Courage in Care: Emma Pullen’s Journey as an Air Force Nurse
Emma Pullen, the firstborn of five, was born August 24, 1937, in Boston, Georgia, where she spent most of her childhood on the family farm. She remembers days filled with driving the tractor, milking the cows, picking cotton and hay and going to school. Just before starting high school, her father became sick and was no longer able to farm, so the family decided to pack up and move to Rome, Georgia where her aunt lived. She enrolled in Armuchee High School and graduated as Valedictorian of the Class of 1955. From there, Emma attended college at Georgia Baptist Nursing School, and at just 21 years old, she was ready to begin her service as a nurse.
Emma shares, “I had always known I wanted to be a nurse growing up. When we were kids, we would pretend to be soldiers at war during recess, and I was always the nurse who took care of those who were injured.”
Emma started her career in the nursery at Floyd Medical Center, then moved to work as Head Nurse at Berry College. On a three-week camping trip in California with her father, Emma realized she wanted to live there, so she eventually moved to Malibu to work at Santa Monica Hospital. From there she moved to Portland, Oregon to work at the VA Hospital.
At the age of 26 in 1965, Emma joined the Air Force as a First Lieutenant and went to Texas for basic training. She was stationed at Otis Air Force Base in Cape Cod. In 1967, one of Emma’s fellow nurses was given notice that she was being transferred to Karamürsel, Turkey, and she came upon her crying because she had just gotten engaged. Emma went to the Chief Nurse and asked if she could take her assignment, even though it would extend her enlistment for six months as it was an 18-month assignment. While in Turkey, Emma worked at the dispensary where she dispensed medications, medical supplies and helped take care of servicemen and their families on base. While there, she was able to take a cruise on the Black Sea with stops in Lebanon and Cyprus.
After her tour of active duty, Emma joined the Air Force Reserves. She flew Air Vac (air evacuation) over Europe, where she helped provide medical transportation to ensure access to emergency healthcare for remote community members.
One of Emma’s most memorable jobs, however, was working as a personal nurse for Jack Lemmon’s (of Grumpy Old Men) daughter in 1971. She lived with them in Beverly Hills. Emma recalls, “I remember one trip to New York for two weeks while he was filming a TV special with Fred Astaire. When we wanted to go somewhere, he would send the limousine back to pick us up.”
In 1974, Emma made her way back to Rome. Around 1977, she started falling, so she underwent MRI’s, x-rays and even spinal taps, but she was simply diagnosed with spasms of mini-muscles. In 1978, she became wheelchair-bound, but she continued to work as Director of Nursing at Riverview Nursing Home. In 1990, she saw a neurologist who finally diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis. She retired in 1991, due to no longer being able to drive, but she has never let the diagnosis slow her down.
Emma made Renaissance Marquis her home in 2014. Her hobbies are reading, sewing and playing Bingo with the other residents. Emma is an amazing woman, a true hero, and we are honored to have her as a part of the Renaissance family!
