97-year-old World War II nurse celebrated on International Nurses Day

WEST CHESTER, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- On International Nurses Day, to mark the occasion in West Chester, Chester County, a family honored a member of our Greatest Generation.

Agnes Speer, 97, is a truly remarkable woman. She's a resident of The Watermark at Bellingham.

Speer served as a nurse for the U.S. Army during World War II.

She's a true trailblazer, but like a true hero, she says she did what she had to do.

"To me, it was a vacation to be away from work and responsibility and bedpans," Speer said. "I got to climb poles. It was like summer camp."

Speer began her four decades-long nursing career as a member of the Army Nurse Corps.

She then treated wounded soldiers returning from WWII.

Speer has two sons, five grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.

"You were a nurse in the army," says her 7-year-old great-granddaughter Hillary. "That means a lot to our world."

Some of Speer's relatives saw her for the first time in a long time, to be on hand for this celebration.

And here's a fun fact: she treated comedian Red Skelton in the army.