From Chickens to Flying: Lauretta M. Schimmoler and the Aerial Nurse Corps of America Thanks to Robert E. Skinner’s meticulous research from the 1980s, we know much about the life of civilian pilot Lauretta M. Schimmoler, founder of the Aerial … Continue reading
World War II Flight Nurses Identified Flight Nurses Anna Ranahan, Grace Dunnam, Dolly Vinsant, and Jean Tierney of the 806 Medical Air Evacuation Squadron, circa 1943 Until recently I had identified by name only two of the four World War … Continue reading
The Aerial Nurse Corps of America Part 8 Flight nursing in the United States Army Air Forces had become a reality when the 802nd Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron left Bowman Field, Kentucky on Christmas Day 1942 for flying duty … Continue reading
The Aerial Nurse Corps of America Part 7 Undeterred by the American Nurses Association (ANA) rejection of the Aerial Nurse Corps of America (ANCOA), Schimmoler again set her sights on military support of the ANCOA. In July 1942, with approximately … Continue reading
The Aerial Nurse Corps of America Part 6 To avoid possible misunderstandings of Aerial Nurse Corps of America (ANCOA) activities, by 1939 its founder, pilot Loretta Schimmoler, had appointed a registered nurse, Ruth G. Mitchell, as Chief of Staff. In … Continue reading
The Aerial Nurse Corps of AmericaPart 5 Leaders of the American Red Cross (ARC) had been following the activities of pilot Lauretta Schimmoler and the Aerial Nurse Corps of America (ANCOA) closely ever since her organization had “gotten off the … Continue reading
The Aerial Nurse Corps of America Part 4 Detroit Company A of the Third Wing, Fifth Division was one of the more active Aerial Nurse Corps of America (ANCOA) units. 1 Its success may be attributed in large part to … Continue reading
The Aerial Nurse Corps of America Part 3 Lauretta Schimmoler, a pilot who in the 1930s founded the flight nurse organization Aerial Nurse Corps of America (ANCOA) independent of the other service organizations such as the United States Army and … Continue reading
The Aerial Nurse Corps of America Part 2 By the 1930s, the use of stewardesses on airlines, an idea launched by Boeing Air Transport, had caught on not only with air passengers but also with America’s nurses who applied by … Continue reading
The Aerial Nurse Corps of America Part 1 As early as 1930, before flight nursing in the United States military was a reality, Lauretta M. Schimmoler, a pilot, had foreseen a need for flight nurses. Born in Fort Jennings, Ohio … Continue reading