#BATTALION11: From Six Nations to the Front Lines - Edith Monture

Battalion, Atten-tion! Today, in honour of #IndigenousVeteransDay, I am moved to speak of Edith Monture, a courageous Indigenous nurse whose service during the Great War stands as a testament to bravery.

Before America entered the fray in 1917, Edith was a nurse in New York. At 27, she joined the United States Army Nurse Corps with 14 other Canadian nurses. Their commitment to healing in the hell of war was a profound act of valour, particularly poignant for Edith, an Indigenous woman venturing far from home.

Her community at the Six Nations reserve understood the gravity of her journey, presenting her with ceremonial Kanyen'kehà:ka clothing for burial, a stark reminder of the war's grim realities.

In France, Edith's resolve never wavered. At Base Hospital 23 in Vittel and beyond, she tended to soldiers ravaged by gas and the gruesome toll of trench warfare. She walked through battlegrounds to aid the fallen, her spirit unbroken despite the horrors she witnessed.

Her story is one of unyielding courage and humanity.

For more on Edith, please visit the following link (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/charlotte-edith-anderson-monture)

RSM Riggs, out.

#Battalion11 #ValourPersonified #VictoriaCross #MilitaryHistory #LestWeForget #IndigenousVeteransDay