Short history of Minnie Brown Carter's achievement as a US Cadet Nurse during WWII and beyond.

As a US Public Health Service Cadet Nurse during World War II, I was responsible for patient care in understaffed civilian hospitals.  As a "Colored" woman, I encountered insurmountable obstacles while training to become a nurse.  Forty eight hour work weeks were the norm and our schedules were based on a combination of classes and clinical experience.  But I took advantage of this career opportunity and went on to become a leader.  I worked as a Head Nurse and Supervisory in all areas of the hospital; this experience more than prepared me for later various positions as a registered Nurse.

As a Registered Nurse, I worked at Freedman's Hospital, Washington DC and integrated the nursing staff at DC General Hospital, Washington, DC, the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD and various other Washington Metropolitan area hospitals.  My training prepared me to work with various nationalities - nurses from distant foreign countries and nearby Europe.  This was during a time when most places in America did not let races co-mingle in the workplace.  I remember being on duty call during the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.  These were difficult times.  It was very hard working rotating shifts, enduring insults from various patients.  Sometimes I was the only Black Registered Nurse on duty.

It is amazing to now see so many different nationalities working throughout various hospitals together as nurses, doctors, etc.  There have been significant changes in the nursing workforce as well as in housing practices during my lifetime.  Back during my college years, its was not unusual for one part of a hospital to be designated for "Colored" and the remainder designated as "For Whites Only".

This practice was also carried out in the nursing field.  While I was attending nursing school through the Hampton Training School for Nurses at what was at that time Hampton Institute located in Hampton, VA (now Hampton University) our nursing dorm was colocated near our designated training hospital, Dixie Hospital.  However, the "Colored" nursing students had to go through the back door to enter the hospital while all others could enter through the front.  As time progressed changes were made.  We eventually were able to walk through the hospital front doors; the hospital beds became integrated with male and female patients as well as with Black and White patients all together on a unit!

In addition to integrating the hospital, I also helped to integrate the US Cadet Nurses Corps.  While attending the Hampton Training School for Nurses I applied to and was accepted in the US Cadet Nurses Corps.  As a Cadet Nurse, I endured long hours of studies, work, crowded living conditions and obeyed military-like rules and regulations, staffed hospitals, saved lives and became a Registered Nurse.  Due to the known quality of a Cadet Nurse, I a "Colored" woman was offered many top paid nursing jobs before I had even graduated.  I am proud to say I went on to graduate from Hampton Institute in 1947 as a US Cadet Nurse and launched into a rewarding nursing career.

On October 18, 1997, I participated in the dedication of the Women in Military Service for American Memorial at Arlington National Cementery.  The Women in Military Service for America Memorial honors the some 2.5 milliion women who have served or are serving in the US Armed Forces starting with the American Revolution.  As a charter member of this memorial, I participated in many of rhe dedication festivities including the historic Women's Memorial March.

The Memorial maintains a register, an interactive computer database with the names, photographs, and individual story of each registered woman's service, a permanent place to honor service women in American history.  You will see my name, my story and photo there!

In March 2006, at my 80th birthday celebration, with over 100 guests looking on, I was honored by a surprise guest speaker, Brigadier General Wilma L. Vaught, USAF (Ret.), President, Women's Memorial Foundation.  She spoke of the contributions US Cadet Nurses made to America.  What a honor.  In November 2007, America celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial and I was fortunate at the young age of 81 to actively participate in the memrial services.  Out of a total of approximately 124,000 US Cadet Nurses, there were only approximately 3,000 African American women who were accepted into and completed the US Cadet Nurse program.  I am proud to have been one of those few who served.