By: HISTORY.com Editors

1947

First female army officer is commissioned

Published: February 09, 2010

Last Updated: January 24, 2025

In a ceremony held at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, General Dwight D. Eisenhower appoints Florence Blanchfield to be a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, making her the first woman in U.S. history to hold permanent military rank.

A member of the Army Nurse Corps since 1917, Blanchfield secured her commission following the passage of the Army-Navy Nurse Act of 1947 by Congress. Blanchfield had served as superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps during World War II and was instrumental in securing passage of the Army-Navy Nurse Act, which was advocated by Representative Frances Payne Bolton. In 1951, Blanchfield received the Florence Nightingale Award from the International Red Cross. In 1978, a U.S. Army hospital in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was named in her honor.

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Citation Information

Article title
First female army officer is commissioned
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
April 29, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 24, 2025
Original Published Date
February 09, 2010

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