Helen Burrey was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in 1892. She was of Irish and Alsace-Lorraine ancestry. She had eight brothers and sisters, only two of which survived into adulthood. When she was fourteen, she began work at a department store in Pittsburgh called Pogues. Then, later on, she left her job at the department store to attend nursing school at St. Francis Hospital.
When World War I broke out in 1914, Helen was 22 years old. She graduated from St Francis Hospital and volunteered as an army nurse. She was one of the first nurses to be sent to France where she would work on a hospital troop train. She was one of the first three nurses assigned to work on hospital trains of the American Expeditionary Forces. She was a reserve nurse of the Army Nurse Corps and a member of the nursing staff at a United States Army Base Hospitals located in Angers, France.
The Base Hospital received their first official order to provide army nurses for this service on July 14, 1917. Before then, Medical Corps attached to the trains had cared f or the wounded. Helen was assigned to a Hospital train along with two other army nurses: Edna Cooper and Grace O Donnell. They were told to leave the next day and board the train which would be stationed at Port Boulet, France. They arrived at Port Boulet the next day, July 15, and met Captain Goodwin, the commanding officer. They were to remain on with the train for five months.
When World War I broke out in 1914, Helen was 22 years old. She graduated from St Francis Hospital and volunteered as an army nurse. She was one of the first nurses to be sent to France where she would work on a hospital troop train. She was one of the first three nurses assigned to work on hospital trains of the American Expeditionary Forces. She was a reserve nurse of the Army Nurse Corps and a member of the nursing staff at a United States Army Base Hospitals located in Angers, France.
The Base Hospital received their first official order to provide army nurses for this service on July 14, 1917. Before then, Medical Corps attached to the trains had cared f or the wounded. Helen was assigned to a Hospital train along with two other army nurses: Edna Cooper and Grace O Donnell. They were told to leave the next day and board the train which would be stationed at Port Boulet, France. They arrived at Port Boulet the next day, July 15, and met Captain Goodwin, the commanding officer. They were to remain on with the train for five months.
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