Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Nellie Jane DeWitt was the sixth and final Superintendent of the

Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by United States Congress, 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-fem ...

and became its first Director.

Early life

Nellie Jane DeWitt was born in

Susquehanna, Pennsylvania Susquehanna Depot, often referred to simply as Susquehanna, is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, located on the Susquehanna River southeast of Binghamton, New York. In the past, railroad locomotives and railroad cars ...

to Peter and Ella C DeWitt and grew up on her family's farm in Jackson, Pennsylvania. She attended Susquehanna High School. She graduated from Stamford Hospital School of Nursing in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

in 1917.

Navy Nurse Corps career

CAPT DeWitt joined the

on October 26, 1918. Her first post was Naval Hospital,

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. She joined the Regular ranks in 1922. Duty stations included

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

;

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

; Puget Sound;

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

;

San Diego, CA San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She was promoted to Chief Nurse in April 1937 and served as Chief Nurse at the Naval hospital, Aiea Heights in Hawaii.

Contributions as Superintendent

CAPT DeWitt took over as Superintendent in April 1946 at a time when the Nurse Corps was shrinking in size due to demobilization after World War II. On April 16, 1947, the Navy Nurse Corps became a staff corps, meaning that officers in the Nurse Corps were Navy officers. CAPT DeWitt became the Director of the Navy Nurse Corps. She retired on May 1, 1950 and returned to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Later life

DeWitt led an active retirement life in Pennsylvania. She consulted for the Girl Scouts on health matters, was president of the Susquehanna County Unit of the American Cancer Society, and was a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania. The Business and Professional Women's Club in Susquehanna took her name for their chapter. At the time of her death, she had returned to the DC area and was living at Vinson Hall, the Navy and Marine Corps Retirement Center, in McLean, Virginia. She died there on 22 March 1978 at the age of 82 and was buried in the Nurse's section of

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 ...

External links

Nurses and the U.S. Navy -- Overview and Special Image Selection
Naval Historical Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Dewitt, Nellie 1895 births 1950 deaths United States Navy Nurse Corps officers Female United States Navy nurses in World War II United States Navy captains Female United States Navy officers Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American nursing administrators American women nurses

Early life

Navy Nurse Corps career

Contributions as Superintendent

Later life

Further reading

External links