Anita Mae Schurko

As a member of the Corps working in a hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Anna Mae 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. Read more