Last updated: August 25, 2026
Person
Eddins, Grace Truman
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Significance:
Lieutenant Colonel Army Nurse Corps WWII & Korea
Place of Birth:
Davidson County, Tennessee
Date of Birth:
April 4th, 1910
Place of Death:
Nashville, Tennessee
Date of Death:
December 25th, 1973
Place of Burial:
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Cemetery Name:
Stones River National Cemetery
William M. Eddins and Julia McWhirter Eddins welcomed their daughter, Grace Truman Eddins, into the world on April 4, 1910, while living in Davidson County, Tennessee. She was the second born of what would eventually become a family of six. According to the 1920 United States Census, the family of six lost William and one of Grace’s infant siblings. Grace, her mother, and her two surviving siblings moved to Wilson County, Tennessee, where they lived with Grace’s grandfather, Jim McWhirter.
By the early 1930s, Grace had completed high school and was working as a ruler at a rayon mill, operating measuring machinery. She pursued nursing at Nashville General Hospital, earning her degree before enlisting in the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) on July 13, 1936, as a Second Lieutenant. The ANC played a crucial role in providing medical support under combat conditions, offering women an opportunity to help support the war effort abroad.
As global tensions escalated toward World War II, Grace’s career shifted into active wartime service. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States formally entered the conflict, and in April 1942, Grace was assigned overseas. During this period, she earned a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service while providing combat care. She continued to serve throughout the war, receiving a second promotion to captain on August 12, 1946. Grace was honorably discharged later that year on December 3.
After World War II, Grace moved to Shiloh Valley in St. Clair County, Illinois, and continued her work in medicine. Military records show that she began a residence at Post Hospital Scott Field on October 17, 1947, remaining connected to the Army Nurse Corps in her role as captain.
When war broke out in Korea, Grace again answered the nation’s call. She reenlisted in the ANC on April 11, 1951, and was sent overseas to provide urgent medical care to soldiers on the front lines. She remained in Korea for much of the conflict and was promoted to major on December 3, 1953.
In the 1950 U.S. Census, Grace’s home of record was Camp Campbell in Christian County, Kentucky. Her career advanced steadily, culminating in her promotion to lieutenant colonel on August 27, 1958. In the years that followed, Lt. Col. Eddins served as chief nurse at the U.S. Military Academy, worked at Walter Reed Army Hospital, and later served at Tripler General Hospital in Hawai'i. Throughout her service she earned several distinctions. In addition to her Bronze Star, Grace earned the Army Commendation Medal and the Distinguished Service Medal. Throughout her service, she remained active in the American Legion and the Tennessee Nurse Association. On August 31, 1963, she retired from military service after 27 years of dedication and lifesaving work.
As noted in her obituary in The Tennessean, Grace followed a long legacy of military service that included her great-grandfather, Sgt. Lewis Whitfield Westbrook, who was killed at Gettysburg, and several ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War.
Grace Truman Eddins died on December 25, 1973, at age 63, in Baptist Hospital in Nashville. Though she had no immediate survivors, her story endures through the Stories of Service and Sacrifice initiative.
Grace T. Eddins is honored as one of the few female veterans buried at Stones River National Cemetery, where she was laid to rest in plot T-7099.