In 1943, America was facing a nursing shortage made worse by World War II. Many nurses were serving overseas and women at home were choosing non-traditional, higher-paying factory jobs to support the war effort.
To make nursing more attractive, the federal government established Cadet Nurse Corps within the Public Health Service to grant scholarships to nursing students and subsidies to nursing schools. The Cadet Nurse Corps enabled more women to attend university nursing schools than ever before, fostered integration of nursing students and broadened nursing education.
Between 1943 and 1948, 124,065 nurses graduated from the corps; 270 of them from the Georgia Baptist School of Nursing. The nursing school honored Cadet Nurse Corps alumnae at a recent luncheon.
"This year, Americans marked the 60th anniversary of D-Day and the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington," said Susan Gunby, dean of the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University. "We felt that this was an appropriate time to honor our alumnae who were members of the Cadet Nurse Corps and aided in the recovery of our men and women who served in the war effort."
Kathryn Ransbotham, class of 1944, remembered the gray coat uniform of the corps and the pride with which women wore it. "I was in the last six months of nursing school when I joined the corps," she said. "I knew that I'd be subject to serve anywhere I was needed, but I wanted to help all I could. Everyone felt that way about it."
After graduation, Ransbotham was "frozen" at Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, where she was needed to teach "nursing arts." In 1950, she enrolled in the University of Georgia's first degree program to prepare nursing educators.
"The college sent instructors to us in Atlanta," she said. "We went to school at night and the government paid our expenses."
Later, she earned a master's degree from Emory University and served as director of the Georgia Baptist School of Nursing for 24 years.
Flying nurses
Johnnie Wallace Forgay, class of 1946, had entered nursing to become an "air hostess" - in those days you had to be a nurse to fly.
"I never did fly because nurses were in such great demand and we were trained to work in hospitals," she said.
Part of the corps between 1943 and 1945, Forgay stayed in nursing, earned her BSN and worked at Georgia Baptist Medical Center for 27 years. She's continued to serve in retirement, volunteering at a DeKalb County clinic, the Fernbank Museum and Project Read for the last 15 years.
Helen Thompson, class of 1947, still carries the Cadet Nurse Corps pledge card in her wallet, in which she promised to remain in essential nursing for the duration of the war.
"The war ended before I graduated, but I've stayed in essential nursing all my life," Thompson said. "I always felt like I was called to nursing and that everything that has happened was meant to be. I've had a really good life."
Thompson grew up on a farm near Gillsville and planned to be a teacher. But she heard a radio program in high school about American Red Cross founder and nurse Clara Barton. "I stayed awake all night and prayed about being a nurse," she said.
Attractive option
With teacher and parent support, Thompson planned to go to UGA for a year until she was old enough to enter nursing school. Then someone told her that the Cadet Nurse Corps would take her at 17.
"I was accepted into Georgia Baptist in September of 1944 and the government program paid for my tuition, meals, books and uniforms," Thompson said. "I feel very fortunate that my basic nursing education was paid for completely."
Because of the shortage, nursing students were taking care of patients in the hospital, she remembered. "There wasn't any recovery room; no such thing as a physical therapists or respiratory therapist. You had total charge of the patients under your care and you dusted and cleaned the sinks, too."
Thompson had planned to become a Navy nurse, but the Navy discharged many nurses after the war. "I was only 20 and felt like I had a lot to learn, so I stayed at Georgia Baptist and became head nurse on a surgical floor," she said.
Earning her BSNE at Georgia State University, she was a nurse educator and clinical instructor at Grady School of Nursing, Georgia Baptist, DeKalb Tech and chair of health sciences at Gwinnett Tech before retiring in 1989. Today, she mentors nursing students.
"I still have my blue wool cape with the red lining and GBH embroidered on it. We were proud to wear our uniforms and felt like we were serving our country," Thompson said. "But I never took advantage of anyone offering me a seat on a bus or a train, like people did for anyone in the military then. Someone else needed the rest more."