Wilma Leona Jackson was an American nurse and military official who served as the third director 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 ...

, serving in that position from 1954 to 1958.

Early life and education

Wilma Leona Jackson was born to Roy and Carrie (Furnas) Class in

Union, Ohio Union is a city in Montgomery and Miami Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 6,419 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography The coordinates for The City of Union are ( ...

in 1909. She attended the Butler Centralized School in

Vandalia, Ohio Vandalia is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Dayton. Its population was 15,246 during the 2010 census. In addition to being the city closest to Dayton International Airport, Vandalia lies at the crossroads of I ...

, graduating in 1927. In September 1930, she graduated from nurse's training school at

Miami Valley Hospital Miami Valley Hospital (MVH) is a large urban hospital in Dayton, Ohio, and is a member of the Premier Health Partners network. The hospital has two additional locations; Miami Valley Hospital South in Centerville, Ohio, and Miami Valley Hospital ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degree in nursing administration from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Career

Leona Jackson was appointed to the

on 6 July 1936. She served her first few years, from 1936 until 1939 at the Naval Hospital,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

and then at the Naval Hospital,

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

from 1939 to 1940. In 1940, then-Ensign Jackson was assigned to the Naval Hospital,

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

Marianas Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

. In December 1941, two days after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded and took all personnel prisoner. Jackson and three other nurses, under the supervision of Chief Nurse Marian Olds, continued to work at the hospital until they were transported to Japan where they were held as prisoners of war until August 1942 when they were repatriated through

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. Jackson was promoted to

lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), ...

in 1943 and then, in 1944, she was assigned to the Navy's

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) is an agency of the United States Department of the Navy that manages health care activities for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. BUMED operates hospitals and other health c ...

Washington, D.C. ) , 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, ...

After her promotion to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1944, she returned to

where she was assigned to Fleet Hospital #103. She was the senior nurse corps officer in the Island Command until her transfer in December 1945. Jackson served as an education officer in the Nursing Section of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in 1950 and as a nurse at the

Naval Hospital Oakland Naval Hospital Oakland, also known as Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, was a U.S. naval hospital located in Oakland, California that opened during World War II (1942) and closed in 1996 as part of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure program. The site ...

in 1952. She became the chief nurse of the

Naval Medical Center Portsmouth The Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP), formerly Naval Hospital Portsmouth, and originally Norfolk Naval Hospital, is a United States Navy medical center in Portsmouth, Virginia, United States. It is the oldest continuously running hospital ...

in 1953. She became director of the

in 1954 and retired in 1958.

Personal life

Jackson retired to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. She died on 23 March 1998 at the Veteran's Administration Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, and is buried at Polk Grove Cemetery in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Wilma Leona 1909 births 1998 deaths American nursing administrators Columbia University School of Nursing alumni Female United States Navy nurses in World War II Female United States Navy officers United States Navy captains United States Navy Nurse Corps officers Teachers College, Columbia University alumni People from Union, Ohio

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Further reading

References