The U. S. Army nurse is a familiar figure now wherever American troops appear. Trim and competent, she steps down the gangplank at ports all over the world - the typical American girl whose life might have followed a more conventional pattern had the war not swept her into professional service far from home. She is literate, personable, well-groomed, healthy, disciplined, and scientifically trained for her immediate task.

She may come from the foothill country of the eastern United States, the New York metropolis, from the prairie or the Texas desert; she may wear a parka in the Arctic circle, a blue uniform on Piccadilly, or light khaki in New Guinea; but wherever she appears she is a reassuring sight, a mellowing factor in the grim picture of war. Together with her sisters of the Navy Nurse Corps, she has already seen action, been under fire, and received citations of bravery. She is an essential part of the U.S. fighting forces. 

The number of American nurses is mounting daily; their sphere of action widens steadily. There are 16,000 nurses in the Army Corps including one superintendent; 68 assistant superintendents, three directors, 668 chief nurses, as well as the rank and file. Normally the Navy Nurse Corps has a strength of 496 nurses. Now the American Red Cross Nursing Service, official reserve of the Army and Navy Nurse Corps since 1912, is feeding 2,500 nurses a month to the Army, 500 to the Navy. In December, 165 Red Cross chapters set up recruiting stations to meet the Army's goal of 30,000 nurses in 1943.

"Flying nurses" are being inducted for special assignment with the air ambulance service, adding a new touch to the total picture of America's nursing service in the war. They are air-line stewardesses, trained to work at high altitudes and familiar with the problems of flying.
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American nurses range in age from 21 to 40 years, with the majority in their late twenties or early thirties. They come from farms, from small towns, from city apartments, representing a wide cross-section of national life. A recent inventory of one group showed that 402 came from New England; 1,111 from New York and surrounding territory; 1,283 from the Midwest and 236 from the Pacific Coast.

They are preponderantly brunette, although blondes are numerous and redheads are not unknown. Some are pretty enough to make magazine-cover types. Mostly they are average girls of good physique, cheerful, healthy and serious about their tasks. Their physical examination is strict.  They are presumed to be in perfect health, to be strong enough for the rigors of any climate, to be clear of phobias or ailments that might handicap them in times of stress.  They may be tall or short, slim or plump, but Army convention suggests that they do not run to fat.

They are permitted considerable latitude in the way they do their hair and use make-up, provided they avoid extremes.  Their hair must be short and look neat under forage caps.  Dangling ends are frowned on by nursing superintendents. Their manual does not mention rouge, lipstick or nail polish, but the superintendents do.  Rouge must be subtly applied.  Nail polish must be colorless or the palest pink, if used at all. This is one of the first lessons that the young nurses learn; and one that they violate most often.

Lipstick in moderation is approved. In fact, their bon voyage gift from the Red Cross when they sail for foreign service includes lipstick, notepaper, shoelaces, sewing kit, a manicure set, a bar of chocolate, a book and various toilet articles. Mascara, eye shadow, exotic effects are all taboo as unsuited to their uniform, their professional duties and the tradition of the nursing service.  They are expected to stay in character, to look their best even under difficult conditions – with the emphasis on grooming and dignity. Few of them need a beauty-parlor in the jungle or frozen north, since they know how to set their hair, do their nails, and launder their uniforms as well as scrub floors, haul coal, and nurse the wounded.  The nurses are versatile girls who can cook, sew, dance, play golf, and in some cases strum the guitar at the proper time and in the proper place.

In Iceland six nurses bunked in each Army hut, with furniture made from packing cases. They used cheap muslin to turn old boxes into dressing tables. They stumbled through frozen mud to line up for baths in the single tub serving an entire nursing corps.  They carried buckets of coal for the fat stoves that warmed their living quarters.  They ate Army field rations, rode over bumpy roads in Army jeeps, commandeered trucks to go to Army camp entertainments when the rigorous work of the day was done.
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The American nurse, 1943 model, is no longer the symbolic figure long familiar on the Red Cross poster.  She now has five different outfits for her manifold duties under different climatic conditions. The regulation dress uniform is of covert cloth in two shades of blue. Khaki replaces blue in tropical areas.  Parkas made of khaki cotton cloth, wind-resistant and water repellant, are provided for Alaska and Iceland.  Each nurse is allowed six white uniforms, three white caps, one outdoor cape, one overcoat which also serves as raincoat, and one pair of white-shoes. The dark blue cape of the Navy Nurse Corps has long been a favorite of the nursing service. The white cap worn by Navy nurses is distinguished by a black band indicating their rank in gold. Reserves on active duty get six white uniforms, cape, cap and sweater.
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Smartness and utility are combined in this newly adopted uniform of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. The service coat and jaunty garrison cap are of dark blue covert cloth; the service skirt, also of covert, is powder blue. Khaki replaces blue in tropical areas. (Collection Shelby Stanton)

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Out on a 16-mile hike in California are these American army nurses, all of whom have volunteered for foreign duty. This route march is part of an arduous physical training program designed to prepare these modern young Florence Nightingales for the duties they'll soon be facing abroad. (Collection Shelby Stanton)

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