Say What Now?

An interesting by-product of genealogy is the tidbits of history discovered along the way, for example –

The Army Nurse Corps was formally established in 1901, the Navy Nurse Corps in 1908. Between the 2 wars, women were eligible if they were "white, unmarried, volunteer, and a graduate from a civilian nursing school". And while they may have earned the same rank as their male counterparts, they certainly didn't earn the same pay nor were they considered military personnel (wiki).

Have a look at this clipping from a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing 2 Jul 1947

TogetherWeServed

I don't even know what to say so I will move on....

This hearing was in part when it was decided that the various nurses, who had served as far back as the Revolutionary War, were finally getting the recognition they deserved. In 1947, laws were passed making all the nurse corps permanent with the same commissions and on the same terms as their male counterparts.

R/Adm Swanson - TogetherWeServed

While all of this is interesting, this blog isn't about the nurses but rather it's about the Surgeon General from the clipping above. 

Rear Admiral Clifford Anders Swanson. He advocated for women at time when the expectation was to cook, clean, raise children and fight the incapacitation from menopause!

UofM 1925 - Ancestry

He was born in Michigan to Swedish parents - Aron Swanson & Betty Anderson.  

He attended medical school at the University of Michigan and joined the Medical Corps of the Navy shortly after graduating in 1925, earning the rank of Rear Admiral by 1946.

Back in 1939, he married our Vivian M Ackerman, the daughter of Abraham Ackerman & Carrie Kemp which traces back to Hezekiah Rogers Jr & Hannah Vincent.  

Vivian & Clifford didn't have any children but they are buried together at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

courtesy of Paul Hays - Find A Grave