Brigadier General Ethel Ann Hoefly (March 8, 1919 – August 3, 2003) was an American nurse and member of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. She served with the

United States Army Nurse Corps The United States Army Nurse Corps (USANC) was formally established by the U.S. Congress in 1901. It is one of the six medical special branches (or "corps") of officers which – along with medical enlisted soldiers – comprise the Army Medica ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and volunteered for service in the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...

. After the war, Hoefly left the army and worked in civilian hospitals. She rejoined the armed forces in 1949 when she enlisted in the recently formed

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. She specialised in

neuropsychiatry Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neuropsychiatry, the mind i ...

and became a

flight nurse A flight nurse is a registered nurse specializing in the field of providing comprehensive pre-hospital, emergency critical care, and hospital care to a vast scope of patients. The care of these patients is generally provided during aeromedical ...

. She later served as chief of the Air Force Nurse Corps and was promoted to Brigadier-General on July 1, 1972.

US Army Nurse Corps

Hoefly was born in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York in 1919 to longshoreman Otto Hoefly and Anna Iverson Hoefly, who emigrated from Germany and Norway, respectively. She graduated from high school in

Hackettstown, New Jersey Hackettstown is a Town (New Jersey), town in Warren County, New Jersey, Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is perhaps best known as the home to the US headquarters of Mars Inc., Mars, Inc.. As of the 2020 United States census, t ...

in 1938 and from the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing, Brooklyn in 1943. In July 1944, she entered the US Army Nurse Corps, initially working at England General Hospital in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, before volunteering for service overseas. From December 1944 to January 1946, Hoefly was with the 235th General Hospital unit in the

as a general nurse, before specialising in neuropsychiatry. Upon returning to the United States she left the Nurse Corps to become a general nurse at the Halloran General Hospital in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. She studied

anaesthesia Anesthesia (American English) or anaesthesia (British English) is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prev ...

before working as a neuropsychiatric nurse at Valley Forge General Hospital, Pennsylvania from September 1948 to March 1950.

US Air Force service

Hoefly rejoined the armed forces in July 1949 when she enlisted in the recently formed

. She was awarded a post graduate diploma in neuropsychiatry at the Medical Field Service School at

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a United States Army, U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president o ...

, Texas in August 1950. She was then with the 306th Medical Group at MacDill Air Force Base Florida as a psychiatric nurse, completing the flight nurse course of the USAF School of Aviation Medicine there. She was awarded a bachelor of science degree from the

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

in 1953 and from then until August 1954 was an instructor in psychiatry at the Medical Field Service School. She later served as a flight nurse with the 1734th Air Transportation Squadron at

Brooks Air Force Base Brooks Air Force Base was a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas, southeast of Downtown San Antonio. In 2002, Brooks Air Force Base was renamed Brooks City-Base when the property was conveyed to the Brooks Developm ...

and received a masters in nursing administration from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. In November 1956 Hoefly became an instructor flight nurse and was made chief of the Psychiatric Nurse Section at the 3883d School Group at

Gunter Air Force Base Gunter Annex is a United States Air Force installation located in the North-northeast suburbs of Montgomery, Alabama. The base is named after former Montgomery mayor William Adams Gunter. Until 1992 it was known as Gunter Air Force Base or G ...

, Alabama. She was then named deputy chief of the US Air Force Nurse Corps and chief nurse of the 5th Air Force, based at

Tachikawa Air Base is an aerodrome, airfield in the city of Tachikawa, Tokyo, Tachikawa, in the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense (Japan), Ministry of Defense, it has also served as a civilian airport with ...

in Japan. In 1967, she graduated from the

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University (United States Air Force), Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, ...

and in July of that year was made chief nurse at

Air Force Systems Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. AFS ...

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force (USAF). In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form ...

, Maryland. She was appointed chief of the Air Force Nurse Corps in August 1968, managing some 180 medical facilities across the world. Hoefly graduated from the

Industrial College of the Armed Forces The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University (Washington, D.C.), National Defens ...

in 1971. On July 1, 1972, she was promoted to brigadier-general. Hoefly was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Ribbon with oak leaf cluster. Never married, in her spare time she enjoyed sculpting, fishing and carpentry. She died on August 3, 2003, and is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Legacy

An award, named in her honor, has been granted annual by the Flight Nurse Section of the Aerospace Medicine Association since 1976 for achievements in flight nursing. The Flight Nurse Section was later renamed the Aerospace Nursing Society and the parent organization became the Aerospace Medical Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoefly, E. Ann 1919 births 2003 deaths Female United States Army nurses in World War II Female generals of the United States Air Force Female air force generals and air marshals Recipients of the Legion of Merit American people of German descent Florida Southern College alumni Air War College alumni Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery American people of Norwegian descent Military personnel from Queens, New York United States Air Force Nurse Corps officers 21st-century American women Nurses from New York (state)