De Galard, Geneviève (1925–)

views updated

De Galard, Geneviève (1925–)

French nurse and heroine. Born Geneviève de Galard-Terraube, April 13, 1925, in Paris, France; dau. of Vicomte Oger de Galard-Terraube (army officer); received baccalaureate degree from a Dominican convent in Toulouse; studied fine arts at École du Louvre, Paris; studied English at the Sorbonne; received state nursing diploma from nurses training school as well as a diploma from Paris School of Social Work; m. paratrooper Captain Jean de Heaulme, May 21, 1957; children: 2.

Hero of the Indo-Chinese war, known as the Angel of Dien Bien Phu, joined the Infirmières Pilotes et Secouristes de L'Air (IPSA), a specially trained corps of airborne pilot-nurses and first-aid workers; began duty in Indochina (1953), as a nurse on a plane that flew into battle zones and brought back wounded French soldiers to Saigon; began flying to Dien Bien Phu in North Vietnam (1954), to evacuate severely wounded soldiers to Hanoi; stranded in Dien Bien Phu, joined the all-male, 30-member medical staff, living and working in extreme conditions and surviving a steady barrage of enemy attacks; risked her life to go out into the fields to attend the long line of wounded. Awarded a Croix de Guerre and the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor (1954); also presented with the Air Medal and the Air Medical Service Silver Medal from France and the US Medal of Freedom.

See also Women in World History.

More From encyclopedia.com

About this article

De Galard, Geneviève (1925–)

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article

You Might Also Like