Manufactured by
Unidentified
Distributed by
United States Army Air Force, American, 1941 - 1947
Owned by
Lomax, Louise Virginia, American, 1920 - 2011
Date
1943-1953
Medium
metal
Dimensions
H x W x D (tag): 1 × 1 3/4 in. (2.5 × 4.5 cm)
H x W (chain): 13 3/4 × 3/16 in. (35 × 0.4 cm)
Caption
Louise Virginia Lomax joined the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) as a 2nd Lieutenant in March 1943. Upon joining the ANC, Lt. Lomax was issued this identification tag, also called a "dog tag," which listed important identifying information including her name, her Army Serial Number (N-760431), the date of her most recent Tetanus shot, her blood type, and her religious affiliation.
After training as a psychiatric nurse at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., Lt. Lomax was stationed at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, home of the Tuskegee Airmen, by September 1943. 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. After four years in the Reserves, Lt. Lomax was honorably discharged from the Army Nurse Corps in April 1953.
Description
Identification tag (dog tags) owned by Lt. Louise Lomax, Army Nurse Corps. The metal tags are attached to a metal chain. The tag is embossed with Lt. Lomax’s name, serial number, and blood type.
Place used
Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Awards and Medals
Type
dog tags
Topic
Medicine
Military
Nursing
Segregation
Tuskegee Airmen
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
2022.42.3
Restrictions & Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5798c6fc5-941c-4e5e-9709-b710a9ed6bbe

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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