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		Black and African Americans in Military Medicine
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 Black and African Americans in Military Medicine Honoring the achievements of black and African Americans throughout U.S. history, Black History Month is celebrated each February. Early celebratory events date back to February 1926 which encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The observance was expanded to a month-long celebration in 1976 and has since been commemorated by every president. Let's take a look back at just a few of the many trailblazers who have made great strides in medicine while combatting the challenges faced by the black and African American communities. We honor them and thank them for their contributions to health and medicine.
 African Americans in Military Medicine
				1837 James McCune Smith
						1847  David Jones Peck
						1861 Susie King Taylor
						1863 Alexander T. Augusta
						1864 Rebecca Lee Crumpler
						1864 Charles B. Purvis
						1895 Robert Boyd
						1906 Adah Belle Thoms
						1914-1918 Louis T. Wright
						1941 Charles Drew
						1941 Della Raney Jackson
						1942 Waverly Bernard Woodson Jr.
						1952 Alvin Vincent Blount Jr.
						1955 Hazel Johnson-Brown
						1965 Lawrence Joel
						1972 Tony Polk
						1980 Guthrie Turner Jr.
						1989 Shan K. Bagby
						1995 Lynnelle Boamah
						2001 Tawanna McGhee-Thondique
						2007 Laura A. Martinez
						2013 Nadja West
						2017 Cecilia Brown
						2018 Audra L. Taylor
						2023 Telita Crosland
						2023 Tanya Y. Johnson
						2023 Candice Jones-Cox
			
				1837 James McCune Smith
							
							

							
								BLM James McCune Smith
							Dr. James McCune Smith was the first African American to earn his medical degree. At the time, Dr. Smith was barred from earning his degree in the U.S. due to his race, causing him to travel to Glasgow, Scotland to complete his education. Upon his return to New York, he became the first university-trained Black physician to practice medicine and publish articles in medical journals in the U.S. He went on to work alongside abolitionist Frederick Douglass to put an end to slavery and establish the National Council of the Colored People. 
Read more about Dr. James McCune Smith here.
						1847  David Jones Peck
							
							

							
								BLM David Jones Peck
							David Jones Peck was the first African American to receive a medical degree in the United States. While his presence at Chicago’s Rush Medical College in 1846-1847 was objected to by many, Peck’s fellow students voted on his admittance, and he successfully completed the requirements for graduation in 1847. Following his graduation, Peck toured Ohio with William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and others before establishing his medical practice in 1848. 
Find more about the life of Dr. David Jones Peck here.
						1861 Susie King Taylor
							
							

							
								BLM Susie King Taylor
							Born into slavery in Georgia, Susie King Taylor is known for being the first Black nurse during the American Civil War. Taylor treated wounded soldiers in the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment. An educator and an author, Taylor wrote about her military service in her memoir,*Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33rd United States Colored Troops, Late 1st S.C. Volunteer*s. Taylor also organized the 67th Corps of the Women's Relief Corps in 1886.
						1863 Alexander T. Augusta
							
							

							
								BLM Alexander T Augusta
							Alexander T. Augusta is among 13 known African Americans that served as surgeons during the American Civil War. A native Virginian, Augusta traveled to Canada to study medicine and achieve his degree.
Following his request to President Lincoln, Dr. Alexander Augusta was the first African American to be commissioned as a medical officer in the Union Army. Augusta would later become the first Black surgeon to lead a hospital in the U.S., leading the contraband camp in Washington, D.C. from May through October 1863.
Augusta was also the first African American to serve on the faculty of a medical school in the United States, serving, at the time, the newly established medical department of Howard University in 1868. On May 16, 2023,The Defense Health Agency conducted a renaming ceremony at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, officially changing the name to the Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center.Read more about Alexander T. Augusta.
						1864 Rebecca Lee Crumpler
							
							

							
								BLM Rebecca Lee Crumpler
							Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler began her career as a nurse but went on to become the first female African American to earn a medical degree back in 1864. When the Civil War ended, Crumpler moved her practice to Richmond, Virginia. There, she worked for the Freedmen’s Bureau, tending to the health of newly freed slaves. 
You can read more about Crumpler and other trailblazing female physicians here.
						1864 Charles B. Purvis
							
							

							
								BLM Charles Purvis
							Charles B. Purvis was born in Philadelphia in 1842, the son of famed abolitionists Robert Purvis and Harriet Forten. At the age of eighteen he enrolled in Oberlin College in Ohio, earning a bachelor’s degree in science in 1863. He then entered medical school at Wooster Medical College in Cleveland. In 1864 Purvis served in the Union Army in the US Civil War as a military nurse at Camp Barker. He then graduated from Western Reserve in March 1865, where he completed medical training. Two months after graduation he took the position of acting assistant surgeon with a rank of first lieutenant and was assigned to duty in Washington, DC.  Purvis was among the founders of the medical school at Howard University. He was the first black physician to attend a sitting president when he attended President James Garfield after he was shot by an assassin in 1881.  Purvis was also the first black physician to head a hospital under civilian authority when he was made surgeon-in-charge of the Freedmen's Hospital that same year. Dr. Charles B. Purvis was the first black person to serve on the D. C. Board of Medical Examiners and the second black instructor at an American medical school. He was also a leading activist in civil rights and universal suffrage movements.
						1895 Robert Boyd
							
							

							
								BLM Robert Boyd
							In 1895, Dr. Robert Boyd co-founded the National Medical Association (NMA), which represents U.S. African American doctors and medical professionals. Jim Crow laws were a major obstacle for Black physicians at the time. Even the American Medical Association barred Black doctors from becoming members. Boyd, who served as the first NMA president, established the NMA to make sure that Black physicians had a voice in shaping medical policy and developing clinical expertise. 
Read more about Dr. Robert Boyd here.
						1906 Adah Belle Thoms
							
							

							
								BLM Adah Belle Thoms
							In 1906, Adah Belle Thoms was named assistant superintendent of nurses at Lincoln Hospital in New York. While she would spend the next 18 years acting as director, her race precluded her from being given the title, according to the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Thoms co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses and served as the organization’s president from 1916 to 1923, and later successfully lobbied for Black nurses to serve in the American Red Cross Nursing and Army Nurse Corps during WWI. Thoms published the first chronicle of the history of black nurses in America with her book “Pathfinders: A History of the Progress of Colored Graduate Nurses.” She was one the original inductees to the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 1976.
						1914-1918 Louis T. Wright
							
							

							
								BHM Louis T Wright
							Dr. Louis T. Wright joined the Army Medical Corps, serving as a lieutenant during World War I, stationed in France. While there, he introduced intradermal vaccination for smallpox and was awarded the Purple Heart after a gas attack. Dr. Wright was one of 104 African American doctors who served the 40,000 Black troops who saw combat during WWI. Wright, who lived until 1952—despite a gas-inhalation injury that permanently affected his lungs—helped pioneer the use of chemotherapy, became the first African American physician on an integrated hospital staff, and challenged stereotypes about Black people through his civil rights activism.Learn more about Dr. Wright here.
						1941 Charles Drew
							
							

							
								BLM Charles Drew
							Often referred to as the “Father of Blood Banks” because he developed transformative ways to store and process blood plasma, Dr. Charles Drew spearheaded a blood bank for the American Red Cross to be used for U.S. military personnel in 1941. Dr. Drew pioneered the use and preservation of blood plasma during World War II, saving the lives of thousands of U.S. troops. His discoveries translated to the civilian sector, giving rise to the modern blood banking system.
						1941 Della Raney Jackson
							
							

							
								BLM Della Raney-Jackson
							In 1941, Major Della Raney Jackson became the first Black nurse to be commissioned in the U.S. Army.  After the war, she was assigned to head the nursing staff at the station hospital at Camp Beale, California. In 1946, she was promoted to major and served a tour of duty in Japan. Major Della Raney Jackson retired in 1978. Learn more about her story here.
						1942 Waverly Bernard Woodson Jr.
							
							

							
								Wavery Bernard Woodson BHM comp
							In 1942, Waverly Bernard Woodson Jr. left college — and his dream of becoming a doctor — to enlist in the U.S. Army. He was sent to medic training and assigned to the all-Black 320th Antiaircraft Barrage Balloon Battalion, a unit that set up explosive balloons to intercept German planes. On June 6, 1944, en route to Omaha Beach, Woodson’s landing craft hit a mine. He was severely wounded but spent 30 hours tending to other wounded men before collapsing from exhaustion. Woodson is credited with saving dozens—possibly hundreds—of lives on D-Day. After the war, Woodson served 28 years at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and later at the National Institutes of Health until his retirement in 1980. After Woodson’s passing in 2005, Sen. Chris Van Hollen fought to have Woodson posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor on D-Day. A lack of documentation, in part because of a fire that destroyed millions of military personnel files, thwarted the effort.
						1952 Alvin Vincent Blount Jr.
							
							

							
								BLM Alvin Vincent Blount
							Dr. Alvin Vincent Blount Jr. attended medical school at Howard University during the 1940s in Washington, DC, where he studied under Dr. Charles Drew. He was deployed to Korea in 1952 and became the first Black chief of surgery in a MASH unit. During his tour, Dr. Blount and his team performed 90 major and minor surgeries each week. Learn more about Dr. Alvin Blount Jr. here.
						1955 Hazel Johnson-Brown
							
							

							
								BLM Hazel Johnson Brown
							Brigadier General Hazel Johnson-Brown enlisted in the military in 1955, just seven years after President Harry S. Truman moved to integrate the United States Armed Forces and abolish discrimination. As she continued to advance her education, Johnson-Brown was named director of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing and Army Nurse of the Year two times. In 1979, she was nominated as the 16th chief of the Army Nurse Corps and promoted to brigadier general, becoming the first African American woman to earn the rank. Following her retirement, Brigadier General Hazel Johnson-Brown entered academia, serving as a professor of nursing at Georgetown University and George Mason University.
						1965 Lawrence Joel
							
							

							
								Lawrence Joel BHM comp
							A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Lawrence Joel was a veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Joel began his military career in the U.S. Merchant Marines, serving for a year before enlisting in the U.S. Army at the age of 18. Trained as a medic, Joel served several deployments during the Korean War. During the Vietnam War, he served as a medical aidman for the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade. On Nov. 8, 1965, while in an enemy stronghold northwest of Saigon, Joel sustained multiple wounds from intense fire. Despite his injuries, Joel persevered for more than 12 hours to bring his comrades to safety. For his selfless valor on that day, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded him the Medal of Honor on March 9, 1967, distinguishing Joel as the first African American since the Spanish-American War of 1898 to earn the medal, as well as the first medic to receive the award during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Army in 1973 and passed away in 1984.
						1972 Tony Polk
							
							

							
								BLM Tony Polk
							In 1972, Army Col. Tony Polk became the second African America to enroll in the Armed Services Blood Program’s Specialist in Blood Banking Fellowship Program. Polk would go on to serve in the Pacific blood program during the Vietnam War and later as the overall person in charge of military blood banking in Europe. Polk would later become the director of the Department of Defense Military Blood Program Office and would transform the various military blood programs into what would become the Armed Services Blood Program of today.
						1980 Guthrie Turner Jr.
							
							

							
								BLM Guthrie Turner Jr
							Brigadier General Guthrie Turner Jr. was the first African American to achieve the rank of general officer in the Army Medical Corps and the first African American to command an Army hospital – serving as Madigan Army Medical Center's commanding general from 1980 to 1983. After his retirement from the military, Dr. Turner entered a second career as the Medicaid Director of the Medicaid Assistance Administration of the Department of Social and Human Services for the State of Washington. A man who believed in service, Dr. Turner donated his time to many organizations such as Shaw University, the Franciscan Health Network, the National Medical Association, the Madigan Foundation Board, the Tacoma Urban League, and Oberlin Congregational Church.
						1989 Shan K. Bagby
							
							

							
								Shan K Bagby timeline comp
							With a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees, and Doctor of Dental Medicine, it’s no wonder that Shan K. Bagby’s 22-year military career is distinguished by leadership and influence. Bagby commanded eight dental facilities in Iraq, taught oral surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and served as chief of the U.S. Army Dental Corps. On May 24, 2018, Bagby became the U.S. Army’s first African American dental officer to be promoted to brigadier general. Two years later, he was named commanding general of the Brooke Army Medical Center—the Military Health System's largest and only Level I trauma center. Bagby later served as deputy director at the Defense Health Agency from September 2021 to May 2022. After military service, Bagby became vice president of Mobile Integrated Care at Cityblock Health, Brooklyn, New York, which delivers medical care and services to underserved communities.
						1995 Lynnelle Boamah
							
							

							
								BLM Lynette Boamah
							How did the sometimes homeless kid who lost her dad to gun violence wind up advising military leaders on the health and wellness of an entire region of troops? According to Navy Capt. Lynelle Boamah, it was her determination, invaluable mentors, and her sister's urging to join the U.S. Navy. Boamah, a board-certified pediatric gastroenterologist was the first black female Medical Corps commanding officer to lead the Navy Medical Readiness and Training Command in Twentynine Palms, California. In July 2021 Boamah became U.S. Third Fleet surgeon for San Diego-based fleet's leadership on all things medical. In January 2023, a Maritime Headquarters was established at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Falls Church, Virginia. Later that year, Capt. Boamah was named its Director of Maritime Operations.
						2001 Tawanna McGhee-Thondique
							
							

							
								BHM Tawanna McGhee Thondique
							Col. Tawana McGhee-Thondique, an Alabama native, has been making history since she commissioned into the U.S. Army in 2001 as the first female African American Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon in the Army Dental Corps. Armed with a bachelor of science degree in dental hygiene, a doctorate in dental sciences, and certification in oral and maxillofacial surgery, it’s no wonder that McGhee-Thondique has served our nation around the globe in a host of leadership positions in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Among many firsts, McGhee-Thondique was the first female to command the only dual-hatted dental command in the Army: the 618th Dental Company (Area Support)/Dental Health Activity - Korea. She was also the first female to serve as the Director, Dental Directorate, MEDCOM G-3/5/7, and the first female Principal Deputy to the Assistant Director for Healthcare Administration. In 2023, McGhee-Thondique became the inaugural director of the Defense Health Support Activity, Defense Health Agency.
						2007 Laura A. Martinez
							
							

							
								BLM Laura Martinez
							Appointed the 12th Force Master Chief and the Director of the Hospital Corps in November 2007, Master Chief Laura A. Martinez holds the distinction as the first African American and second woman to serve in this role. Over the course of her 32 years of active service, Martinez held various command executive leadership positions including Command Master Chief of Field Medical Training Battalion-East, National Capitol Area/National Naval Medical Center, and 2nd Marine Logistics Group.
						2013 Nadja West
							
							

							
								BLM Nada West
							In 2013, Lt. Gen. Nadja West became the first black female major general of the Army's active component, and was Army Medicine's first African American female two-star general. In 2015, she was the first African American appointed as the U.S. Army Surgeon General. And, in 2016, Lt. Gen. West became the first black female lieutenant general and the highest-ranking woman to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy.  Learn more about Lt. Gen. Nadja West here.
						2017 Cecilia Brown
							
							

							
								Cecila Brown BHM comp
							Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Sparta, Georgia, Cecilia Brown earned two bachelor’s degrees, two master’s degrees, and a doctorate degree in dental surgery. Armed with that extensive educational background, Brown began her military career in the U.S. Air Force, later commissioning into the U.S. Navy. In 2017, Brown became the first African American woman to complete the U.S. Navy Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical residency program and is, to date, the only African American oral surgeon in the U.S. Navy. Brown’s military honors include the Humanitarian Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with gold star, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation. For her outstanding achievements as a uniformed dental officer, Brown was awarded the Jeanne Hansen Bayless Uniformed Services Award in 2019.
						2018 Audra L. Taylor
							
							

							
								BLM Audra L Taylor
							Army Col. Audra L. Taylor served as the Division Chief of the Defense Health Agency’s Armed Services Blood Program. Her leadership was instrumental in achieving the Department of Defense’s goal to acquire more than 10,000 units of COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma by Sept. 30, 2020, surpassing the goal set by then Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
						2023 Telita Crosland
							
							

							
								BLM Telita Crosland
							Telita Crosland joined the Army as a Medical Corps Officer in 1993. She is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. During her three decades of service, she has garnered the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Staff Badge, and the Parachutist's Badge. On Jan. 3, 2023, U.S. Army Maj. Gen Crosland made history becoming the DHA's fourth director in its nearly 10-year existence, serving also as the first African American DHA director.
						2023 Tanya Y. Johnson
							
							

							
								BLM Tanya Johnson
							Tanya Johnson entered the Air Force in October 1993. She graduated Medical Laboratory Apprentice Technical Training Course in December 1994. Johnson has served as a Clinical Laboratory technician, Protocol Assistant for the 375th Airlift Wing Commander, and Executive Assistant to both the Aeronautical System Center and Air Education and Training Command, Command Chief Master Sergeant. Johnson has deployed in support of Operation United Assistance, Operation Inherent Resolve, and Operation Deliberate Resolve. On March 10, 2023, Chief Master Sergeant Tanya Johnson was ceremoniously named Senior Enlisted Leader of the Defense Health Agency (DHA). She is DHA’s first female enlisted senior leader.
						2023 Candice Jones-Cox
							
							

							
								BHM Candice Jones-Cox Comp
							Candice Jones-Cox joined the U.S. Army as a gynecological surgeon in 2007. For more than a decade, Jones-Cox dedicated herself to specializing in women's reproductive health in the U.S. Army. In April of 2020, Jones-Cox joined the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2021, Jones-Cox became Chief of Women's Health Services at WRNMMC. There, Jones-Cox made history on March 17, 2023, as the first surgeon in DOD to perform a revolutionary robotics surgery for Click to closehysterectomyA partial or total surgical removal of the Click to closeuterusAlso known as the womb, the uterus is the female reproductive organ where a baby grows.uterus. It may also involve removal of the cervix, ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and other surrounding structures.hysterectomy patients called vNotes, which stands for vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery. You also may be interested in... 1
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    The 332nd Fighter Group Medical Detachment poses for a group photo in 1944. The policies of the armed services in World War II reflected the stresses and contradictions of segregated American society of the time, and historical records show the U.S. Army Air Forces and its medical service were no exception. (Courtesy Photo/U.S. Air Force)
            Despite the administrative costs and inefficiencies of segregation—and facing a war on multiple fronts—the armed services did not move to integrate the hundreds of thousands of African Americans who enlisted for wartime service.
    
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    Mar 4, 2024
    Walter Reed Salutes Capt. Carlos Williams’ Leadership During Black History Month            
    Carlos William graduated with honors from Albany State University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in chemistry before earning his medical degree from the Morehouse School of Medicine. He later earned graduate degrees in public health and business administration from Johns Hopkins University.
            When you meet U.S. Navy Capt. Carlos Williams, director of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, you’ll likely notice that he embodies the Navy’s core values of initiative, accountability, integrity and toughness.
    
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    Feb 27, 2024
    I am Navy Medicine Honoring Black History Month – U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Anaya Taylor            
    When Naval Hospital Bremerton’s Diversity Council sent out a request asking staff members what Black History Month meant to them, U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Anaya Taylor knew she had to share. (Photo by Douglas H Stutz, NHB/NMRTC Bremerton public affairs officer)
            With February designated as Black History Month, Navy Medicine and Defense Health Agency commands such as Naval Hospital Bremerton are recognizing the exceptional service and many contributions of Black military and civilian personnel.
    
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    Feb 21, 2024
    NMFSC Highlights U.S. Air Force Lt. Zainob Andu During Black History Month            
    This Black History Month, Naval Medical Forces Support Command highlights U. S. Air Force Lt. Zainob Andu, a regional logistician and assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics, for her contributions to the Department of Defense and the nation. (U.S. Navy photo by Burrell Palmer)
            Black History Month marks a time to celebrate the contributions of African Americans. For Naval Medical Forces Support Command, U.S. Air Force Lt. Zainob Andu, a regional logistician and assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics, is a representation of the highly professional and diverse active duty workforce.
    
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    Feb 20, 2024
    Walter Reed Black History Month Observance Features Renowned Surgeon            
    Walter Reed National Military Medical Center hosted a Black History Month observance on Feb. 6, 2024, in Memorial Auditorium, featuring retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Norvell “Van” Coots.
            Walter Reed National Military Medical Center hosted a Black History Month observance featuring retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Norvell “Van” Coots' presentation titled “Health Equity: African Americans and the Arts,”
    
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    Mar 2, 2023
    Leaders Emphasize Inspiring Change, Creating Community at DHA’s Black History Month Observance            
    Dr. Zoe Spencer, the guest speaker for the Defense Health Agency’s Black History Month event Feb. 15, in her Emmy-winning spoken word piece “Say Her Name.”  (Credit: "Say Her Name - Zoe Spencer - School of Thought" on YouTube)
            The Defense Health Agency held a Black History Month event, themed “Inspiring Change,” on Feb. 15.
    
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    Jan 23, 2023
    MLK Day National Day of Service: Remember. Celebrate. Act.            
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            How Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy still affects us today.
    
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    Feb 25, 2022
    Remembering Dr. Alexander Augusta, the U.S. Army’s First Black Doctor            
    A photo of Maj. (Dr.) Alexander Augusta among the Seventh Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops where he served as regimental surgeon during the Civil War.
            Dr. Alexander Augusta was the first African American to be an Army doctor.
    
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    Feb 16, 2022
    Success Leaves Footprints: DHA Observes Black History Month            
    The Defense Health Agency celebrated Black History Month by hosting a panel discussion called, “success always leaves footprints.” The panelists shared stories of their cultural pride as black Americans and their perspectives on the lessons we can learn from studying black American history.
            The DHA hosted a panel discussion called "success always leaves footprints," which highlighted the importance of studying black American history.
    
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    Jan 19, 2022
    Dr. King: A Leader of Nonviolent Social Transformation            
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            The Defense Health Agency held an observance honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a man committed to nonviolent action for social change.
    
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    Apr 13, 2021
    Navy Pediatrician Rises from Humble Beginnings to Make History            
    Miliary health personnel wearing face mask bumping elbows
            Navy Capt. (Dr.) Lynelle Boamah confidently stands with feet firmly planted atop two recent significant months.
    
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    Feb 25, 2021
    Top African American leaders in MHS share similar thoughts on service            
    Military personnel speaking at a Pentagon press briefing
            The surgeon general of the Army and the Defense Health Agency’s command sergeant major “stand on the shoulders of giants” who have come before them.
    
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