Josephine Beatrice Bowman was the third superintendent of the

United States Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-female until 1965. Pre-190 ...

Early life

Josephine Beatrice Bowman was born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, on 19 December 1881. She graduated from nurses' training at the Medico-Chirurgical Hospital,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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, in 1904 and soon enrolled with the American Red Cross Nursing Service. In the spring of 1908, Bowman took part in the first Red Cross disaster relief operation after a tornado caused extensive damage around

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The city popu ...

Navy Nurse Corps career

On 3 October 1908, Bowman joined the newly established

U.S. Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-female until 1965. Pre-190 ...

as one of its first twenty members (the " Sacred Twenty"). She was promoted to Chief Nurse in 1911. Chief Nurse Bowman temporarily left the Navy in October 1914 and spent the next several months as a Red Cross nurse caring for war casualties in

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. As the supervising nurse of Unit D, she served at

Royal Naval Hospital Haslar The Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire, was one of several hospitals serving the local area. It was converted into retirement flats between 2018 and 2020. The hospital itself is a Grade II listed building. History Formation and ope ...

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, for six months. She returned to the Navy in May 1915. In early 1916 she arrived in

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to conduct a two-year course with three other nurses in modern midwifery and practical nursing at the Navy Nurse's training school in

for the local

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women. She also chaired the Department of Physiology and Hygiene at the normal school. After the U.S. entered

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she became chief nurse at the Naval Hospital,

Great Lakes, Illinois Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center ...

, and guided its nursing staff during that facility's great expansion to meet the needs of war and the 1918-19 influenza epidemic. She also served as chief nurse at

Fort Lyon, Colorado Fort Lyon is an unincorporated community and U.S. Post Office in Bent County, Colorado, United States. The Fort Lyon Post Office has the ZIP Code 81054. A post office called Fort Lyon was established in 1862. The community was named after Nat ...

, a Navy tuberculosis sanitarium for sailors and marines. In 1919, Chief Nurse Bowman led the first contingent of Navy nurses assigned to the hospital ship USS ''Relief'' (AH-1), the first Navy women to serve at sea. She became superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps in December 1922 and held that position for over twelve years, until her retirement at the beginning of 1935.

Contributions as superintendent

As superintendent, Bowman worked hard to recruit nurses for the Navy Nurse Corps and to improve the pay benefits and uniforms for the nurses. She advocated for military status and encouraged postgraduate education. Inspections were increased for the purpose of establishing uniform standards across all naval hospitals.

Later life

ANCExplorer Josephine Beatrice Bowman grave

Following her departure from active duty, she made her home in

and stayed active in national and local nursing affairs. When Navy nurses were included in the Navy's ranking system, she received the retirement rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in recognition of her service as Nurse Corps' superintendent. Bowman died on 3 January 1971 in

and is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

.Arlington National Cemetery
/ref>

References

External links