1920
Colonel
2016
Colonel Retired
April 2, 1920 — July 5, 2016
Lena M. Tague
Succumbing to Alzheimer's disease, Lena M. Tague died at age 96 on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, at Whitehorse Village, Newtown Square. Born on April 2, 1920, to Francis Tague and Anna O'Keeffe, Lena grew up in Darby, PA, with her brother Hugh (Helen Gallagher) and Anna (John Anthony). She took her diploma at West Catholic Girls High School and her R. N. degree from Philadelphia General Hospital Nursing School. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps, Lena deployed to a 500-bed hospital in Algiers that had 1,000 patients on the day it opened. Briefly serving in a psychiatric installation located next to a bomber base in Italy, Lena served in the invasion of southern France. On VE-Day in Europe she won a snail eating contest.
Returning to Philadelphia, she resigned her commission but was disappointed by the lack of respect she encountered in postwar civilian hospitals. With the outbreak of war in Korea in 1950, Lena returned to the army and served in Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) units in Korea. She was chosen to take part in the return of U.N. prisoners of war following the armistice in 1953; she was greatly impressed by the discipline of the Turkish prisoners. Following the Korean War, the Army sent her to the University of Minnesota to earn her bachelor's and master's degree. During Lena's tour at Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX, her mother became a great fan of the bullfights across the border in Ciudad Juárez. Before leaving for duty in West Germany, Lena served as a nurse at West Point.
Lena was the chief obstetrics nurse at Frankfurt and the assistant to the Army's chief nurse in Europe at Heidelberg, where she served alongside her best friend Cecile Smith. Upon returning to the Washington, D.C., Lieutenant Colonel Tague was the assistant chief nurse at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Twenty-five years later her great-niece, Thea Murray, would serve in Ward 72, The Eisenhower Suite, for generals, politicians, diplomats, and their families. Promoted to full colonel, Lena closed out her career by serving as the last head nurse of Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, PA. The Nurse Corps had designated Colonel Tague as the second brigadier general of the Corps, but Lena decided that it was time for her to retire in 1972.
A devout Catholic, Lena was always an active parishioner, serving as an extraordinary minister for Holy Communion, a cantor at mass, and in her later years, she counted the collection at St. Isaac Jogues in Wayne, PA. In the winter of 1972-73 she visited Anne (Jacqué), Patrick, and little Thea in Staufen, showing Europe to her nieces, Judy Tague and Helene Anthony, as only she could; the trip made experiences of a lifetime and many funny stories. In the early 1990's Judy returned the favor taking Lena to a reunion of the 11th Evacuation Hospital where she met two Marines whom she had nursed in Korea. Lena is survived by five nieces and nephews, eight grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and nine great-grand-nieces and great-grand-nephews.
Relatives and friends are invited to her viewing Friday 9:00-10:00 AM St. Mary Magdalen Church, 2400 N. Providence Road, Media, PA and to her Funeral Mass at 10:00 AM. Interment Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.
Contributions in Lena's memory to the Providence Animal Center, 555 Sandy Bank Road, Media, PA 19063 would be appreciated.
St. Mary Magdalen Church
2400 N. Providence Road Media 19063, United States
Succumbing to Alzheimer's disease, Lena M. Tague died at age 96 on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, at Whitehorse Village, Newtown Square. Born on April 2, 1920, to Francis Tague and Anna O'Keeffe, Lena grew up in Darby, PA, with her brother Hugh (Helen Gallagher) and Anna (John Anthony). She took her diploma at West Catholic Girls High School and her R. N. degree from Philadelphia General Hospital Nursing School. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps, Lena deployed to a 500-bed hospital in Algiers that had 1,000 patients on the day it opened. Briefly serving in a psychiatric installation located next to a bomber base in Italy, Lena served in the invasion of southern France. On VE-Day in Europe she won a snail eating contest.
Returning to Philadelphia, she resigned her commission but was disappointed by the lack of respect she encountered in postwar civilian hospitals. With the outbreak of war in Korea in 1950, Lena returned to the army and served in Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) units in Korea. She was chosen to take part in the return of U.N. prisoners of war following the armistice in 1953; she was greatly impressed by the discipline of the Turkish prisoners. Following the Korean War, the Army sent her to the University of Minnesota to earn her bachelor's and master's degree. During Lena's tour at Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX, her mother became a great fan of the bullfights across the border in Ciudad Juárez. Before leaving for duty in West Germany, Lena served as a nurse at West Point.
Lena was the chief obstetrics nurse at Frankfurt and the assistant to the Army's chief nurse in Europe at Heidelberg, where she served alongside her best friend Cecile Smith. Upon returning to the Washington, D.C., Lieutenant Colonel Tague was the assistant chief nurse at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Twenty-five years later her great-niece, Thea Murray, would serve in Ward 72, The Eisenhower Suite, for generals, politicians, diplomats, and their families. Promoted to full colonel, Lena closed out her career by serving as the last head nurse of Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, PA. The Nurse Corps had designated Colonel Tague as the second brigadier general of the Corps, but Lena decided that it was time for her to retire in 1972.
A devout Catholic, Lena was always an active parishioner, serving as an extraordinary minister for Holy Communion, a cantor at mass, and in her later years, she counted the collection at St. Isaac Jogues in Wayne, PA. In the winter of 1972-73 she visited Anne (Jacqué), Patrick, and little Thea in Staufen, showing Europe to her nieces, Judy Tague and Helene Anthony, as only she could; the trip made experiences of a lifetime and many funny stories. In the early 1990's Judy returned the favor taking Lena to a reunion of the 11th Evacuation Hospital where she met two Marines whom she had nursed in Korea. Lena is survived by five nieces and nephews, eight grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and nine great-grand-nieces and great-grand-nephews.
Relatives and friends are invited to her viewing Friday 9:00-10:00 AM St. Mary Magdalen Church, 2400 N. Providence Road, Media, PA and to her Funeral Mass at 10:00 AM. Interment Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.
Contributions in Lena's memory to the Providence Animal Center, 555 Sandy Bank Road, Media, PA 19063 would be appreciated.
Visitation
Friday, July 8, 2016 9:00 AM - 10:00 AMSt. Mary Magdalen Church
2400 N. Providence Road Media 19063, United States
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