Manufactured by
Unidentified
Distributed by
United States Army Air Force, American, 1941 - 1947
Owned by
Lomax, Louise Virginia, American, 1920 - 2011
Date
after 1953
Medium
metal
Dimensions
H x W x D: 1 × 7/8 × 3/16 in. (2.5 × 2.2 × 0.5 cm)
Caption
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.
After the war, Lt. Lomax went on to serve at Lockbourne Army Air Base in Ohio; Provident Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland; at VA hospitals in Downey, Illinois; and Perry Point, Maryland; and finally at the Army’s Percy Jones General Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. Lt. Lomax retired from active duty in March 1949 and transferred to the Reserve Corps, where she served for four years. She was honorably discharged from the ANC in April 1953.Lomax likely wore this veteran pin after her retirement from the ANC. The "U.S.A." indicated her service with the U.S. Army, while the hanging lieutenant bar indicated her 1st Lt. rank at retirement. With the passage of the Army-Navy Nurses Act of 1947, the ANC was established as a permanent corps of the Regular Army. It also enabled nurses to receive permanent commissioned officer status, as opposed to temporary relative rank.
Description
A non-uniform "U. S. A." pin worn by Lt. Louise Lomax, Army Nurse Corps. The pin is gold with a clasped backing and in the shape of the letters: [U.S.A]. It has a metal lieutenant bar hanging from the letters by two small chains.
Classification
Jewelry and Adornment
Type
insignias
Topic
Medicine
Military
Nursing
Segregation
U.S. History, 1945-1953
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
2022.42.2.4.5
Restrictions & Rights
Unknown – Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5c7f7e2f7-06f9-46f9-a879-acf05bcdb09b

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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