U. S. Cadet Nurse Corps

At San Jose Hospital 1944-1947This is our total San Jose Hospital School of Nursing. Eight of the girls in uniform had been there 3 months. I am standing on the right, second row from the top. To the right, Mrs. Warren who taught anatomy and physiology, Miss Breth taught nursing arts (she smoked like a chimney and hid her lighted cigarettes in her desk when we sneaked in on her) and Mrs. Jewel our housemother, who watched us like a hawk and inspected our rooms daily, but was really very sweet but strlict.

In college, I was inspired by a Navy nurse to become a registered nurse. She was involved in the battles of Corregidor and Bataan during WWII. She was captured by the Japanese and was part of the "Death March"...a 60 mile journey on foot....75,000 prisoners, a good percentage of them died or were killed during the week long trip. What an incredible amount of stamina and courage it took!!!!

In 1944 I joined the Cadet Nurse Corps.

World War II recruitment poster for nurses. During the war, the armed forces required an unprecedented number of nurses. This put a strain on the supply of civilian nurses. In 1943, the federal government created the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps which paid for nursing training as well as a small stipend. The program was very successful in alleviating the nursing shortage as well as increasing the visibility of both the nursing profession as well as government funded training programs.�

The Cadet Nurse Corps was created in 1943 by the U.S. Public Health Service as a wartime recruiting program and many of its graduates were aong the military nurses who served in World War II.

The Corps was a scholarship program that was meant to alleviate the shortage of trained nurses on the homefront. It was a very successful program, graduating 124,000 nurses before ending in 1948. Cadets had both summer and winter uniforms, as illustrated in this poster.
The winter uniform (a suit and topcoat) was gray wool with a matching gray hat. The summer uniform consisted of a two-piece suit of gray and white seersucker, a gray raincoat, and a beret. Each jacket had red epaulets, with the Cadet insignia on the sleeve. "Gray symbolizes mercy, serenity and understanding; red - strength,courage and inspiration. The left sleeve patch was a symbol of the Knights of Hospitalers of St. John, the original nurse-fighting order.
The winter cap bore a shield and eagle, symbolically American; a fouled anchor connoting U.S. seamen in distress; a caduceus, the ancient symbol of physicians; and together these promised healing to service of their country."

This is what was left of the original 15 girls that entered the nursing program!!!! It was tough!!!! I am second from right, Tudy is on the right end and Gloria is third from left. Our unifoms were blue and white striped dresses with stiff starched aprons, collars and cuffs. White stockings and sturdy white shoes AND hairnets!!!!!