On View
Military History Gallery
Exhibition
Double Victory: The African American Military Experience
Manufactured by
Force Manufacturing Company, American
Worn by
Brig. Gen. Johnson-Brown, Hazel, American, 1927 - 2011
Date
1980
Medium
cotton and polyester with plastic buttons and Velcro (TM)
Dimensions
H x W (Flat): 24 5/8 × 16 in. (62.5 × 40.6 cm)
H x W (Tie): 6 3/4 × 4 in. (17.1 × 10.2 cm)
Caption
In 1979, Brig. Gen. Hazel Johnson-Brown became the first African American woman general in the history of the U.S. military and the first African American woman to be appointed chief of the Army Nurse Corps. The one-star shoulder marks on this Army service shirt indicate her rank of brigadier general.
Description
Green US Army Nurse's dress uniform blouse with shoulder boards and neck tie worn by Brigadier General Hazel Johnson-Brown. The short-sleeved blouse (a) is made from pale green cotton/polyester fabric and is shaped with bust darts at the front and darts at the back near the side seams. It closes down the center front with six (6) pearlized plastic buttons, the topmost at the neck approximately five inches above the rest of the buttons. The cuffs of the sleeves are hemmed using clear fishing line. The blouse has a pointed collar and a shoulder strap is sewn on each shoulder that attaches near the collar with a single pearlized plastic button. A small square of Velcro is sewn under the collar by the points of the shoulder straps for affixing the neck tie (d) to the blouse. The blouse is not lined.
The faux neck tie (d) is made of two lengths of black polyester that are crossed and looped at the center and stitched down to appear like a knot, which lays flat. At the other ends of the fabric lengths are small squares of black Velcro for attaching the tie under the collar of the blouse (a). The faux neck tie does not reach completely around the wearer's neck, but only around the front half.
Place used
United States, North and Central America
Classification
Clothing-Historical
Type
shirts
dress uniforms
Topic
Clothing and dress
Military
U.S. History, 1969-2001
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Women
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alice Calberb F. Royal
Object number
2011.146.1.3a-d
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5c1362337-2669-4ec6-8513-e4249efebdd5

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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