US Army Medical Pioneer. Born in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, she was one of the most influential nurses in military history, who championed women's rights within the military. She began her career graduating from the South Side Hospital Training School for Nurses, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1906. After further studies at several medical institutions, including Johns Hopkins Hospital, she joined the US Army Nurse Corps in 1917. During World War I, she served in France, tending the wounded. After the war she worked in a number of Army hospitals around the world, including the Philippines and China. In 1939, she became the Superintendent at the Army Nurse Corps. During World War II, Blanchfield supervised close to 60,000 nurses at home and abroad. She toured military medical facilities around the world and in 1944, went to Congress and succeeded in getting equal rights, pay and privileges for Army women nurses. In 1947, she became the first woman commissioned as a Colonel in the Regular Army and title of Chief of Army Nurse Corps. She retired after 30 years of service and died at age 87 in Washington D.C. In 1982, the Army hospital at Fort Campbell Kentucky, was named in her honor and she was inducted into the Army Nurse Association Hall of Fame in 1996.
US Army Medical Pioneer. Born in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, she was one of the most influential nurses in military history, who championed women's rights within the military. She began her career graduating from the South Side Hospital Training School for Nurses, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1906. After further studies at several medical institutions, including Johns Hopkins Hospital, she joined the US Army Nurse Corps in 1917. During World War I, she served in France, tending the wounded. After the war she worked in a number of Army hospitals around the world, including the Philippines and China. In 1939, she became the Superintendent at the Army Nurse Corps. During World War II, Blanchfield supervised close to 60,000 nurses at home and abroad. She toured military medical facilities around the world and in 1944, went to Congress and succeeded in getting equal rights, pay and privileges for Army women nurses. In 1947, she became the first woman commissioned as a Colonel in the Regular Army and title of Chief of Army Nurse Corps. She retired after 30 years of service and died at age 87 in Washington D.C. In 1982, the Army hospital at Fort Campbell Kentucky, was named in her honor and she was inducted into the Army Nurse Association Hall of Fame in 1996.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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