The CADET NURSE CORPS:

My Background:

        In 1945 after I had just entered nursing school the war ended so I did not have a military assignment. My entire nursing school education was paid for. We also received $5/mo. during our "probie" period, $10 /mo. the next 2 years and then $15 /mo. the last 6 mo. Uniforms, books and all equipment was paid for besides. What a deal that was.

CADET NURSE PLEDGE
"At this moment of my induction into the United States Cadet Nurse Corps of the United States Public Health Service, I am solemnly aware of the obligations
I assume toward my country and toward my chosen profession;
I will follow faithfully the teachings of my instructors and the guidance of the physicians with whom I work;
I will hold in trust the finest traditions of nursing and the spirit of the Corps;
I will keep my body strong, my mind alert, and my heart steadfast;
I will be kind tolerant, and understanding;
Above all, I will dedicate myself now and forever
to the triumph of life over death;
As a Cadet Nurse, I pledge to my country my service
in essential nursing for the duration of the war.

HISTORY

• April 1942
  Ten thousand nurses were in the Army and Navy. An additional 10,000 were needed by July 1942
  77TH Congress appropriated funds for the training of nurses by refresher courses; post-graduate education in special fields; and increased student enrollment in basic nursing schools through the Labor Federal Security Agency Appropriation Act of 1942.
• 1943
  Army issued a call for a total corps of 35,000 nurses.
• March 20, 1943
  Representative Frances Payne Bolton (R-Ohio) introduced a bill to "provide for the training of nurses for the armed forces, governmental and civilian hospitals, health agencies, and war industries through grants to institutions providing for training and for other purposes."
• July 1, 1943
  The Nurse Training Act became Public Law 74
• June 23, 1943
  The Public Health Service's (PHS) division of Nursing was established and Lucile Petry was appointed the director of the Division of Nurse Education and head of the Cadet Nurse Corps.
• 1944
  12,000 students became senior cadets.
  First assignees were to the Navy, Indian Health Services, Veterans Administration, Marine Hospital, Public Health Service and 700 women were assigned to Army Hospitals.
• May 14, 1944
  Nationwide 96,000 Cadet Nurses pledged themselves to "essential nursing services.
• 1945
  85% of nursing students in the country were cadet nurses. 25,000 cadets were ready for assignment.
• April 9 1945
  HR 2277, bill to draft nurses, passed the House and was brought to the floor of the Senate but was passed over. A month later the Germans surrendered.
  October 15, 1945
  President Truman directed surgeon General Parran to discontinue admission to the Cadet Nurse Corps effective "upon the date of termination of hostilities.”