Book: Memories of a Tuskegee Airmen Nurse and Her Military Sisters
Tuskegee Airmen were not the only ones making Black history during World War II
PIA MARIE WINTERS JORDAN
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Pia Marie Winters Jordan is the project director of the Tuskegee Army Nurses Project and continues to work on a multimedia documentary on the Army Nurse Corps members who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. Jordan retired in 2018 as an associate professor in the School of Global Journalism and Communication at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. She lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.
A scrapbook can tell us much about a person’s life or one period of someone’s life: joys and sorrows, challenges and successes, problems and solutions. Memories of a Tuskegee Airmen Nurse and Her Military Sisters focuses on a four-year period from 1942 to 1946 during World War II when up to twenty-eight women from the Army Nurse Corps staffed the station hospital on the base where the future Tuskegee Airmen were undergoing basic and advanced pilot training. These women were African Americans, graduates of nursing schools throughout the country, registered nurses, and lieutenants in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. They were military officers, and the pilot cadets saluted them.
Pia Marie Winters Jordan’s mother was one of those angels of mercy. Her mother, the former first lieutenant Louise Lomax, did not talk much about her ten years of military nursing, but nonetheless, her Tuskegee Army Flying School scrapbook told a story. Although Jordan may have seen this scrapbook when she was much younger, only when her mother became ill and had to be cared for in a nursing home, did Jordan, Louise’s only child, take a closer look, as she began organizing belongings in the process of closing her mother’s apartment. Jordan saw that the Tuskegee Airmen were not the only ones making Black history during World War II; nurses also had to fight gender as well as racial discrimination. Through her research, she found out more about them. It was time for their story to be told.
“Jordan highlights the role of Black women as World War II military officers, a subject that has long been neglected. Her description of individual Tuskegee Airmen nurses reminds readers that the story of World War II was about not just groups but individuals, each one with her own story, each as concerned with equal rights and opportunities as any of the other Tuskegee Airmen, and each dedicated to victory for the United States over its enemies and the enemies of freedom.”
—Daniel Haulman, retired USAF historian and author of The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History
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Pia Jordan’s new book focuses on the untold story of the Black nurses at Tuskegee Army Air Field, where they provided health care for Tuskegee Airmen pilots undergoing basic and advanced flight training during World War II. As the daughter of one of the military nurses, Jordan inherited her mother’s scrapbook and was inspired to create this very special volume, which describes the vital role played by those who were not pilots, but who provided essential ground support for them. Significantly, the book highlights the role of Black women as World War II military officers, a subject that has long been neglected. Her description of individual Tuskegee Airmen nurses reminds readers that the story of World War II was not just about groups but individuals, each one with her own story, each as concerned with equal rights and opportunities as any of the other Tuskegee Airmen, and each dedicated to victory for the United States over its enemies and the enemies of freedom. — Dr. Dan Haulman, retired USAF historian, author of numerous books about the Tuskegee Airmen, including The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History and The Tuskegee Airmen Chronology
Salute! To the Tuskegee Army Nurses!
The little known story of the highly educated ladies whose strong will and determination guaranteed their rightful place in American history.
Fighting against segregation, discrimination, and Jim Crow laws, to join the American Nurses Association, AND the US military, these ladies persevered.
Written by the daughter, Pia Jordan, of a Tuskegee Army Nurse, Louise Lomax, this story provides an incredible personal viewpoint. Pia spent years speaking to the nurses and their families to learn about the incredible journey that these women experienced while serving in the Army Air Corps, taking care of our all Black troops, The Tuskegee Airmen.
They served stateside and some served abroad. They served regardless of the extra rules put upon them. During a time of a world war, they served the United States in an exemplary manner, a fact that cannot be undone. The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is not complete without acknowledging these incredible women. All Americans should be forever grateful to them. They too, are Documented Original Tuskegee Airmen (DOTA). — Leigh Roberts, Chair, Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Heritage-Kindred Committee, Daughter of DOTA, George S. ‘Spanky’ Roberts
“Here is a book — engaging and significant — that tells of the trials and triumphs of a group of trailblazing Black nurses, whose work has essentially been invisible till now. The personal and professional lives of the Army Nurse Corps of Tuskegee Air Base come alive in this work. A poignant and uplifting read.” — Nancy Langston, professor emeritus and dean, VCU School of Nursing, Honorary Alumnus of St. Philip Alumni Association
“Ms. Jordan’s passion for the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen nurses is evident in this fine work. This book is truly a labor of love and a worthwhile read.” — Lisa Bratton, Associate Professor of History, Tuskegee University, and former historian, National Park Service Tuskegee Airmen Oral History Project
Pia Winters Jordan offers a heartfelt tribute to the “hidden figures” of WWII: the Tuskegee Airmen nurses. Through beautiful prose and painstaking detail, Jordan highlights a history that is rarely told — of a time when Black women’s professional care literally propelled the Tuskegee Airmen to unprecedented heights. This book centers these brave women in the history of our nation — in the fight for victory abroad and racial justice at home — in ways that no other work has done. — Allissa Richardson, associate professor of journalism, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, founding director, USC Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab
Memories of a Tuskegee Airmen Nurse is a remarkable book that tells the story of twenty-eight trailblazing young women who embarked on a journey to serve their country by providing nursing care. They served with honor, setting new standards for me and other women of color who entered the military as Nursing Corps officers in the Air Force, Army, and Navy. I salute these brave women. Thanks to Pia Winters Jordan for telling their story. — Lt Col Marsha Starks, Chief Nurse Executive, USAF
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