Women in Military Nursing: A Legacy of Service

Women were providing nursing services for the Army before the United States were formed. They didn’t have the rankings we see today in the military, because women were not allowed to officially join the army. They were, however, vital to the war effort.

 Limited in what they were allowed to do, their duties consisted of preparing diets for wounded soldiers, distributing supplies, and cleaning. 

These women proved to the military, and to the rest of the country, the need for nurses on the front lines. They blazed a trail for all future nurses, showing the world a need for nursing schools to be established in America.

In 1908, the Navy laid the foundations for the Navy Nurse Corps. Twenty women nurses, famously named the “Sacred 20”, were assigned to the Naval Hospital in Washington, D.C. They not only contributed to the war. They also spent countless hours educating, training, and writing articles for future nurses.

Lenah Higbee was a member of the Sacred 20, and Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps during WW I.      She was able to take the Nurse Corps from its humble beginnings, to actively employing over 1300 nurses.

She served on several healthcare committees and prepared the Red Cross for World War I.  In 1920, she was awarded the Navy Cross for her heroic service.

Two WWII destroyers were named in honor of Nurse Lenah, the USS Higbee and the USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee.

Continuing in the pioneer spirit, Della Raney was commissioned as the first African Woman into the Army Nurse Corps in 1941. Prior to her, women of color were not permitted to work in the Army.

She wrote later in life about her determination to become a nurse: ”When I entered nursing more than forty years ago, it was serious business with me. It was a commitment to give my life for a cause—that of caring for those who were ill… It was this strong desire to elevate my profession that led me to volunteer for military service in 1940 with the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. Getting accepted by the Red Cross was difficult for graduates of black schools of nursing in the south, but I persisted in overcoming this barrier to the point of writing Miss Mary Beard, who at that time was director of nursing for the American Red Cross, telling her of my desire to serve my country and practice my profession. Miss Beard replied with my membership card, certificate and pin.” 

After the Army-Navy Nurses Act of 1947, nursing in the military continued to get better.

 Nursing officers could now hold commissioned ranks. They were allowed to stay on as permanent staff in the Navy’s medical department.

However, the number of nurses working for the military was over 7,000 prior to 1947. In 1948, this number shrunk to just under 2,000.

During a turn of fate in 1955, President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack, and was hospitalized for 6 weeks.

It was at this time the army nurses caring for him spoke up about the below-standard living arrangements. They also mentioned the frequent overseas rotations. Additionally, they were being forced to retire from the military by age 55. 

President Eisenhower delivered on his promise to correct these issues. 

Today, there are over 29,000 highly qualified men and women nurses serving in the US military.

They are mental health specialists, practitioners, and anesthetists.

Deployed all over the world, their duties include checking wounds for infection, preparing soldiers for surgeries, providing pre/post-operative care, and monitoring pain medication.

They educate patients on how to care for themselves, and provide emotional support for soldiers and their families.