On the Field of Honor. Historical research in memory of Italian male nurses who died in the First World War

Abstract

Several Italian male nurses employed at the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan were among the dead during First World War. This paper investigates whether and in which way these people are remembered. In addition the authors draw a picture of the nursing profession as it were in the early Twentieth Century in Italy. The administrative documentation of 127 male nurses on duty at the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan and called to arms between 1915 and 1918 was examined. The documents were found in the historical archive of the Ospedale Maggiore from July 2015 to March 2016 and analyzed using the method of historical research according to Chabod (2012). Documents that witnessed the death of 5 male nurses during the war were found. These people were praised for their courage, self-sacrifice and commitment in attending the sick and the wounded. The hospital community arranged to devolve a sum of money to their families in sign of gratitude and commemorated them by engraving their names in a marble monument. Many memories of civilian male nurses in the years 1915-1918 emerged from this investigation, and the professional identity of nurses in the 1920s emerged quite clearly. The participation of male nurses in the First World War, in conjunction with the recurrence of its centenary, could be further deepened.