IU’s 'lost daughters' added to Golden Book

In February 1918, Flora Ruth and five other female students joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps.

She would be the only one not to return.

Ruth was born July 30, 1893 in Indianapolis. She earned her bachelor’s degree at IU in 1915 and a nursing degree in 1918.

Ruth is one of 29 women who will be added to IU’s Golden Book today as part of the University’s efforts to commemorate Veterans Day.

The names will be read at a ceremony that begins at 11:30 a.m., outside the Memorial Room in the Indiana Memorial Union.

IU’s Golden Book has been housed in the IMU Memorial Room since 1961. It lists the names of more than 14,435 students who served in wars from 1812 to the end of World War II.

John Summerlot, a doctoral candidate in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program, discovered the 29 names while working on a research project.

He said he realized that when the book was dedicated in the early 1930s, former University President William Lowe Bryan said the book was for the “sons and daughters” of IU.

However, there were not any women listed in the book at the time of the dedication.
In his research, Summerlot realized that the names, which include Flora Ruth and her classmates, were never added due to an administrative oversight.

“To have overlooked her and the other women just really seemed far out,” Summerlot said. “It seemed really strange to me. William Lowe Bryan’s statements clearly indicate that they thought they were going to be in here.”

Director of Veteran Support Services Margaret Baechtold said it was important to include the names to correct a wrong in the University’s long history of military support and involvement.

“There was an intention to record their names, but it never got done,” she said. “Based on his research, this is a group we call the Lost Daughters.”

Before women were officially allowed to work as part of the armed forces, the different branches would contract them so they would be “with the army” rather than “in the army,” Summerlot said. Because of this, the women were unable to receive full veterans’ benefits, Summerlot said.

In 1978, Congress retroactively granted the women of World War I their benefits and declared their status as veterans.

Ruth, who died of appendicitis while working at Camp Pike in Arkansas in 1918, is the only one of the Lost Daughters to be added to the Gold Star section, which provides a small biography for all those who gave their lives in service.

Baechtold said Ruth and the 28 others will not formally be added to the book until later, but the office wanted to compile a list to honor the women during the Veterans Day ceremony.

IU was a leader in early military science electives and was a pioneer of inclusion of women in its programs, Baechtold said. 

It was one of the first schools in the nation other than a military academy to offer a military science elective, beginning in 1840.

“The early involvement of women is pretty fascinating,” he said. “We had women involved in military science in the 1920s.”

Baechtold pointed to the inscription on the seal on the floor of the Memorial Room that reads, “In memory of the sons and daughters of Indiana University who have served in the wars of the Republic.”

Construction on the IMU, the home of the Golden Book, began in 1931.

The building was formally dedicated at commencement on June 13, 1932, to the men and women who had served in the armed forces.

“Interesting that all of these memorials were clearly designed to include both men and women,” Baechtold said. “We know that there was a definite intent to be inclusive.”

Starting today, the Office of Veterans Support Services will begin accepting names of former or current students that have served in the armed forces since 1945.

A form will be available via the office’s website that will allow for those interested to enter their information and submit it to the office for inclusion.

Adding the names to the Golden Book will further strengthen the University’s military history, Summerlot said.

“I think it honors a piece of the University history that so few people know about, but when they hear about it, they’re fascinated by it,” Summerlot said.

“I think it helps cement in people’s minds that IU really is this great, historic institution with all these great pieces to it, and at the same time there’s a great story that’s there behind it.”

Follow reporter Holly Hays on Twitter @hv_hays.