"You are Needed Now. Join the Army Nurse Corps" Vintage WWII Army Recruitment Poster by Ruzzie Green, 1943

Offered is a vintage WWII U.S. Army Nurse Corps recruitment poster. The poster informs female readers,  “You Are Needed Now,” and encourages them to “Join the Army Nurse Corps Apply At Your Red Cross Recruiting Station.”  The poster features a photograph by the notable American photographer Ruzzie Green of a young nurse. She is wearing a US Army uniform, with an Army Nurse Corps branch insignia badge on the lapel of her jacket.  The poster was issued in June of 1943. 

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, both the Army Nurse Corps and the Navy Nurse Corps saw their numbers increase. The explosive growth of the Army Nurse Corps matched the rest of the military components. In 1940 there were only 942 in active service; by 1942 that number was 12,475 and a year later the number had grown to 36,607.

The Army Nurse Corps promised young nurses a steady salary, a chance to serve their nation and, if a nurse were adventurous enough, a chance for foreign travel. At the time, overseas assignments were strictly on a voluntary basis, but many nurses volunteered simply for the opportunity to “see the world.” Upon enlistment they were immediately assigned to a hospital and went to work.

During WWII, these nurses worked closer to the front lines than they ever had before. Nurses served under fire in field hospitals and evacuation hospitals, on hospital trains and hospital ships, and as flight nurses on medical transport planes. The skill and dedication of these nurses saved the lives of American military forces in every theater of the war. 

CONDITION:

Good condition. Original color photolithograph. Paper is bright white and the colors vibrant. Horizontal crease at center fold line and one 1 1/8" vertical tear at top right margin."Poster 710-A June 1943" printed in bottom right corner.  Sold unframed, as-is. Unframed Dimensions: 31" H x 20 1/2" W (Sheet Size).