Miscellaneous
Headgear
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Outdoor Cap
The NNC cap, introduced in 1942, was similar
to the male Navy officer’s cap, but without the visor.
The NNC device (1 1/8 inch in height)
was placed on the crown of the cap above the chin strap.
.The
service cap with navy blue cover .
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.The service
cap with white cover was worn with the
white service uniform or with the
blue service uniform
during the spring/summer period.
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Service Cap
(Revised 1944 Model)
In the spring of 1944, after the NNC had received
full commissions, wearing the Navy officer's cap insignia became authorized.
The gold lace chinstrap was removed from the cap. Instead, a black mohair
band with a black backing for the new device was added. The cap could be
worn with a white cover, a navy blue cover or a slate gray cover to go
with the slate gray dress (working uniform).
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.Left
Side: Interior view of the NNC service cap with white cover
Right Side: Navy blue cover
of the Navy Nurse service cap
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Raincover for
the NNC service cap
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Garrison Caps
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In 1944, garrison caps for Navy Nurses were
introduced. They were provided in white, navy blue and slate gray and were
worn with the matching uniform. A miniature Navy officer's insignia was
pinned on the left side of the cap while a miniature pin-on Navy rank was
worn on the right side. Unlike the banana shaped female garrison caps of
other servicewomen's organizations, the Navy Nurse's garrison cap had a
straight cut like the garrison caps for men, but with the back crown of
the cap higher than the front. |
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Ward Cap
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Navy Nurses wore a white cap with a black
velvet band across the front. Stripes of gold braid on the black band indicated
the rank held by the wearer.
(A chart explaining the different rank stripes
on the hospital cap can be found here: NNC
insignia ) |
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.Ensign
Navy Nurse Hospital Cap
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Shirts
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This white shirt made of sanforized cotton
belonged to Navy Nurse Ilene M. Johnson. The shirt has a breast patch pocket
on the left side and long sleeves with folded double cuffs. Note: the shirt
is cut like a men's shirt (button closure on the left side). |
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Handbags
Navy Nurses received an envelope style black
cordé handbag.
It was 12 inch wide and 8 inch high.
Navy Nurse's Black Cordé Handbag
- Front View
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Navy Nurse's Black Cordé Handbag
- Back View
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Navy Nurse's Black Cordé Handbag
- Inside View
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Nurse's Black Cordé Handbag
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Purse variation with different cordé
pattern
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Footwear
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Black oxford shoes were worn with the blue
outdoor uniform.
Left: Example of 1940s black oxford
shoes as they were used by female Navy personnel. |
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Later in the war, plain black leather pumps
could be used as well. Heel height of the pumps should not exceed two inches.
Right: Example of plain 1940s black
pumps |
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Example of 1940s White Oxford
Shoes with rubber heels
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The same kind of shoes where worn with the
white outdoor uniform, but white in color.
White oxford shoes with rubber heels were worn
with the indoor uniform. |
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Although the heel height of the
pumps could not officially exceed two inches and needed to be plain, wartime
photographs are evidence that many women actually wore shoes having higher
heels and decorative styles.
Because leather was rationed and shoes became
scarce during wartime, the regulations governing footwear were not enforced
strictly - especially regarding the dress pumps.
For example, the shoes shown in the picture
on the right belonged to a Navy Nurse who served during WWII. They have
perforations and higher heels than authorized. |
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Shoes of a Navy Nurse displayed
at the National Pacific War Museum in Fredericksburg , Texas
( Photo Courtesy of Roger
Dean)
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Identification Tags (Dog
Tags)
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The oval shaped Navy identification tags were
1.25 by 1.5 inches in size and were perforated at each end. The early tags
had a right index fingerprint etched on the reverse of the tag. Only one
tag was worn suspended from the neck by a monel wire encased in a cotton
sleeve. (Monel metal was a corrosion-resistant alloy of nickel and copper,
with small amounts of iron and manganese).
In 1943 the fingerprint was omitted. Additionally,
a second tag was introduced. A new suspended cable wire provided
attachment for two tags. In case of death, one tag was removed for official
processing purposes and one was left on the body for positive identication.
The identification tags had the following information
on it:
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Individual's Name |
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Nurse (printed on early
versions before Navy Nurses received relative rank in July 1942)
or Officer Rank + NC (for
Nurse Corps) (printed on the tags between July 1942 and May 1943)
or Officer File Number (since
May 1943) |
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Tetanus Vaccination indicated
by letter "T" with date in numerals (e.g. T-2-42 or
T
11/43) |
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Religion (printed since
May 1943, P for Protestant,
C for Catholic, H for
Hebrew) - optional information |
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Service
USN for members of the
Regular Corps
USNR for members of the
Reserve Corps |
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Blood Type (O, A, B,
AB) |
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Early WWII Dog Tag
(pre July 1942)
Nell
P.
Seroka
Nurse U.S.N.R.
"B" T 1/42 |
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WWII Dog Tag
(between July 1942-May 1943)
Nell
P.
Seroka
Ens. N.N.C.- U.S.N.R.
T-3-5-42 "B" |
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M-1943 Style Tag
Pauline
Dougherty
269563
T 11/43 P
USNR B |
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.Cuff Links
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Rehulations prescribed the wear of plain white
cuff links with the NNC ward uniform. Later plain gold cuff links were
permitted as well.
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White mother-of-pearl cuff links were most
often used or gold cuff links with military-style designs (for example
cuff links configured from regulation cap or collar devices). These could
be bought at one's own expense from military sales companies. The nurse
supply store at each hospital also sold a variety of military-style designs
during the war. |
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Cuff link with the insignia of
the Navy officer's cap device
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[ I. Development ]..[
II. Facts about the NNC ]..[
III. Uniforms ]..[
IV. Sources
]
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