Cordelia E Cook

Cordelia Elizabeth Cook (March 17, 1919 – June 19, 1996) was an American combat nurse in the United States Army Nurse Corps during World War II. She was the first woman to receive both the Bronze Star Medal award and the Purple Heart.

Early life Cook was born on March 17, 1919, in Fort Thomas Kentucky. Her father was Louis Cook, chief of police in Fort Thomas. She went by the name "Betty".

Cook graduated from Highlands High School in Fort Thomas.

Soon afterwards, she was wounded by shrapnel when the Germans bombed the hospital. As a result, she received a Purple Heart. She was the first women to received both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

After recovering from her injuries, she was stationed with General Patche's Seventh Army.

After the war, Cook was a nurse at the Doctors Hospital North in Columbus, Ohio for 28 years.

Personal life Cook married Harold E. Fillmore, a U.S. Army captain, in Camp Carson, Colorado, in March 1943. Cook and Fillmore met in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, before the war. The couple had a daughter and two sons.

Cook died on June 19, 1996, in Upper Arlington, Ohio. She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Southgate, Kentucky.