Legacy of WWII Navy Nurse Carol “Connie” Anna McGee

Our hearts and sympathy go out to the family and friends of Carol “Connie” Anna McGee who passed away at the Northern Nevada State Veterans Home last month. She was 104 years old. Carol lived a full and amazing life. She leaves behind a legacy of selfless service in the military and was a devoted wife and mother of three children. The nickname “Connie” came about during her service in the military because her maiden name was Conrad. In the military, last names become first names!

Carol was a trailblazer. Following her graduation from Park Avenue High School in Cleveland, Ohio in 1939, her older brother talked her into learning Morse code. Turned out she not only liked it but excelled at it. This new skill helped her pass the test to obtain her amateur Ham radio license. She was the only woman present when taking the test. When she told her brother she passed the test, he went down the next day to take it but failed. She described him as being “mad as a hornet.” Her call sign was W8UCY.

It was during this time Carol began her training as a Registered Nurse. A couple of years into it, the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred prompting her to decide to join the military upon graduation. She ended up in the U.S. Navy where she served stateside at the Naval Hospitals in Portsmouth, Virginia; Bainbridge, Maryland; and Cherry Point, North Carolina.

It was in Cherry Point she ended her military service when the war ended. It was there she also met her husband, John, who was a military pilot who spent a year in the hospital after being injured during a training exercise.

Carol began serving in the Navy starting at age 23. The war ended when she was 25 years old and remembers being thanked for her service and having two weeks to move on to the next chapter. In 1946, she and John were married.

John was called back into military service during the Korean War. He and Carol were stationed in Florida and Texas. When the war ended, the couple moved to Cupertino, California from 1956 through 1974. They moved to Reno in 1974 where they raised their children and spent their lives together.

Carol was the first of seven residents to call the Northern Nevada State Veterans Home (NNSVH) their Home. The NNSVH opened its doors in the summer of 2019. Carol’s faith played a big role in her life. She was a member of the South Reno Baptist Church. She was interred at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in November 2024.