But there was something different about Frederick. His mannerisms, warmth, and obvious attraction to her all softened her guarded exterior. And Frederick was handsome, tall, and lean, with chiseled features. Elinor was twenty-three years old, after all, an age where a glorious-looking man, regardless of race or ethnicity, made her giddy and curious. She also felt a sense of justice at being desired by a German soldier, a member of the very group the U.S. military thought wouldn’t be interested in her, or any black nurse for that matter, hence their regular assignments at POW camps.

Frederick’s attraction demonstrated complete disregard for Jim Crow. And Elinor needed to see someone stand up against it. If kindness came from a soldier in Hitler’s army, Elinor decided, then she would welcome it. She would soon discover that a number of German prisoners were not the fascist bigots she had anticipated and, in fact, were friendlier to her than some of the local white people in Arizona, who were her fellow American citizens.

Gwyneth, as one of Elinor’s closest friends at Camp Florence, was also pleasantly surprised by the kindness of some of the German POWs. “They were always very nice to us, really,” she said. “I was never taught to hate anybody, and I didn’t even feel hate towards the Germans for the entire war or anything like that.” One of the prisoners made a wooden nameplate for her with “Gwyneth” etched into the surface—an endearing memento that she saved.2

Ora Hicks, during her time at Camp Florence, felt the POWs were grateful to receive her care. “They never called us names or nothing like that,” she said. Hicks thought many of the German prisoners were homesick and found comfort in talking to the nurses about themselves, their families, and their girlfriends. “When your life is at stake, you better be nice because we might be the one to save your life.”3 Ironically, the discrimination that many black nurses experienced came from white American officers, not POWs. Complaints of racism from black nurses were documented in several states across the country, but most happened in the Deep South and Southwest, where black nurses tended to be stationed.

“I was not naive regarding segregation and discrimination but going into a completely segregated situation was constantly a shock to me,” said Elinor years later. “I think I stayed angry most of my army career, even though the whole experience was interesting, maddening, frustrating and even fun.”4