III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 737 

Recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United States 

Cadet Nurse Corps and expressing the appreciation of the Senate for 

the contribution of the members of the United States Cadet Nurse 

Corps during World War II. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 19, 2018 

Mr. KING (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, and Ms. WARREN) submitted the 

following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of 

the United States Cadet Nurse Corps and expressing 

the appreciation of the Senate for the contribution of 

the members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps 

during World War II. 

Whereas the personnel requirements of World War II created 

a shortage of nurses and, by 1942, it was evident that 

the pace of training for new nurses could not keep up 

with the demands of the military and civilian populations 

of the United States; 

Whereas, as nurses vacated positions in hospitals, schools, 

and welfare agencies to meet the needs of the Armed 

Forces, an influx of millions of new workers to industrial 

areas created unprecedented public health challenges, and 


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•SRES 737 ATS 

such challenges were exacerbated by a nursing capacity 

that was not sufficient to meet the demands of both the 

Armed Forces and essential civilian services; 

Whereas the Act of June 15, 1943 (57 Stat. 153, chapter 

126; commonly known as the ‘‘Bolton Act’’), unanimously passed both houses of Congress; 

Whereas the Bolton Act resulted in the establishment of the 

United States Cadet Nurse Corps, which was a uniformed service under the direction of the United States 

Public Health Service and operated from 1943 to 1948; 

Whereas the United States Cadet Nurse Corps was open to 

minorities, including African Americans and Native 

Americans, because the Bolton Act included a provision 

restricting discrimination in the administration of the Act 

on account of race, creed, or color; 

Whereas enrollment in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps 

required a commitment to serve for the duration of 

World War II, with each cadet taking the following 

pledge: ‘‘I will dedicate myself now and forever to the triumph of life over death; As a Cadet nurse, I pledge to 

my country my service in essential nursing for the duration of the war.’’; 

Whereas an April 1944 memorandum from the Federal Security Agency identified ‘‘national recognition for rendering 

a vital war service’’ as a privilege of service in the United 

States Cadet Nurse Corps; 

Whereas with more than 120,000 women enrolled in the 

United States Cadet Nurse Corps by the termination of 

the program, the United States Cadet Nurse Corps 

played an important role in overcoming the nursing 


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•SRES 737 ATS 

shortage at military, Federal, and non-Federal hospitals 

across the United States; and 

Whereas Surgeon General Thomas Parran, appearing before 

the Committee on Military Affairs of the House of Representatives in January 1945, highlighted the positive 

contribution of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps to 

the war effort by stating, ‘‘We cannot measure what the 

loss to the country would have been if [the] civilian nursing service had collapsed, any more than we could measure the cost of failure on the Normandy beachheads.’’: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the 75th anniversary of the for3 mation of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps; and 

4 (2) expresses appreciation for the vital con5 tribution that the members of the United States 

6 Cadet Nurse Corps made to the war effort by filling 

7 critical military and essential civilian nursing posi8 tions during the nursing shortage caused by World 

9 War II. 

Æ 


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