This month, we would like to pay tribute to Brigadier General Hazel Johnson-Brown, a visionary leader of the Army Nurse Corps. BG Johnson-Brown was laid to rest with full military honors on 22 November 2011 at 0900 at Arlington National Cemetery.

Born in 1927 in Malvern, Pennsylvania and one of seven children, BG Johnson-Brown grew up on her father’s farm in nearby West Chester. Inspired by a local white public health nurse when she was 12, Johnson decided that she too would become a nurse. She applied to the West Chester School of Nursing, but was not accepted because of her race. She left West Chester for New York City in 1947, and enrolled in the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing.

BG Johnson-Brown graduated from Harlem Hospital School of Nursing in New York and went on to work at the Philadelphia Veteran’s Hospital in 1953. She received her commission into the Army Nurse Corps in 1955 and held positions throughout the U.S., Japan and Korea. BG Johnson-Brown served as project director of the Army Medical Research and Development Command in Washington; director of the Walter Reed Army Institute for Nursing; and Chief of Nursing at the U.S. Army Hospital/121 Evacuation Hospital in Seoul, Korea. In 1979, she was appointed as the 16th Chief of the Army Nurse Corps, with the rank of brigadier general and became the first African American woman to attain a general officer rank in American military history.  BG Johnson-Brown led 7,000 male and female nurses in the Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserves. She continued to improve standards of education and training within the Army Nurse Corps. During her tenure, the Army Nurse Corps Standards of Nursing Practice were published as an official Department of the Army Pamphlet (DA PAM 40-5).

While in the Army, BG Johnson-Brown continued her formal education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Villanova University, a master’s degree in nursing education from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in education administration from Catholic University.

Following her retirement from the Army in 1983, BG Johnson-Brown enjoyed a distinguished “second” career in academia. She served as professor of nursing at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., and finally at George Mason University in Virginia. While at George Mason University, BG Johnson-Brown was instrumental in founding the Center for Health Policy, designed to educate and involve nurses in health policy and policy design. She retired from teaching in 1997.

BG Hazel Johnson-Brown passed away on 5 August 2011. The internment in her honor took place at the Arlington National Cemetery on 22 November at 0900. Thank you to all who participated and for paying respect to an Army Nurse who laid the Army Strong foundation for the Corps that we are today.

Bibliography:

Office of Medical History, U.S. Army Medical Department website: http://history.amedd.army.mil/ancwebsite/superintendents/Johnson16.html