page_title: Cadet Nurse Corps
section_title: Uniforms
hierarchical_section_title: Cadet Nurse Corps / Uniforms
caption_attribution_description: English: "Enlist in a Proud Profession! Join the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps"
context_page_description: The United States Cadet Nurse Corps was authorized by the U.S. Congress on 15 June 1943 and signed into law by president Franklin D. Roosevelt on 1 July; the legislative act contained a specific provision that prohibited discrimination based upon race, color, or creed.
  Its purpose was to help alleviate the nursing shortage that existed during World War II. The United States Public Health Service was named the supervisory agency; it was answerable to Thomas Parran, Jr., the surgeon general of the United States. The USPHS established a division to administer the CNC program and Parran appointed Lucile Petry, a registered nurse, as its director.
  The program was open to all women between the ages of 17 and 35 who were in good health and had graduated from an accredited high-school. The recruiting target was the high-school graduate but college women were also recruited. Nearly every type of media source advertised for the CNC. All state nursing schools in the U.S. were eligible to participate in the program; they were, however, required to be accredited by the accrediting agency in their state and be connected with a hospital that had been approved by the American College of Surgeons.
context_section_description: The outdoor uniforms of the CNC were designed to be distinctive and to identify each cadet as a member of the corps. There was one uniform for winter and another for summer. The winter uniform was a gray, woolen, single-breasted jacket suit, a gored skirt, and a gray, velour overcoat. A gray Montgomery beret, similar to the one worn by the British officer, General Bernard Montgomery, was worn with both of the uniforms. The summer uniform consisted of a two-piece, gray-and-white-striped, cotton suit and a gray twill raincoat. The winter uniform was one of three designs created by professional designers and introduced at a fashion show in New York City on 16 August 1943. Thirty-two fashion editors judged this uniform and the Montgomery beret as the winners. The selected uniform style was said to be attractive enough to have provided an incentive for young women to join the CNC.
  The official outdoor uniforms—with the exception of blouse, gloves, shoes, and stockings—were supplied to the cadets by the institution in which they were enrolled. The students paid for the excluded items. The indoor or work uniforms varied from school to school; these were purchased by the school from federal grants. Work uniforms were worn by the cadets while on duty in hospitals; the CNC patch on the sleeve of the uniform identified the wearer as a cadet.
  The insignia of the CNC was a Maltese Cross. A patch with the insignia was worn on the left shoulder of the uniforms and on the student nurse uniform of the official school of nursing. The USPHS official insignia was worn on the jacket lapels and was also present on the silver buttons. On the Montgomery beret, the USPHS insignia was worn beneath the spread eagle and the American Shield. Wearing the CNC outdoor uniforms was optional for all cadets, except when instructed to do otherwise.
caption: The outdoor or winter uniform of the Cadet Nurse Corps
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