Inez Haynes (June 3, 1909May 29, 1997) was the 10th director of 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 ...

from October 1, 1955 until August 31, 1959.

Early life

Haynes was born the first childe of Floyd Haynes and Lola Rampey Haynes on June 3, 1909 in

Paint Rock, Texas Paint Rock is a town in and the county seat of Concho County, Texas, United States. The population was 237 at the 2020 census. The town's name comes from Native American pictographs painted on cliffs overlooking the nearby Concho River. These p ...

. After graduating from

Mills High School Mills High School is a Public school (government funded), public high school in Millbrae, California, Millbrae, California, one of eight in the San Mateo Union High School District. Mills was established in 1958. Mills High School has been name ...

, she attended a nursing school at Scott and White Hospital. She began nursing in 1932 when she was commissioned in the Army Nurse Corps Reserve. After coming on active duty in 1933, becoming an operations room nurse 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 ...

and Sternburg General Hospital. Immediately before and during World War II, her overseas assignments included service in the Philippines, the Pacific, and Japan. She served as the nursing chief of the First Army Area. Under her tenure as Chief, the Corps received its first male nurses, members of the Army Nurse Corps Reserve, and for the first time Army Nurse Corps officers were assigned to airborne divisions. In 1958, she was among the first three women to be promoted to the permanent grade of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the regular Army. She received 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 ...

among her awards and honors. After retiring in August 1959, Haynes served as director of the

National League for Nursing The National League for Nursing (NLN) is a national organization for faculty nurses and leaders in nurse education. It offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiative ...

, and later on the faculty of the College of Nursing at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. She died on May 29, 1997.

References

American nurses American women nurses 1909 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American women 20th-century American people {{US-army-bio-stub