History Center Honors National Nurses Week with Keynote Speaker

Des Plaines, IL-The Des Plaines History Center is proud to announce their next Coffee Talk speaker, Dr. Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi. She will address the History Center during National Nurses Week on Thursday, May 9 at 1:30pm. She will present the subject of her nonfiction book: "This is Really War: The Incredible True Story of a Navy Nurse POW in the Occupied Philippines."

Dr. Lucchesi will recount the experiences of Dorothy Still and her fellow Navy nurses, collectively known as The Twelve Anchors, who provided healthcare in the occupied Philippines during World War II.

According to Dr. Lucchesi: "Dorothy Still and the Twelve Anchors were incredibly resilient, strong, and selfless women. These women were humanity at its best. They maintained rank and nursed for more than three years in a civilian concentration camp, even though they were not required to do so. By liberation, these women weighed less than 100 pounds and all had their own ailments. They would stumble when walking through the infirmary and then try to joke about it for their patients' sake."

All are invited to come learn more about the positive and powerful legacy of Nurse Dorothy Still and the Twelve Anchors. Dr. Lucchesi is a historian and prolific contributor to publications such as the "Chicago Tribune", "Los Angeles Times," and "New York Times."

Attendance is free due to the generosity of Village Bank & Trust. $3.00 suggested donations are welcome. The History Center's Coffee Talk series began in the winter of 2003. It is an adult program meant to invite public participation and discussion on a broad range of historical topics per the History Center's mission.

The next Coffee Talk will feature Des Plaines History Center Curator of Collections Siobhan Heraty discussing: "Des Plaines Park District 100th Anniversary" on Thursday, June 13 at 1:30 p.m.