Gold Registered Nurse wing?

[Garth Thompson]

Thoughts on this wing appreciated by any of you wing gurus. It is 2 1/4" long, marked 1/20GF and has a 90 degree stop on the pin.

Thanks,

Garth

[Garth Thompson]

The back

[pconrad02]

Unofficial Early WWII USAAF Army Flight Nurse? I say Army because the Navy never used the caduceus. Just my quess. Cool wing!

[pfrost]

Probably not military. Could be something that was worn by a registered nurse for a medical evacuation unit or hospital. One of those helicopter ambulance type things.

 

neat wing.

 

Patrick

[Mark I.]

I realize this is an old thread, but I have the answer. This is a stewardess wing for American Overseas Airlines (AOA). AOA operated from late 1945 to late 1950 and was part of American Airlines. They flew to Central America and Europe. A stewardess on the European routes was a qualified nurse, thus the wing. AOA was purchased by Pan AM in 1950.

 

I've included photos of my two sets (one modified into a bracelet with the owner's  name and dated August 1948). The photo shows her wearing the other wing - on a Boeing Stratocruiser and dated July 1949. The AOA stewardess wore a regular American Airlines uniform, this wing, an embroidered cap badge and a "USA" patch on the shoulder. One of my patches has the small snaps on the back for easy removal.

 

My primary collecting field is WW2 wing with one of my focus areas being medical wings. For a number of years now I've also collected early airline wings (30s to 50s). When I saw this wing in a reference book it became one of my major pursuits. Feel fortunate to have two, and with much provenance.

 

 

[manayunkman]

Back in those days I believe every stewardess was a registered nurse.

[Mark I.]

Yes, in the beginning they had nurse training. But with the need for nurses during WW2 that requirement was dropped. The new stewardesses received additional training to make up for that.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

On 4/24/2023 at 4:50 PM, manayunkman said:

Back in those days I believe every stewardess was a registered nurse.

I think it was only if you flew overseas routes.

[Scott C.]

Nice grouping Mark, thanks for the updated information.

[dmar836]

Excellent info, Mark!

Dave