United States Army Air Force, American, 1941 - 1947 Search this
Owned by:
Louise Virginia Lomax, American, 1920 - 2011 Search this
Medium:
metal
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 3/8 × 1 3/16 × 5/16 in. (1 × 3 × 0.8 cm)
Type:
insignias
Place used:
Tuskegee, Macon County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
Date:
1943-1953
Caption:
Louise Lomax joined the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) as a 2nd Lieutenant in March 1943 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.
After the war, Lt. Lomax went on to serve at Lockbourne Army Air Base in Ohio; Provident Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland; at VA hospitals in Downey, Illinois; and Perry Point, Maryland; and finally at the Army’s Percy Jones General Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. Lt. Lomax retired from active duty in March 1949 and transferred to the Reserve Corps, where she served for four years. She was honorably discharged from the ANC in April 1953.The exact origins of this pin are unknown. It's possible that Lomax wore the pin after her retirement from the ANC as a patriotic symbol or as a symbol of her Army service.
Description:
A U.S. insignia pin worn by Lt. Louise Lomax as part of her Army Nurse Corps uniform. The pin is gold with a push pin backing, with clasps. It is in the shape of the letters "U." and "S."
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
