Army accepts Black nurses

black and white historical photo of nine nurses, all of whom are Black

The U.S. military banned Black nurses during World War I. These nine Black nurses, who cared for soldiers with influenza at Camp Sherman in Ohio, along with nine Black nurses assigned to Camp Grant in Illinois, were the first called to serve after the ban was lifted two days after the war ended on November 11, 1918.

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By Science News

With the 1918 influenza pandemic racing through military training camps, the U.S. Army Nurse Corps began accepting Black nurses two days after World War I ended. Nine of the first group of 18, shown here around 1919, went to Camp Sherman in Ohio.