Anna (Danyo) Willgrube (1912 - 2001)

Born 14 May 1912 in Jermyn, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania, United States

Wife of Wayne Wright Willgrube — married 1967 in Pennsylvania, United States

Died 25 Sep 2001 at age 89 in Jermyn, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania, United States

Biography

Anna Danyo was an operating room nurse on the USS Solace. She was stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked.

Anna Danyo was born in Jermyn, Pennsylvania on 14 May 1912 to Andrew Danyo and Mary Lasichak.^[1] 18 months after enlisting in the Nurse Navy Corps, she was delighted to get what she thought would be an easy job on the USS Solace. The ship set sail for Pearl Harbor and docked near battleships in October 1941.

Less than 2 months later, she was awakened by an explosion. She looked out of the porthole in her room to see smoke coming from the USS Arizona. Over 130 injured survivors, more than 70% of whom were burn victims, were brought on board throughout the day. Medical staff continued to work as the ship shook from the bombs and gunfire.

When Danyo first enlisted, nurses did not have rank. In 1942, nurses received relative rank, and in 1947 they were classified under the same rank and privileges as other officers. She remained in the military for 27 years, having worked her way up to the rank of Commander.^[2] She married retired Medical Services Corps Commander Wayne Wright Willgrube in 1967.^[3] He had also served on the USS Solace during Pearl Harbor.

Danyo was a private person. Her brother didn't even know she had been at Pearl Harbor until 40 years after the fact, when he discovered a letter detailing her experiences.^[2] She died in 2001 and is buried at Saint Michaels Russian Orthodox Cemetery in Jermyn, Pennsylvania.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1906-1914 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Accessed on 21 October 2023 via Ancestry.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Pearl Harbor Nurses." Pearl Harbor Warbirds. Accessed on 21 October 2023 via https://pearlharborwarbirds.com/pearl-harbor-nurses/.
3. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2020. Accessed 21 October 2023 via Ancestry.
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/255355174/anna-willgrube: accessed 21 October 2023), memorial page for CDR Anna Danyo Willgrube (unknown–25 Sep 2001), Find a Grave Memorial ID 255355174, citing Saint Michaels Russian Orthodox Cemetery, Jermyn, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by William Maroney (contributor 50872812).

See also:

• Female Military Nurses of Pearl Harbor Remembered by Family
  
• "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH3L-C59 : Wed Oct 04 10:13:27 UTC 2023), Entry for Andrew Danyo and Mary Danyo, 1930.
• "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XB5-NPBX : Fri Oct 06 07:06:11 UTC 2023), Entry for Mary Danyo and Anna Danyo, 10 April 1950.