Editors note: The late Ann Deluchie Jarocki of Farrell served as a WW II nurse. Though she passed away in May, this story was mainly compiled by using audio tapes she contributed to the Mercer County Historical Society. Family members contributed photos of her during her tour overseas. This is part of an ongoing occasional series of local World War II veterans.

"So I volunteered."

Ann (Deluchie) Jarocki repeated that phrase many times when she talked about being an Army nurse during World War II. In fact, those words describe her whole life.

"I went into nursing with this great humanitarian feeling," she said. "I was going to aid suffering humanity."

She graduated from Farrell High School in 1936. After earning her nursing certificate in 1939, she worked in hospitals in Sharon and Warren, Ohio. She joined the Red Cross "because they would send nurses to flood areas and hurricanes and tornadoes and I always wanted adventures."

In 1941, the United States was preparing for war. Ann received a letter asking if she would care to join the Army. She jumped at the chance, despite strong objections from her family. She was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to Camp Lee in Virginia.

Her first assignment was to a huge ward. "It was one big room, with about 10 beds on each side ... It was a far cry from what I was used to in the civilian hospital."

Before long the Army asked for volunteers to transfer to Fort Benning, Ga. The hospital there was larger, with more seriously ill patients. As an officer, Lt. Deluchie worked hard but thoroughly enjoyed the facilities, such as a beautiful officers club with a swimming pool.

Then came the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

"I will never forget December 7th, 1941. That Sunday afternoon we were watching a polo game. Everyone had to go back to their barracks, and we went into a sort of war-like atmosphere."

Very soon, the nurses were asked to volunteer for overseas service. Of course, Lt Deluchie was among the first. In February, 1942, she found herself on her way New York City. When the nurses arrived there, the Army didn't even have complete uniforms for them. They had to buy their own dark blue skirt, black oxfords, and stockings.

"We enjoyed our week in New York City. I felt like a hick and probably was -- going to the big city, standing in Times Square, watching all the people and the lights. We went shopping, to theaters, they gave us tickets to go to broadcasts. It was a fascinating, exciting time."

They departed on March 1, 1942, in a 17-ship convoy without knowing where they were headed. The trip was a strange mixture of contradictory elements. On the one hand, there was the constant awareness that they in a war -- for which they weren't fully prepared.

"We were so naïve. They had put guns on the ships, with turrets all around, and we would watch them practice every day. They couldn't hit the side of a barn if they were in it ... You had to carry your life vest with you. Some of us would even hesitate getting undressed at night because we had this great fear that maybe we were going to be hit by the enemy."

On the other hand, there were touches of elegance. The ship had been a luxury liner, and the officers ate in the dining room.

"We sat at round tables with a tablecloth and china and silver. We were waited on by bus boys in white jackets. An orchestra played for us while we had dinner."

When they arrived at the Panama Canal, they knew they were going to the Pacific rather than Europe. Six weeks later they were setting up hospitals on the northeastern coast of Australia. The enemy had already occupied most of New Guinea, which is less than 100 miles to the north. Casualties were flown in to these hospitals, where they were cared for or sent home.

Then, as U.S. forces advanced, Lt. Deluchie volunteered for transfer to a hospital on New Guinea.

"Those were the frightening days, those were the days of the air raids, and those were the days when we made our big sacrifices."

In such a situation, even beautiful things had a sinister edge.

"The moon was so bright that when we were on night duty we would sit outside the tent and we would be able to make our notes out there. I never saw such a beautiful moon in all my life." But because it was so brilliant, it made targets easily visible for air raids, so they called the Bombers' Moon.

The troops dug trenches to provide protection during air raids. "One night there was an air raid and we all ran to the trench. There was this huge gila monster in it. We didn't jump in. We just huddled together for safety."

The tension was relieved occasionally by visits from celebrities, such as Joe E. Brown, Gary Cooper, and Bob Hope. And the troops did what they could to provide entertainment for themselves. Once Lt. Deluchie was recruited along with two other nurses to sing in a USO show.

"We rehearsed and traveled to units in the area. We were a rousing success! We may not have been the Andrews sisters, but we were American nurses."

After 2è years in Australia and New Guinea, Lt. Deluchie was discharged from the Army. She regretted leaving the people she had come to know so well.

"You go overseas and you have nothing to hold your friendships together but yourselves. Nobody had a better car than you did, nobody dressed any better than you did. The friendships that I made then were everlasting friendships."

Return from the war didn't mean an end to volunteering -- or to forming friendships. She was involved in the Mercer County Association of the Retarded for many years, serving as its first president, as well as a member of many committees.

Her obituary on May 12 of this year listed some of the ways she truly did aid suffering humanity: An ardent volunteer, Mrs. Jarocki did blood pressure screenings at various locations in the Shenango Valley; was a "Polio Volunteer" in 1954 with Dr. Jonas Salk, administering vaccinations and medications to control polio; was a school aide at Monsignor Geno Monti Elementary School, Farrell; and was a camp nurse for many years at Camp Ah-Tol-Anac, Union City, Pa., as well as at Camp Crestview, Slippery Rock, both summer camps for the mentally challenged.