Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1294870
16 Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com October 5–November 9, 2020 IN COUNTRY As early as 1962, the buildup in Vietnam highlighted the urgent need for more military nurses. The civilian health- care sector was struggling with nationwide nursing short- ages, and both the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) and Navy Nurse Corps had shrunk to a fraction of their World War 2 strength. Facing a shortfall of more than 2,000 nurses, the Army launched an ambitious recruitment campaign called Operation Nightingale. Recruiters targeted high schools, colleges and career fairs; ran newspaper articles; aired radio and television commercials; and assigned existing Army nurses to work as recruitment counselors. Romance, Empowerment and Patriotism T he nurse recruitment ads of this era were a world away from the images of chaos and brutality that would soon fill Americans' evening news broadcasts, instead focusing on the opportunity, adventure and romance that supposedly awaited nurses in the U.S. Army. During World War 2, military regulations had expressly forbidden nurses to marry while in service. Now, Army recruiting ads actually emphasized dating and romance. Bottom: Army nurse recruitment posters, 1965 and 1968, promoted empowerment as well as patriotism. 1. Lou Eisenstadt joined the Army in 1969 to see the world. 2. Soon after nurses arrived in Vietnam, they ditched white uniforms and nylon hose for fatigues. 3. Phyllis Breen enlisted in the Army for financial reasons. 4. Vietnam War Nurses Memorial, Washington, D.C., sculpted by Glenna Goodacre. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD. SHE IS AN ARMY NURSE. " —U.S. ARMY NURSE CORPS RECRUITMENT AD, 1967 " 1