United States Army Air Force, American, 1941 - 1947 Search this
Owned by:
Louise Virginia Lomax, American, 1920 - 2011 Search this
Medium:
sterling silver
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 5/16 × 7/8 × 3/16 in. (0.8 × 2.2 × 0.4 cm)
Type:
insignias
Place used:
Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
Date:
ca. 1946
Caption:
During World War II, Louise Lomax joined the Army Nurse Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant in March 1943 with the help of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses and trained as a psychiatric nurse at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. By September 1943 she was stationed at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, home of the Tuskegee Airmen. Lomax remained at Tuskegee during the war, where she was eventually promoted to 1st Lieutenant. For her war service she was awarded a World War II Victory Medal and an American Campaign Medal.
While the term "Tuskegee Airmen" is often attributed to the famed African American pilots who trained at Tuskegee, the Tuskegee Airmen also included more than 10,000 Black men and women who supported the pilots, including nurses, civilian flight instructors, mechanics, cooks, supply personnel, and more.
Description:
A First Lieutenant bar military insignia pin worn by Lt. Louise Lomax as part of Army Nurse Corps uniform. The insignia pin is a rectangular sterling silver bar with an attached pin back.
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pia Marie Winters Jordan in memory of her mother, First Lieutenant Louise Virginia Lomax Winters, Army Nurse Corps; and her uncle, Sgt. Henry James Lomax, U.S. Army
