Sue S. Dauser was the fifth Superintendent 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-19 ...

, guiding the Nurse Corps through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early life

Dauser was born in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, on 20 September 1888. She graduated from the California Hospital School of Nursing in 1914.

Navy Nurse Corps career

Dauser became a Navy Nurse in September 1917, subsequently serving with Naval Base Hospital Number 3 in the U.S. and in Edinburgh, Scotland during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, holding the grade of Chief Nurse for most of that period. Following

, she was placed in charge of nursing activities at the U.S. Naval Hospital at

San Diego, California 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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. During the 1920s, Chief Nurse Dauser served on board several ships and in overseas billets in

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 ce ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as well as in naval hospitals in the U.S. She tended President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

during his fatal illness in 1923. In the 1930s, Dauser was principal chief nurse at several Navy medical facilities.

Contributions as superintendent

Dauser was appointed superintendent of the

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 ...

in 1939. Serving in that capacity throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, she supervised the great wartime expansion of the corps and its activities throughout the world. Under her administration, the membership of the corps grew from 436 to over 11,000 by 1945. In July 1942, she was invested with the permanent relative rank of lieutenant commander. In December, she received the temporary relative rank of captain, the first woman to receive this rank in the history of the US Navy. In February 1944, her relative captaincy was changed to actual commission for the duration of the war plus 6 months.Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, United States Navy

"White Task Force: the story of the Nurse Corps, United States Navy." (NAVMED 939 1945), pg. 22. Captain Dauser was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for her work as Superintendent during

Later life

Dauser died on 11 March 1972.

References

External links