Manufactured by
Unidentified
Distributed by
United States Army Air Force, American, 1941 - 1947
Owned by
Lomax, Louise Virginia, American, 1920 - 2011
Date
ca. 1943
Medium
metal
Dimensions
H x W x D: 5/16 × 7/8 × 3/16 in. (0.8 × 2.2 × 0.4 cm)
Caption
During World War II, Louise Lomax joined the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) as a 2nd Lieutenant in March 1943 and trained as a psychiatric nurse at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. By September 1943 she was stationed at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, home of the Tuskegee Airmen. Lomax remained at Tuskegee during the war, where she was eventually promoted to 1st Lieutenant. For her war service she was awarded a World War II Victory Medal and an American Campaign Medal.
The Army originally denied African American nurses entry into the ANC at the start of the war. However, pressure from the NACGN, as well as political and civil rights organizations, forced them to rescind this policy, although they instituted strict enlistment quotas. By the end of the war, only approximately 500 Black nurses had been allowed to serve compared to approximately 59,000 white nurses. Because of segregation in the Army, Black nurses served in segregated units and were limited to caring for African American soldiers and prisoners of war. Even under these restrictions, African American nurses served with distinction at home and abroad, including in Africa, England, Burma, and the Southwest Pacific.
Description
A Second Lieutenant bar military insignia pin worn by Lt. Louise Lomax as part of Army Nurse Corps uniform. The insignia pin is a rectangular bar of bronze-colored metal. The bronze is heavily tarnished and most of it has been removed.
Place used
Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Awards and Medals
Type
insignias
Topic
Medicine
Military
Nursing
Segregation
Tuskegee Airmen
Women
World War II
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pia Marie Winters Jordan in memory of her mother, First Lieutenant Louise Virginia Lomax Winters, Army Nurse Corps; and her uncle, Sgt. Henry James Lomax, U.S. Army
Object number
2022.42.2.1.4
Restrictions & Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5fbc2c72f-638c-4add-985b-50f71d3607d7

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

Share this page