![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This was partially because the news was far more interested in the new and controversial Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), while the ANC was a long established institution. The first black medical unit to deploy overseas was the 25th Station Hospital Unit, which contained thirty nurses.ĭespite their many sacrifices, the heroic actions of the ANC often went unpublicized. Black women were barred from the ANC until Congress forced integration in 1943. Even though some nurses such as ANC Chief Julia Flikke and Florence Blanchfield commanded more people than colonels, their rank stayed the same. Instead of starched white dresses, nurses wore army fatigues suitable for their work in tent hospitals.ĭespite their many sacrifices, most nurses could only attain rank of second lieutenant, while men with equivalent skills and education could expect to rise in rank. These conditions necessitated a change in uniform. They worked twenty-four hour days, often falling asleep on the ground, and many gave up their rations to injured soldiers. Usually 18 nurses were assigned to a field hospital, which could handle 75 to 150 patients. In North Africa, nurses followed the soldiers off ships and set up tent hospitals on shore as they were under fire. Nurses had to make: twenty mile hikes while wearing a four pound helmet and carrying thirty pound packs. The ANC played an essential role on overseas battlefields, and just as grueling as that of male soldiers. From July 1943 through September 1945, approximately 27,330 newly inducted nurses graduated from fifteen army training centers. In 1940 the ANC had 700 members, but months after Pearl Harbor 12,000 nurses were in service. The Army Nurse Corps (ANC) was officially established in 1901, with the navy equivalent following a few years later. ![]()
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