Female Might in the Medical Corps
By Woody Freeman
Mercedes LaVay Peebles
July 18, 1921 – July 24, 2019
Mercedes LaVay Peebles, Horan & McConaty.
Mercedes LaVay Peebles was born Mercedes LeVay Reichstein on July 18, 1921, in Kearney, Nebraska, to Eddie and Stella Reichstein.[1] Eddie Reichstein was born in Iowa and worked at a filling station (modern-day gas station) and by the 1940s, he would own the station.[2] Mercedes grew up with her brother, Robert, who was born four years after her in 1925. Mercedes attended high school in Kearney, Nebraska. After high school, Mercedes attended the Mary Lanning School of Nursing to get a degree in Nursing, which she would use for the rest of her life.[3] After the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese in 1941, the United States joined the Second World War; both Mercedes and her brother served in the war. Mercedes joined the United States Army and went into the Medical Corps, becoming an Army nurse. She would be deployed to the Pacific Theatre and would serve in Japan and the Philippines until 1946.[4] Meanwhile, her brother, Robert, was drafted into the US Navy in June of 1944, just before D-Day.[5] Mercedes, during her time in the US Army, would become a 1st Lieutenant, the second rank in the Commissioned Officer ranks. She was able to receive such a rank due to her university degree. The role of a Medical 1st Lieutenant is to oversee medical operations within an aid station as well as be a senior figure in the training and administration of new medical staff.[6] The rank of 1st Lieutenant was very senior within the Nurses Corps and was usually given to the Chief Nurse.[7] Signing up for the Medical Corps was common for women in the United States during the War, with about 75,000 women signing up for the Army and Navy Nurse Corps throughout the duration of the war.[8]
Both Mercedes and her brother would survive the war, with both of them moving to Boulder, Colorado after their service instead of moving back to Nebraska. Mercedes, continued to use the skills she learnt during her time in the Army and worked as a Surgical Nurse Supervisor at Boulder Memorial Hospital.[9] It is unknown whether she intended to join the US Army as a Nurse or whether it was the best course of action for somebody in the medical field at the time.
She would marry Commander John Denby Peebles, who had earned his rank through his service with the US Navy through World War Two and the Korean War onboard submarines.[10] On July 24th, 2019, at the age of 98, Mercedes LaVay Peebles passed away in Boulder, Colorado. She is now buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Colorado along with her husband.
Footnotes ↓
[1] “1930 United States Federal Census,” ancestry.com, entry for Mercedes Reichstein, accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/44080547?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a2275304d766f4e73507567554330706e3368722f367178426d356b37495a4b494b42746956365a6d65584f383d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[2] “1950 United States Federal Census,” ancestry.com, entry for Ed E. Reichstein, accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/44080387?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a22707532676f2f4c50743732796f754661614969654151393374654b3975395566792f712b5a30334e4737733d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[3] “Mercedes LaVay Reichstein Peebles (1921-2019),” Findagrave.com, accessed August 8, 2025, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/201783334/mercedes-lavay-peebles.
[4] Horan & McConaty, “Mercedes LaVay Peebles Obituary 2019 - Horan & McConaty Funeral Service and Cremation.”
[5] “U.S., Korean War Era Draft Cards, 1948-1959,” ancestry.com, entry for Robert Amiel Reichstein, accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/44081065?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a224a554b785350722f4a6951623159393635314d6e39624e73654645773878515835504647547a42324f52413d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[6] “The Army Nurse Corps | WW2 US Medical Research Centre,” Med-Dept.com, accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.med-dept.com/articles/the-army-nurse-corps/.
[7] “Army Nursing in World War II - Training and Rank,” accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.sarahsundin.com/army-nursing-in-world-war-ii-training-and-rank/.
[8] “The Army Nurse Corps | WW2 US Medical Research Centre.”
[9] Horan & McConaty, “Mercedes LaVay Peebles Obituary 2019 - Horan & McConaty Funeral Service and Cremation.”
[10] “U.S., Korean War Era Draft Cards, 1948-1959,” ancestry.com, entry for John D Peebles, accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/44081427?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a22732b5a496f49584650522b566d75506766484d304d36476830585a344c785a463933566f572b2b365a58673d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
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