Montana
Montana’s forgotten ‘Silver Star’: WWI combat nurse finally gets her due … 106 years later • Daily Montanan
The dog tags of Elizabeth D. Sandelius (Photo courtesy of Ed Saunders).
This Veterans Day will be a little different than the others for Elizabeth Dorothy “Sandy” Sandelius.
Even though she died decades ago, after living what her family describes as a full life mostly spent in California, the Montana-native and World War I hero — and her family — can now say: She has a Silver Star, a medal awarded to those who served heroically during combat.
As one of many Montana women who answered the military’s call for service during World War I as a trained nurse with the Red Cross, Sandelius shipped overseas, volunteered for combat duty, and served on front-line hospitals, nearly losing her life several times. She returned to America with little fanfare and got married to a man whom she secretly wed before deploying, both never knowing if they’d see each other again.
They did. And they raised a family. But even that family, who knew her simply as “Granny,” had no idea that among the records of battlefield heroics, she stood out. According to her relatives, she never recounted her experiences of the field hospital or the wounded.
It was a decade-long journey by one of Montana’s best contemporary historians that culminated in a small ceremony in Los Angeles last year, where Sandelius was awarded the honor, even though many nurses during the “Great War” never got the same recognition as their male military counterparts.
In fact, in what may be a cruel historic irony: Sandelius’ name may have been more remembered had she been killed in action rather than just serving in it. The names of the fallen dead were remembered, often chiseled in the stone of memorials and written in the books of military history.
However, Sandelius’ story follows a common trajectory: Small town girl who becomes a nurse, only to have the country enter into a great global war. Edward Saunders, who has done extensive history of Montana women in the military, especially during the first half of the twentieth century in his book, “Knapsacks and Roses,” said when America entered into the war, there were more nurses in Montana than the military, which only had about 400 (at the time, there were 500 in the Treasure State). The Department of War would send out a call for more than 14,000.
Sandelius answered that call, not once, but three times. She volunteered to be a nurse for the military; she volunteered to go to overseas; and then she volunteered to go to the front lines. None of those things were required.
But it would be her service on the battlefield, in a field hospital that wasn’t much more than a tent, during some of the most intense fighting where she caught the notice of the commanders.
In July and August 1918, Sandelius was assigned to the U.S. 28th Division, which was helping the French infantry stave off German attacks, including those with lethal gas. During the Oise-Ainse offensive and the Second Battle of the Marne, the 28th sustained more than 14,000 casualties.
Sandelius was assigned to Field Hospital 112, near Cohan, about 60 miles from Paris. Saunders recounts that the tented field hospital would receive more than 5,000 wounded and perform more than 200 surgeries.
But on Aug. 10, the Germans stepped up the attacks, and the field hospital was caught.
Even after military commanders had ordered the nurses to withdraw to three miles, Sandelius refused to leave the side of the injured and sick.
“For eight consecutive days and nights, she stayed with her patients, enduring enemy artillery and aerial bombardment in dire and deadly conditions,” Saunders wrote.
Her life could have ended in a multitude of ways during those harrowing hours, but two coincidences should have killed her. Both times, a German warplane — military aviation was still in its infancy — dropped a bomb near the tented hospital, only to have them both fail to explode. One landed approximately 15 feet from her.
While she would survive on a combination of luck and steely determination, Sandelius and other nurses would stay on long after the war’s end on Nov. 11, 1918, helping to care for the sick and wounded.
She returned to the United States in 1919, alive and with little other fanfare. Few even know that she and her husband, Stillwater County soldier C.B. Benbow, had fallen madly in love just prior to entering into the war. Not knowing where they’d end up, or if either would make it out of the worldwide conflict alive, they secretly wed two weeks before she left.
The marriage had to be done secretly, or she’d likely not be accepted for the war effort. On all of her war records, including her dog tags, she remained Elizabeth D. Sandelius, No. 12660, of the American Expeditionary Forces.
In reality, she was Elizabeth D. Benbow.
After the war, she returned to her husband, C.B., who was trained as an early aviation pilot, but never left the states during the war. Sandelius died in May 1983, never knowing her battlefield legacy would be remembered. She was buried in Los Angeles’ National Cemetery.
It was Saunders, while researching his book about Montana women and their involvement in World War I, who discovered Sandelius’ story.
“From the centennial of World War One about 10 years go, I first met her in the dusty archives of the Montana state library among many records of Montana women who went to war in 1917,” Saunders said. “As I looked at Elizabeth’s service record in war-torn France, I couldn’t help but think, ‘This gal was in some bad stuff.’ I wanted to find more about her. My walk with her began.”
His inspiration would lead him to research more of her life, and he believed that U.S. military officials had overlooked awards that she more than deserved.
It took nearly a decade of research and a writing campaign. Saunders was able to track down the grandchildren of Sandelius, themselves old enough to be grandparents. They were shocked to learn about “Granny’s” history, and proud that their grandmother, whom they remembered warmly, was also a hero.
They offered letters of support in Saunders’ campaign to earn her recognition, including sending Sandelius’ dog-tags and photos. And they were shocked when the U.S. Army accepted their case for Sandelius receiving the Silver Star.
Saunders, a retired Army colonel who served in combat himself, remembers calling the family when the letter from the U.S. Army arrived.
“We both had tears in our eyes,” Saunders said.
Sandelius was among the first four American servicewomen in the American military history, all WWI Army Nurse Corps nurse, to have been awarded the Silver Star medal for valor in combat.
“The greatest tragedy that can befall an American serviceman — or woman — is not that they may be killed in action, that’s the greatest sacrifice. The greatest tragedy is they may be forgotten: Forgotten in life and forgotten in death by the very same nation they — and I — swore and oath to defend, even at the cost of our lives,” Saunders said. “In the words of the ancient Greeks, Elizabeth helped make gentle the horror which mankind often inflicts upon itself.”
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It’s the talk of the town this week — powerful winds ripped the roof off Lincoln Elementary School on Sunday, leaving students, teachers, and residents in shock.
The incident has sparked concern among homeowners who are now worried about how such weather damage could impact their own homes—and what their insurance would cover.
According to Tauna Locatelli, owner of Advantage Insurance, most insurance policies have a set deductible for things like fire or theft, but wind and hail damage deductibles are often much higher, or even based on a percentage of a property’s value.
Quentin Shores reports – watch the video here:
Wind damage highlights insurance challenges for Montana homeowners
“Right now our industry is going through a really challenging time, especially when it comes to wind and hail in Montana. Several carriers are going to a standard ‘all peril’ deductible for everything other than wind and hail. So, it could be $1,000 for all but wind and hail, $2,500 wind and hail,” Locatelli explained.
A deductible is the amount homeowners must pay before insurance covers the rest. For wind and hail, that deductible can be steep.
“Some companies are going 1 or 2% of a coverage value, so that’s the building value. If it’s insured for $500,000 and you have a 1% deductible, you’re looking at a $5,000 deductible for wind and hail, which is what we get in Montana,” Locatelli said.
It’s important for homeowners to know their deductible—if repairs cost less than the deductible, insurance won’t pay anything.
Filing small claims can also impact your rates; Locatelli said, “Because if you have a $3,000 patch job claim and you have a $5,000 deductible, you really don’t want to file that because you’re not going to get anything in. That claim is going to follow your insurance record for five years.”
Age of property factors in as well. If you have an older roof, insurance may not fully cover its replacement.
“You’ve now lived half the roof life. Well, insurance is about indemnity and putting you back in the same condition you were in before the loss. You can’t put a 16-year-old roof on a home, so at 16 years, they’ll now pay 50% of that roof instead of 100% because it’s already lived half of its life. And then it drops each year as it goes by,” Locatelli added.
The bottom line: Keep your property maintained, review your insurance policy, and think carefully before filing a claim—especially as Montana faces more intense weather.
HELENA — On Monday, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter to the City of Helena claiming the municipality is not in compliance with the state’s law banning “sanctuary cities.” The letter comes just under a month after the State of Montana launched an investigation into a city resolution on Helena Police policy and Helena’s involvement in federal immigration enforcement.
In the letter, Knudsen laid out the ways he believes the city’s resolution violated state law. The attorney general gave Helena 15 days to respond or reverse the policy. If the city does not comply, his office will pursue legal action.
“Helena’s resolution appears to contain blatant violations of this law,” wrote Knudsen.
MTN News
On January 26, 2026, the City of Helena adopted a resolution clarifying when and how the Helena Police Department will cooperate with federal immigration officials. The vote was 4 to 1. The Helena commission seats and the mayor are elected in non-partisan races.
In the letter, Knudsen alleges the resolution established “a broad sanctuary city policy” that seeks to protect every illegal immigrant, regardless of whether the individual had committed a serious crime or not. The state further claims the resolution gives illegal immigrants “special privileges” in plea deals and establishes a “free-for-all policy” where a police officer can request the unmasking of Department of Homeland Security and ICE officers.
Knudsen has requested that the City of Helena, in their response, specifically describe in detail how the resolution complies with Montana law, provide emails and correspondence from city staff and the commission regarding the resolution.
Helena City manager Alana Lake told MTN in a statement: “The City of Helena is aware of the issues being raised by the Attorney General’s Office and is reviewing the matter. While we cannot discuss the details of a potential legal issue, the City is committed to transparency and compliance with the law. The City takes these matters seriously and will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities while remaining focused on serving our community.”
MTN News 
Passed in 2021, Montana House Bill 200 prohibits a state agency or local government from implementing any policy that prevents employees or departments from communicating with federal agencies regarding immigration or citizenship status for lawful purposes. It also states governments must comply with immigration detainer requests if they are lawfully made.
HB 200 was backed by Republicans and passed with only Republican votes. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the legislation into law on March 31, 2021.
Passage of the resolution by the Helena City Commission has drawn ire from conservative voices in Montana politics and on the national level.
MTN News
The resolution said the commission supported the Helena Police Department avoiding “committing its resources to federal action for which it has no authority,” such as entering into an agreement with the federal government to directly enforce immigration laws. Under federal law, immigration enforcement is conducted by federal agencies under the Department of Homeland Security. However, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, state and local governments can voluntarily enter into 287 (g) agreements with the federal government that allow them to enforce immigration laws.
The commission further supported HPD’s policy not to stop, detain, or arrest a person solely on suspected violations of immigration law, including assisting other agencies in an arrest based solely on immigration law.
DEEPER LOOK: Helena has seen a growing debate over ICE and local police involvement
In the resolution, the commission also supported an HPD officer, using their own discretion, requesting the identification and unmasking of a Department of Homeland Security Officer if the HPD officer “feels it will not be interfering with the actions of federal officers exercising their jurisdiction.”
“This adversarial relationship by local law enforcement toward federal officers itself undermines public safety and forces immigration officers to fear for their safety when they are simply carrying out their lawful duties,” wrote Knudsen.
The resolution further supports the City of Helena’s policy not to consider immigration consequences in a plea agreement with a defendant.
Mack Carmack, MTN News
The commission also supports the City of Helena not disclosing any sensitive information about any person – including immigration status, sexual orientation, or social security number – except as required by law.
“This is a restriction that directly conflicts with Montana’s prohibition on sanctuary jurisdictions, specifically ‘sending to, receiving from, exchanging with, or maintaining for a federal, state, or local government entity information regarding a person’s citizenship or immigration status for a lawful purpose,’” the attorney general wrote.
If a government is found to be violating Montana’s law banning “sanctuary cities”, the state could fine them $10,000 every five days, prevent them from receiving new grants from the state, and have their projects with the state re-prioritized. A government in violation can avoid penalties by becoming compliant with the law within 14 days of being notified of the violation.
Read the full letter from the Montana Attorney General to the City of Helena:
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