‘Forgotten Angel' not giving up hope

U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps member seeks recognition for role in WWII, By Jennifer Mosscrop HAMBURG — Hamburg resident Anna Mae Schurko was one of 116,717 members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps who served during World War II. And her dedication to the organization and its members has never wavered. Schurko, along with many surviving Nurse Corps members throughout the country, has been writing letters to President Obama, Congress members and her senators urging them to pass a bill that would recognize the service of the Corps members as active military service for purposes of laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (H.R. 1522, The United States Cadet Nurse Corps Equity Act). “We worked so hard, and we want history to recognize that this happened,” Schurko said. A bill for the Corps to receive veteran status has been introduced several times to Congress by Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) starting in 1996. Testimony for the newest bill, H.R. 1522, was presented to the Veterans Affairs subcommittee in March. “President Roosevelt initiated the Corps, President Truman extended it and hopefully President Obama will issue a directive recognizing the group as veterans,” she said. During World War II, there was an urgent need to train students ages 17 to 35 to help fill the gap left behind by nurses who had gone overseas to help with the war effort. New nurses were needed to keep the healthcare system running at home. The federal government established the Corps in 1943 and launched a nationwide recruitment campaign that promised a free education and a monthly stipend of $15 plus room and board. Schurko joined the Corps in 1945 when she was 17 years old and living in Pennsylvania. President Truman authorized the United States Public Health Service to become a military branch and oversee the Corps. Schurko said the students even took a pledge after completion of the program to go into a branch of the military. “We were a tremendous help to the country,” she said. “We did all functions as a graduate nurse: went to class, worked 12 hour days — we even did custodial duties like keeping the labs clean — because the men were overseas.” Dedication As a member of the Corps working in a hospital in Scranton, Pa., Schurko remembers performing every task of a nurse from bathing and treatments to obstetrics and pediatrics. She worked 12-hour shifts and went to class at night. “Because of the Corps, nurse education improved, standards were higher and our country’s hospitals stayed intact,” she said. Dubbed the “Forgotten Angels,” members of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps never received benefits for their service during World War II. However, many took their state board exams and became registered nurses after the war. Schurko was a nurse for 50 years.

U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps induction pledge
At this moment of my induction into the United States Cadet Nurse Corps of the United States Public Health Service:
I am solemnly aware of the obligations I assume toward my country and toward my chosen profession;
I will follow faithfully the teachings of my instructors and the guidance of the physicians with whom I work;
I will hold in trust the finest traditions of nursing and the spirit of the Corps;
I will keep my body strong, my mind alert, and my heart steadfast;
I will be kind, tolerant, and understanding;
Above all, I will dedicate myself now and forever to the triumph of life over death;
As a Cadet nurse, I pledge to my county my service in essential nursing for the duration of the war.