Augusta shewey world war 2 nurse training

Augusta Chiwy was a nurse from Belgian Congo who displayed great courage and compassion during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Her remarkable story didn’t come to light until 2007.

Early life

On June 6, 1921 in the village of Mubavu in the Belgian Congo (now part of Burundi), a baby girl was born and given the name Augusta Marie Chiwy.

Augusta shewey world war 2 nurse training center

The name of her mother, a Congolese woman, is unrecorded. Her father Henri Chiwy was a Belgian veterinarian. Augusta was one of thousands of biracial children fathered by Belgian men working in Africa during Belgium’s colonial era.

When Augusta was nine years old, her father returned to his hometown of Bastogne in Belgium, and brought his daughter with him.

In Bastogne, Augusta was cared for by her father and his sister, whom Augusta called “Mama Caroline.” She attended a Catholic boarding school near her home where she was described as bright, ambitious and popular.

She was also petite, measuring just 152 cm. At the age of 19 Augusta deci