DOB/DOD: August 13, 1896 (Norwalk, CT) – February 9, 1978 (Mars, Wisconsin); 81 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married John Garritty [1889-1972] of Norwalk, Connecticut, on November 2, 1920
CHILDREN: Three daughters, Marian F. Garritty Stickley [1922-2011], Elizabeth “Betty” E. Garritty Buschmann [1925-2002], and Catherine T. Garritty Post [1928-1987]. One son, John E. [1924-2019].
LOCAL ADDRESS: 97 Rowayton Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut
FAMILY: Born to Franklin “Francis” P. [1853-1927] and Frances H. Guider Crockett [1860-1932]. Four brothers, Charles F. [1882-1955], Richard L. [1887-1902], Bayard S. [1893-1901], and Minot B. [1900-1962]. Two sisters, Elsie H. Crockett Thatcher [1888-1958] and Frances B. Crockett Vaughn Moesner [1902-1977].
SERVICE DATES: Served from April 1, 1918, to August 18, 1919. Assigned to the Base Hospital at Camp Meade, Maryland, from April 1, 1918, to May 23, 1918. Then, to a mobility station in New York City until June 19, 1918. Then to Military Hospital #2, Etretat, France, until April 26, 1919. Then to General Hospital #12, Dannes-Camiers, France, until discharge. Overseas from June 19, 1918, until April 16, 1919. Relieved from active duty on August 18, 1919.
Base Hospital #2, Etretat, France, Operating Room
The clipping is from an unknown newspaper, but likely The Norwalk Sentinel. It was found in a collection in the Norwalk History Room of the Norwalk Library.
ROWAYTON WOMAN ANSWERS THE CALL
Proud, indeed, is the Rowayton section of the city of Norwalk in being able to say that one of its young ladies, born and brought up in the community, realized the need for nurses and responded to the call, and is now in France doing all that is in her power to relieve the suffering of the boys from the U.S.A., as they are brought into military hospitals at Paris. She is Miss Marion Frances Crockett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Crockett of Rowayton Avenue, a registered nurse, having received her training at the New Haven School for Nurses in connection with the New Haven State Hospital. Miss Crockett, as a child, attended the public school here and later, in 1913, graduated from the Norwalk High School and, the following September, entered the New Haven training school. Of a pleasing personality and happy disposition, Miss Crockett was well-liked and made many friends wherever she went. After she graduated from the school, she practiced her profession in the Elm City. Last April, when the call came in for nurses for the cantonments, Miss Crockett, realizing the great need and wishing to do all she could to ameliorate the sufferings of our boys, enlisted in the American Red Cross and was sent to Camp Meade, near Annapolis, Maryland, where she worked in the base hospital for five or six weeks. About the middle of June, when the call for trained nurses for overseas duty came, Miss Crockett joined the Army Nurses’ Corps and, in a few weeks, sailed across the ocean and is now in active service with the American Expeditionary Forces in a military hospital in France. The following is a portion of a letter received from their daughter by Mr. and Mrs. Crockett and will doubtless prove interesting to her many friends here, who are happy to know that she is doing her bit for the country.
Paris, July 1
On Active Service, A.E.F.
Dear Mother and Father:
Just a few words at present to let you know we are assigned and settled down to work. This is the first day on real duty, except for a couple of nights on duty where we were last staying temporarily, and all I can say is that the war is terrible, and I have seen comparatively nothing of it yet. We are situated nicely and, no doubt will enjoy our work at least as much as can be expected under the circumstances. We are living in a hotel only a few blocks from our work.
July 18, 1918
As I did not send the letter on the 15th will add a few lines more and send it out tomorrow. The last two days have been busy ones, lots of work and no off-duty, but we are glad to do all we can for our boys, so don’t mind it. When I see the amount of dressings they use here, it seems good to know that at least the greater part of them are made by our women at home. We have a few French patients on my floors, and I have great fun trying to talk to them. Sometimes, I succeed in making them understand, but mostly I do not. The aids here, untrained nurses, are a great help to us, and I don’t know what we would do without some of them.
From The Norwalk Hour February 20, 1919
Miss Marion Crockett, who is a nurse at a hospital in Paris, writes that she is very busy and does not know just when she will be able to leave for home. She is anxious to get back home once more.
From The Marshfield (Wisconsin) News-Herald February 10, 1978
Mrs. Marion Garritty, 82, of 635 Langlad Road in Antigo, died at 10 p.m. Thursday in St. Joseph’s Hospital; she was admitted on January 31.
Honored on the Rowayton Veterans Memorial, 169 Rowayton Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut.
Marion Crockett Garritty is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, W9651 Forrest Avenue, Antigo, Wisconsin; Block 9, Lot 50, Space 3.
END
Honor Norwalk CT veterans 