STIMLEY-EULA

ONE  OF  THE  FIRST  AFRICAN  AMERICAN

WOMEN  IN  THE  NAVY  NURSE  CORPS

In October 1908, the Navy recruited twenty female nurses establishing the Navy Nurse Corp.  Although eligibility was restricted to unmarried women graduates of accredited nursing schools, opportunity was not equally shared by all women eager to serve their country.  While white American nurses were freely recruited into the Navy, African American nurses found their path to Navy service blocked as their applications were routinely denied with concise rejection of no “colored nurses,” the billets were “full,” or that they would not be “happy or adaptable” among its ranks.

When World War II broke out in 1941 no black female nurses had yet been admitted to the Navy Nurse Corps although the number of black men in the Navy greatly increased as the war progressed.  Objections to the Navy Nurse Corps’ persistent refusal to admit black nurses mounted as prominent organizations and individuals protested the Navy’s policy of refusing the enlistment of African American nurses.  Even Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady, wrote to the Secretary of the Navy to voice her concerns.  At long last and under pressure, in January 1945 the Navy announced that applications from female African American nurses would be considered.  Thus, on March 8, 1945, the first black female nurse was inducted into the Navy at New York City as an Ensign and joined the Navy Nurse Corps.

Although numerous black female nurses reportedly applied for Navy enlistment, historical records reflect that only three additional black female nurses had been admitted into the Navy Nurse Corps by the end of the war in August 1945.  Records name Eula Loucille Stimley as one of these three women.  She reportedly enlisted in May 1945 but details of her association with the Navy has been lost over the years and other than information that she left the Navy shortly after the end of the war, no additional information concerning her is readily available.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)