In and Out of Harm's Way: A History of the Navy Nurse Corps (review)

This book is the first comprehensive, chronological history of the Navy Nurse Corps. Its compilation is described as a “long, overdue and arduous task” (p. i). The extensive literature is impressive, and affords future researchers a wealth of resources from which to draw. In addition to consulting articles, books, diaries, and letters, the author recorded oral histories of many of the former directors and retired members of the Corps.

In 1798, Congress, under President John Adams, established the Navy Department. By 1800, twelve hospitals existed in the United States, including Philadelphia General (1731), Charity (1737) in New Orleans, Bellevue (1736) in Manhattan, Pennsylvania General (1751), and New York Hospital (1781). Only men were permitted to serve on the nation’s early hospital ships: the Ben Morgan, the Relief, Red Rover, and others. In 1814 a Navy surgeon, Dr. William Barton, expressed deep frustration at the need for better organization of ships’ hospital resources and nursing care for sick or injured seamen. He advocated the enrollment of women as nurses: “women of humane disposition and tender manners; active and healthy. They should be neat and cleanly in their persons; and without vices of any description. . . . They should obey punctually all orders from their superiors; and should exact a ready acquiescence in their commands, from the attendants under them” (p. 2). He further recommended “that nurses be included in the management and operation of hospitals—an unheard-of extremist point of view” (p. 2) for that era.

The Navy Nurse Corps was established in 1908, but the nurses were known only as “supernumeraries,” without rank. In 1921 they were designated as “Navy personnel,” but it was not until 1942 that the 77th Congress authorized Permanent Relative Rank for Navy nurses, ranging from Ensign to Lieutenant Commander.

The numerous stories derived from oral histories well demonstrate the nurses’ extreme bravery, sacrifice, and dedication to duty, often under enemy fire. Of particular interest are accounts of those Navy nurses who served during World War II in Naval hospitals, on troop transports and hospital ships, and in both the European and Pacific theaters of operation. For thirty-seven months, eleven Navy nurses were Japanese prisoners of war at Los Baños in the Philippines, subsisting on rice that had the consistency of glue and was infested with weevils, cockroaches, and worms. Malnourishment became extreme, obvious in swollen abdomens, edema of hands and feet, and profound weakness. Throughout, the nurses carried on their work in the prison clinic, caring for others with no medicine or bandages. Under General MacArthur’s command, Navy rescue planes with paratroopers finally arrived, and quickly evacuated the prisoners. Nearly all the prisoners, including the nurses, had tuberculosis and suffered diseases of starvation such as beri-beri and pellagra.

In December 1944, the Navy offered a course for those nurses interested in becoming flight nurses; many signed on. When the evacuation of wounded by air became established, each twelve-plane squadron operated with one flight surgeon, twenty-four flight nurses, one hospital corps officer, and twenty-four pharmacists’ mates. The number of Navy nurses peaked in June 1945, with 11,086 on active duty: 9,273 as Navy Reserve officers, and 1,813 as regular Navy. They were deployed in 40 Navy hospitals, 176 dispensaries, 6 hospital corps schools, 12 hospital ships, and, as flight nurses, in 21 foreign countries.

Wherever they were assigned, Navy nurses served with distinction, providing care of the highest quality to thousands of wounded servicemen who had suffered burns, loss of limbs, and other severe injuries. The author has provided a history of America’s and the Navy’s roles in wartime, from the Revolutionary War to the Persian Gulf. Navy nurses have been a significant part of this history.