Eleanor Louise Wandlass Miller

Captain, Army Nurse Corps,
Eleanor Louise Wandlass Miller

Born: September 15, 1915, Girardville, Pennsylvania  

Died: August 5, 2009, Santa Fe, New Mexico  

Female Veteran | US Army Nursing Corps | World War II
Eleanor Wandlass Miller

Burial Site:SFNC, Section 6, Site 3675

Entering as a 2nd Lieutenant, Eleanor Wandlass Miller began her career in the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) in September of 1942 after resigning from her position as assistant nursing director and instructor of surgical nursing from St. Mary’s College of Nursing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her first assignment was at Holabird Ordinance Motor Base in Baltimore, Maryland.1,2 She served at Holabird for at least a year.3  However, by early 1944 she was at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.4 It was at this time that she met and married Lt. Ira Miller from the West Virginia Maneuver Area in Elkins.5 Sometime before early 1945, Wandlass Miller became a 1st Lieutenant.6 But her administrative experience was useful to the ANC, by the end of April 1945, she was promoted to Captain as the director of the Army Cadet Nursing Corps at Camp Lee, Virginia.7 Captain Eleanor W. Miller was honorably discharged after working at several Army posts throughout the country in April of 1946.8

Eleanor Louise Wandlass was born to Charles and Louise Wandlass of Girardville, Pennsylvania, on December 15, 1915.9,10,11,12 She grew up in this area and graduated from St. Joseph Catholic High School.13  She attained a Bachelor of Science degree from Immaculata College in Pennsylvania as well as a nursing degree from St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing.  Wandlass Miller also took classes in Public Health and Nursing from both the Catholic University in Washington D.C. and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

By 1940, Wandlass Miller was teaching nursing at St. Joseph’s Hospital, but in 1941 she took a job as the assistant director of nursing and surgical training at St. Mary’s College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.14,15  It was there she heard the call of her country in 1942 and resigned from her prestigious position to become a commissioned nurse in the ANC in September of 1942.  While in the ANC, she married the New Mexico native Ira Butler Miller in 1944.

After the war, the couple moved to Raton, New Mexico.16 From there, they moved to Santa Fe, where Wandlass Miller taught at the Wood-Gormley School.17 By 1957, she heard the call that the school needed a nurse, and moved from teaching to become the school nurse.18 From there Wandlass Miller became the head nurse of the school district.19 Her husband took another job and the Millers moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she worked as a nurse.20

Wandlass Miller and her husband moved to Denver, Colorado after his retirement in 1970, but they moved back to Santa Fe only three years later.21,22 In 1989, Wandlass Miller lost her husband Ira after 43 years of marriage.23 She continued to participate in the life of Santa Fe on committees and boards despite her loss.24  Eleanor Louise Wandlass Miller passed away on August 5, 2009, at her home in Santa Fe.

 

Images & Documents

Eleanor Wandlass Miller

“2nd Lieutenant Eleanor L. Wandlass.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 16 September 1942. Retrieved: 2 August 2023. https://www.newspapers.com/image/448244334

Eleanor Wandlass Miller

“Eleanor Wandlass Miller.” Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/72872229/eleanor-miller: accessed 02 August 2023), memorial page for Eleanor Wandlas Miller (15 Dec 1915–5 Aug 2009), Find a Grave Memorial ID 72872229, citing Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, USA; Maintained by Pam Miller (contributor 47444452).

Eleanor Louise Wandlass Miller newspaper clipping on military service

“US Army Nurse.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 16 September 1942. p. 1.

Eleanor Wandlass Miller newspaper clipping

“With the Colors.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 24 April 1945. p. 7.

Eleanor W. Miller gravestone

“Eleanor W. Miller gravestone.” US Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Legacy Memorial. Retrieved: 2 August 2023. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/ELEANORWMILLER/F32B785

Notes:

  1. “Application for World War II Compensation.” Pennsylvania (State). World War II Veterans Compensation Applications, circa 1950s.
  2. “US Army Nurse.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 16 September 1942. p. 1.
  3. “Giardaville News.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 19 January 1943. p. 5. This article refers to Holabird Quarter Master Base.

4 & 5. “Wandlass-Miller.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 4 February 1944. p. 4.

  1. “Sick List Notes.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 30 March 1945. p. 7.

7 & 8. “With the Colors.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 24 April 1945. p. 7.

  1. “Application for World War II Compensation.” Pennsylvania (State). World War II Veterans Compensation Applications, circa 1950s. All of Wandlass Miller’s military paperwork states her birthdate as December 15, 1915.
  2. “Wandlass, baby girl.” Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Birth certificates, 1906–1913. This live, unnamed baby girl was born in May of 1913 and is the only birth certificate issued to Charles and Louise Wandlass for the birth of a daughter that can be found. By the age of “Nellie” in the 1920 census, she was born in 1911, and “Eleanor” in the 1930 census and the 1940 census was born in 1913 as the below notes on each census show. But in 1920 and 1930, the Wandlass’ have only one daughter. So when Eleanor Louise Wandlass was born becomes a little problematical.
  3. “Wandlass/Wundlas.” Year: 1920; Census Place: Girardville Middle Ward, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1650; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 37.
  4. “Wandlass.” Year: 1930; Census Place: Girardville, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0037; FHL microfilm: 2341879.
  5. Her educational career is documented over and over, such as in D 4,12,13 and 19.
  6. “Wandlas, Eleanor.” 1940; Census Place: Reading, Berks, Pennsylvania; Roll: m-t0627-03679; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 70-43.
  7. “US Army Nurse.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 16 September 1942. p. 1.
  8. “Application for World War II Compensation.” Pennsylvania (State). World War II Veterans Compensation Applications, circa 1950s.
  9. “Boys and Girls.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 4 October 1953. sec B. p. 4.
  10. “School Board Oks Changes in the Staff.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 26 July 1957. p. 2.
  11. “Dental Program Attracts Attention.” Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 18 January 1959. p. 1.
  12. “Nurses Attend Workshop at U.” Albuquerque Tribune. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 23 June 1961. sec. D p. 1.
  13. “Miller, Ira (Eleanor).” Polk´s Denver Suburban Directory, 1970.

22 & 23. “Miller, Ira Butler Miller.” Albuquerque Journal: Obituaries. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 22 October 1989. sec. C p. 8.

  1. “Eleanor Wandlass Miller.” Santa Fe New Mexican: Obituaries. Santa Fe, New Mexico. 7 August 2009. sec. C p. 2.

Compiled by: A. D. McLean, MA, MLIS. Central New Mexico Community College, retired 2022.

 

Featured Image:

“2nd Lieutenant Eleanor L. Wandlass.” Evening Herald. Pottsville, Pennsylvania. 16 September 1942. Retrieved: 2 August 2023.  https://www.newspapers.com/image/448244334