Ruth Cowan Nash

Ruth Cowan Nash (June 15, 1901 – February 5, 1993) was an American woman war correspondent. She is famous for her coverage of World War II, during which she followed the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps and reported on major battles for the Associated Press.

Early life

Ruth Cowan Nash was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 15, 1901, the only child of parents William Henry and Ida (Baldwin) Cowan. Her father was a mining prospector who died in 1911, They were required by the government to live on the property in order to retain their homestead status, and they lived there for about two years trying to raise grapefruit and orange trees. When she enrolled in the Main Avenue High School, they found her to be an advanced student and allowed her to graduate high school in two years. While working doing work for the Houston Chronicle, Nash met Oveta Culp Hobby and they became fast friends. She continued to work at the San Antonio Evening News until 1929, during which time she covered the 1928 Democratic National Convention in Houston, Texas. She was accompanied by one other woman reporter, Inez Robb from the International News Service. She also covered the Battle of the Bulge. Nash covered the war without a break from 1943 to 1945, mixing hair dye in her helmet to keep her blonde hair neat. Many of her stories were about women and the war effort, but she also wrote about wounded soldiers, new medical treatments, and the effects of war on civilians.

Return to America and retirement

In April 1945, Nash was reassigned to AP's Washington Bureau, and after the war she covered the Pentagon, the House Armed Services Committee, and general military news until 1956. In 1956, she was forced to retire from AP, whose policy stated that women could not work after their 55th birthday. The compulsory retirement age for men at that time was 65.

Early into her forced retirement, Nash married Bradley De Lamater Nash, a Harvard University graduate and expert in government operations who had worked as the Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce. They moved together to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, where they owned High Acres Farm. Nash used her retirement to continue writing, this time working on her memoir about her experiences during the war. Her manuscript, titled Why Go to War?, was rejected by the publishing company she sent it to in 1946 due to the market's over-saturation with war books.

Ruth Nash was also an active member of the Republican Party, and from May 1957 to August 1958 she served as a public relations consultant for the Republican National Committee's women's division.

Beginning in September 1958, Nash served as the confidential administrative assistant to Bertha Adkins, the Under Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services). Also in 1958, Nash became a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS).

Both Nash and her husband Bradley Nash were active in their retirement, and Bradley Nash was the mayor of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia for many years. They donated portions of their land to the National Park Service in 1984 to create a wildlife preserve.

Death and legacy

Ruth Cowan Nash died on February 5, 1993, of respiratory arrest in her sleep. She was 91 years old. She had no children. Her papers are currently held at Schlesinger Library at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.