U.S. Army
Nurse Corps
From the Angels of Bataan held as POWs for three years to nurses under bombardment at Anzio to young lieutenants treating catastrophic wounds in Vietnam to the 97% survival rate in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army Nurse Corps has been the backbone of military healthcare for 123 years. They saved soldiers that civilian trauma centers would have lost.
World Wars — Nurses Under Fire
1917 – 1945
WWI
AEF · FRANCE · 1918
10,000
Nurses Deployed
France
Base · Evacuation Hospitals
Influenza
1918 Pandemic
272
NURSES DIED
Over 10,000 Army nurses served in France during WWI — staffing base hospitals and evacuation hospitals behind the Western Front. They treated gas casualties, amputees, and the massive influx of wounded from Meuse-Argonne. The 1918 influenza pandemic killed 272 Army nurses and overwhelmed military hospitals worldwide. Army nurses served without military rank until 1920 — doing the same work as officers without the authority or pay. The war proved that the Army couldn't function without its nurses.
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WWII
EVERY THEATER
59,000
Nurses Served
Bataan
POW · Angels of Bataan
Anzio
Nurses Under Bombardment
201
NURSES DIED
59,000 Army nurses served in WWII across every theater. The "Angels of Bataan and Corregidor" were captured by the Japanese and spent three years as POWs — the only American military women held prisoner. At Anzio, nurses worked in field hospitals under direct German bombardment. Army nurses landed in Normandy within days of D-Day. They staffed evacuation hospitals, hospital ships, and air evacuation flights. 201 Army nurses died during the war — 16 from enemy action. The Army Nurse Corps was the largest all-female military organization in American history.
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Vietnam to GWOT
1965 – Present
VIETNAM
EVAC · FIELD · MUST
5,000
Nurses Served in VN
MUST
Medical Unit Self-Trans
1LT
Sharon Lane · KIA
8
NURSES DIED
Approximately 5,000 Army nurses served in Vietnam — most of them young lieutenants in their twenties treating the most severe combat trauma of the war. They worked in evacuation hospitals and MUST (Medical Unit, Self-contained, Transportable) facilities that received casualties directly from Dustoff helicopters. First Lieutenant Sharon Lane was killed by enemy rocket fire at Chu Lai on June 8, 1969 — the only American military nurse killed by direct hostile fire in Vietnam. The emotional toll on Vietnam-era nurses, treating teenagers with catastrophic wounds, produced PTSD rates that weren't acknowledged for decades.
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OIF / OEF
CSH · ROLE 3 · TRAUMA
CSH
Combat Support Hospital
Role 3
Forward Surgical
ICU
Trauma · Burns · Neuro
97%
SURVIVAL RATE
Army nurses were central to the 97% survival rate in Iraq and Afghanistan — staffing combat support hospitals, forward surgical teams, and aeromedical evacuation flights around the clock. ANC officers managed ICUs, trauma bays, burn units, and neurological wards that treated the most devastating injuries of the IED war. They also treated thousands of injured civilians, including children. The clinical expertise of Army nurses under combat conditions is unmatched anywhere in healthcare. They saved soldiers that civilian trauma centers would have lost.
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TODAY
MTFs WORLDWIDE
11,000+
Active ANC Officers
BSN
Minimum · Many MSN/DNP
CRNA
Nurse Practitioner · CNM
MTF
EVERY HOSPITAL
Today's Army Nurse Corps includes over 11,000 officers serving in military treatment facilities worldwide — from Walter Reed to deployed Role 3 hospitals. ANC officers serve as nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists. Many hold master's and doctoral degrees. ANC officers command hospitals, lead medical brigades, and serve as the Chief of the Army Nurse Corps. From bedside care to enterprise leadership, the Nurse Corps remains the clinical backbone of military medicine.
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123
Years of Service
11,000+
Active ANC Officers
97%
GWOT Survival Rate
Heal
Under Fire