, along with the efforts of her colleagues, not only led to success in evacuation but also brought great comfort. The nurses reassured soldiers about the future, especially amputee soldiers. The Concordian titled a 1944 article about her “Cobber ‘Angel of Mercy’ Evacuates Wounded” and discussed Berg’s bravery in traveling to the battle zone and helping evacuate hundreds of wounded soldiers. [3]
On May 27, 1945, Grace Berg married Lt. Robert E. Harkrider in Davidson, North Carolina. The two had met when Harkrider was in the medical administrative corps and Berg was an Army nurse. Harkrider was initially from Texas but moved around after he enlisted. After they married, he and Berg stayed in Charleston, North Carolina, the place at which they were stationed. In November 1945, she was discharged from the Army Nurse Corps. After her discharge, Grace Berg Harkrider went on to become a mother of four children. On January 23, 1984, Berg passed away in Atlanta, Georgia. [4]
Author: Anjali Bhujel
Footnotes:
[1] Cobber Yearbook (Moorhead: Concordia College, 1939), 44; “Will Give Opera Skit,” Concordian, November 4, 1937,1; “Rachmaninoff, Symphony Discussed At Music Club,” Concordian, November 18, 1937; “Pantomimes Will Be Included in Yule Concert Sunday At 8 P.M,” Concordian, December 9, 1937, 1.
[2] Berg, Grace. Military, Record Group 20; World War II Records, 1942-1947, Series 2; Questionnaires of WWII Veterans who Attended Concordia, 1944-1947, Subseries 2. Concordia College Archives; Stanley F. Cowman, “Wounded are cheerful in their suffering says Lieut. Berg, Moorhead army nurse,” Fargo Forum, March 1944, 1.
[3] Berg, Grace. Military, Record Group 20; World War II Records, 1942-1947, Series 2; Questionnaires of WWII Veterans who Attended Concordia, 1944-1947, Subseries 2. Concordia College Archives; Vee Thorkelson, “Cobber 'Angel Of Mercy' Evacuates Wounded,” Concordian, October 13, 1944, 1.
[4] Berg, Grace. Military, Record Group 20; World War II Records, 1942-1947, Series 2; Questionnaires of WWII Veterans who Attended Concordia, 1944-1947, Subseries 2. Concordia College Archives; “Grace G Berg,” Ancestry.com. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, 2011.