Extraordinary measures were necessary to meet the increased demand for nurses during World War II. On July 1, 1943 Congress established the United States Cadet Nurse Corps under the administration of the United States Public Health Service to provide funding for programs preparing nurses. A total of 1125 of the nation's 1300 schools of nursing participated in the program, graduating 124,065 nurses between July 1 1943-June 30, 1948.
The federal funding provided tuition, support for expansion of the schools and The Cadets uniform was provided along with a monthly stipend for the full program. As a traineeship the Cadet Nurse Corps was not considered military or even government service.
There is considerable interest in collecting Cadet Corps memorobilia. Because of the intensive recruitment campaign there are numerous posters and recruitment print ads from magazines.
The dress uniform is also collectible, including the buttons and the patch for both the gray (Winter) wool uniform, shown on the left, below, as well as the white patch worn with the school's student uniform, as in the bottom photo.
