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Army Nurse Corps uniforms (my collection)


memphis_belle
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memphis_belle

Hello everyone!

 

I started this topic to share my collection of WW2 Army Nurse Corps uniforms with you. I'll add pictures and descriptions gradually.

 

1) Beige Summer Service Uniform (1st pattern)

 

Army Nurses had the option of purchasing a beige summer service uniform at their own expense since 1941. This uniform consisted of a jacket, skirt, white shirt, black or maroon tie and garrison cap / service cap.

 

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Officially designated as the jacket, service, summer, nurse's, beige, this jacket resembled the nurse's blue wool coat except for several modifications like the absence of a belt.

 

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The first version of the optional nurse's beige uniform could be worn with matching first-pattern beige service cap. Many Army Nurses placed the nurse's caduceus pin on the cap front, although the first-pattern visor hat did not officially require insignia.

 

The white nurse's waist (officially designated as the waist, cotton, white) could be worn as part of either the blue or beige service uniforms of the ANC.

 

A maroon necktie, in the color associated with the Army Medical Department, was also worn with the summer uniform.

 

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USAAF patch worn by Flight Nurses.

 

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Named to A. Novotny. Still looking for information about her.

 

 

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Belle

Nice uniform! I just started to collect WW II ANC uniforms. I'm having a hard time finding the maroon necktie for this uniform. Do you have the counterpart to this uniform, i.e. the dress?

amedd-5x

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Name: Albina M Novotny Service Info.: 1ST LT US ARMY WORLD WAR II Birth Date: 26 Jun 1909 Death Date: 14 Feb 2000 Service Start Date: 1 Oct 1941 Interment Date: 18 Feb 2000 Cemetery: Ft. Snelling National Cemetery Cemetery Address: 7601 34th Avenue, South Minneapolis, MN 55450

 

She was released from service 8 Feb 1946

 

I had bid on her uniform, and LOST!! Glad you got it.

 

She was born in Lidgerwood, North Dakota and died 14 Feb 2000 in St Louis Park, Minnesota

 

Frank

 

Frank

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Now that's a sharp uniform. So this was only a private purchase item and not something that was issued? What time frame would this have been worn (pre-war, during, after)?

Thank you,

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memphis_belle

Sarge 8: Thank you, Frank for the info! I'm sorry I outbidded you but I've been looking for a beige uniform for so many years and this one came with the tie and I just couldn't let it go...

 

amedd-5x: This is the only beige uniform that I own at the moment. I'm still looking for the summer off-duty dress and the 2nd pattern service uniform. Here's a marron tie for sale but I have to say it's expensive : http://snyderstreasures.com/pages/usuniforms.htm#women

 

zotig111: It'd have been worn from 1941 until 1943 when a revised beige summer service uniform was introduced. The 2nd pattern was the same as the olive-drab service uniform. And yes, these uniforms were privately tailored, not issued.

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memphis_belle

2) White Hospital Uniform (2nd pattern)

 

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The second design for the white hospital uniform was submitted at the end of 1941. The dress came in long-sleeve or short-sleeve varieties. The white uniforms were limited to duty in the continental United States only.

 

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The white linen hospital duty cap for nurses had remained unchanged in style and fabric since 1933.

The shoulder loops allowed rank placement there. U.S. letter-block and Army Nurse Corps component insignia was pinned on opposite sides of the collar according to army regulations.

 

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Army Nurses were authorized a blue cape over their hospital uniform whenever they were engaged in outdoor tasks and needed extra warmth.

The hospital duty uniform with cape could be worn with either the white nurse's hospital cap or the blue nurse's garrison cap.

 

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World War II recruitment posters featuring an army nurse wearing the blue nurse's cape over her white hospital uniform:

 

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This is an amazing thread! Thanks so much for posting your items. I can't wait to see more.

 

...Kat

 

Edit to add: Thanks mods for pinning this thread. I think this is going to be a very informative thread for anyone interested in ANC uniforms.

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Very nice collection, thank you for sharing it. We seldom have the opprotunity to appreciate complete ANC uniforms on the forum.

 

RC

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I was given permission from Emi to post this 2nd pattern beige US Army nurse officers cap. It is in very nice shape. Part of a husband and wife grouping that I have been the care taker for some time. Maker marked Knox of New York City.

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memphis_belle

3) Individual Identification Tag

 

During World War II, army personnel, including nurses, received M-1940 identification tags, commonly known as "dog tags" designed to identify the person. ID tags would have been worn by all women personnel of the Army at all times.

 

Early tags issued between November 1941 and July 1943 included next-of-kin and the address:

 

Katharine M. Walsh

N-743604-T42-43 0

Mrs T. J. Muldary

638 State St

Adrian Mich C

 

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4) The Army Nurse Corps Song Book of World War II

 

The ANC Song Book contained patriotic and other songs popular in the 1940s. The book explains that nurse singing groups improved morale and had a positive effect on the spirits of wounded soldiers. There's a number of comic cartoons inside too.

 

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memphis_belle

6) Garrison Caps

 

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Official issue of a dark blue garrison cap with maroon piping for wear with the dark blue service uniform and off-duty dress was authorized in 1941. At first, no insignia was worn on the cap. Later the nurse's caduceus was pinned on the left curtain of the garrison cap. In 1943, the metal rank insignia replaced the nurse's caduceus on the left side.

 

Left-side view of the nurse's blue garrison cap with maroon cord-edge braid of the Army Medical Department. The front overlap conctruction is on the left side of the curtain, in reversed fashion to the same pattern on men's garrison caps:

 

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Left-side view of a sample variant nurse's blue garrison cap with smaller front overlap conctruction on the left-side curtain. Different manufacturing techniques produced slight differences of design:

 

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Named to Ruth C. Sobeck:

 

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Left-side view of the women's officer's wool garrison cap that constituted part of the olive-drab winter service uniform and dress uniforms. The banana-shaped garrison caps for female army personnel were designed for conformity with the fuller feminine hairstyles of the 1940s. Authorized in 1944.

 

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Left-side view of the revised-pattern nurse's beige summer garrison cap exhibits the same banana-shape style as the olive-drab cap. The officer's gold-and-black cord edge braid replaced the previous maroon piping:

 

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************

 

Thanks everyone for your comments! Feel free to post your own ANC-related items.

 

 

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memphis_belle

7) Blue Off-Duty Dress

 

This is one of my favourites. The dark blue dress was authorized in April 1942, and regulations permitted its official wear as an alternative garment to the service uniform. The dress was permitted during nonworking hours, as it was subsequently utilized as an off-duty dress for nurses attending unofficial social occasions. The option of purchasing a dress was beneficial for nurses' morale as they had been required to wear military uniforms continually after the U.S. declaration of war in December 1941.

 

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The army optional nurse's blue off-duty dress could be worn with the blue service cap / garrison cap, beige stockings and black oxford-style shoes. The dress could be accessorized with either gray or black gloves. A distinctive handbag was not designed by the army to go with the blue outdoor uniform. As a result, the ANC allowed nurses to carry a privately purchased handbag of black color.

 

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This dress is also named to Ruth C. Sobeck:

 

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Ruth C. Sobeck (in the middle) in Venice, summer of 1945.

She was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received while serving on the hospital ship that was hit off of Italy.

 

You can read more about her in this thread: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/154546-nurse-of-surgical-team-21-7th-army-very-large-group/

 

 

Ruth+Sobeck+Venise+summer+45.jpg

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memphis_belle

8) Blue Outdoor Uniform

 

During the spring of 1940, the Department of the Army decided to improve the outmoded design and color for the female nurse service uniform. According to opinion research among army nurses, 98% of them preferred a bluish uniform. Production of the new attire began in 1941.

The uniform included a dark blue covert wool coat with maroon piped shoulder loops and sleeve braids and a six-gore wool covert skirt in medium blue color.

 

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The blue outdoor uniform could be worn with dark blue garrison cap / service cap, white / powder blue waist, black tie, gray / black gloves, beige stockings and black oxford shoes.

 

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Following adoption of olive-drab service uniforms, the blue outdoor uniform was reserved for dress occassions only.

 

 

 

 

9) Blue Wool Overcoat

 

The blue wool overcoat was issued along with the blue service uniform. There was a removable lining inside. The blue overcoat could be worn in conjunction with a blue wool muffler and blue wool gloves, in addition to gray or black leather gloves.

 

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You have a very nice collection of uniforms for the ANC. I don't think I have ever seen so many nice examples.

 

Thanks for sharing with us

 

Leigh

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 5 weeks later...
Corpsman_1941

If you looking to ID your items try Ancestry.com, one bad thing in Ancestry is that its quite expensive.

I find one ID:

Ruth C. Sobeck Oct 3 1909-jul 28 2003. She joined U s Army Nurse Hospital in 1942. She served in the field in North Africa, during invasion of Anzio, invasion of southern France, and Germany. She was WIA but i dont know where, she also recive Purple Heart and Bronze Star. She was discharged in 1946. She workd in hospitals till 1975.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Sobeck&GSiman=1&GSst=40&GRid=19120758&

Thats awesome history and grat piece of American history ;)

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memphis_belle

Well, thank you, Kuba, for your help! I actually managed to find some info on Ruth Sobeck's life and service but I still have a number of named items which I cannot investigate further. As long as http://wwii-enlistment.com/ and http://aad.archives.gov/aad/series-list.jsp?cat=WR26 are very helpful sources while researching enlisted personnel and male officers, they don't include servicewomen. It's sometimes troublesome to find information on someone without access to paid websites.

 

I'm going to post more pictures of my collection soon so stay tuned! :)

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  • 1 month later...

wonderful thread - wonderful collection, and wonderful smile you wear whilst in your natty blue uniform! are you by chance a friend of 'blitzbaby'? she put together I'm certain with much effort a quite mammoth website on nearly all the ww2 lady u.s. military uniforms? it's time I think you enthusiasts collaborate to write a book; for sure it will help to unearth and save more nice pieces for your own collections; plus generate more interest in the subject leading to mag article etc. and so forth.

meantime thanks loads for you contribs. here - most enjoyable thread! david

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  • 6 months later...

Memphis-Belle

What a fantastic collection.

My daughter is an Army Nurse - Captain.

I am certain she will enjoy seeing your posts.

Thanks for sharing.

Mike

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Just spotted this thread, fantastic collection!!! Funny the one set of tags you have are from a city about 45 minutes north west of me in Adrian Michigan.

 

Fritz

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