From Durham to the Frontlines: Duke Nurses in the 65th General Hospital

The Cadet Nurse Corps at Duke

As World War II intensified, Duke University demonstrated its commitment to supporting wartime nursing by participating in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps. The program was launched in 1943 to address the national nursing shortage by accelerating training and providing federal support to students who pledged to serve for the duration of the war. The program enabled Duke to bring in new students every nine months instead of every twelve, helped provide living quarters and stipends, and accelerated the program to graduate nurses in just three years while still providing adequate clinical experience in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics.

But there is always cause and effect. The number of nurses in the program did grow, with enrollment increasing by 45%. However, as many of these new nurses traded their textbooks for trauma wards, Duke Hospital was left with a nursing shortage, as Duke University School of Nursing graduates typically filled many roles.

School of Nursing students stepped in. Between 1942 and 1944, the number of nursing students providing care at Duke Hospital rose by 46%. On top of their regular studies, these nurses-in-training worked in the hospital, gaining extensive hands-on experience while helping to maintain hospital operations during a time of critical staffing shortages.

It’s hard to fully imagine the stress that these young women in the Cadet Nurse Corps (for they were all women at that time) must have experienced studying, working, and knowing that once they were done, they would head off to war. Their efforts not only supported the country during the war, but also changed nursing education at Duke for decades to come.

Training at Duke and Fort Bragg

The 65th General Hospital would train for over a year before ever leaving the country.  After the 65th General Hospital was established, Duke’s campus became a hub for military medical training. Before leaving for training at Fort Bragg, members of the 65th General Hospital conducted field hospital drills on West Campus, and cadet nurses trained in uniform alongside Navy V-12 and NROTC students.

The 65th would go on to spend fifteen months at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, learning military procedures, adapting clinical skills to field conditions, and preparing for the realities of war. As the training was taking place at Fort Bragg, the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps was being established. Nurses from the corps would go on to join the unit once they graduated. 

The Duke University Medical Center Archives contain select documents from that time at Fort Bragg, including printed newsletters—the social media of the time—and the 1942 Christmas dinner menu that would make my Southern grandma proud.

...Oh, when you are that young, nothing is going to happen to you…I was in my early twenties…I was going to be fine, and I think most of us thought that way.” ~ Dorothy Ray Salerno

65th General Hospital in Suffolk, England

After finishing training at Fort Bragg in 1943, the 65th General Hospital unit shipped out to England, first establishing operations at Blackmore Park near Malvern, Worcestershire. During the winter of 1944, the unit was relocated to Redgrave Park in Suffolk.

Among the nurses on the unit was Dorothy Ray Salerno, a 1940 Duke graduate who served as head nurse of the orthopedic ward. In a 2008 oral history, she recalled getting ready to go to war and the intensity of their work:

The members of the 65th handled a constant stream of casualties from heavy bomber crews, acute diseases, and emergency cases, and acted as a specialty center for neurosurgery, thoracic and plastic surgery, burns, and hand injuries. 

Despite the hardships, the nurses found ways to maintain morale and enjoy themselves while off duty, as evidenced by Archive images of the hospital getting “buzzed” and another lamenting “helmet hair.”

Legacy

Duke University School of Nursing graduated 302 nurses from 1939 to 1946, making a significant impact on the war effort through the Cadet Nursing Program. The program also influenced nursing education at Duke in the years to come, as the intensive training nurses received during the war set a rigorous precedent.

When World War II ended, many of the 65th’s nurses returned to Duke or continued their careers in healthcare. Their legacy lives on in the Duke Medical Center Archives and in the hearts of those they healed. The 65th commemorative monument near the School of Nursing honors their service, but perhaps their greatest tribute is the generation of nurses they inspired.

The story of the nurses of the 65th General Hospital is not just a chapter in Duke’s history—it’s a testament to the power of purpose, the resilience of women in wartime, and the enduring spirit of care.

Learn More about the 65th General Hospital

Duke University Medical Center Archives: Historical Images Documenting Duke Health

School of Nursing cadet nurses in uniform. From the Duke University Medical Center Archives: Historical Images Documenting Duke Health.

Cadet Nurses in Uniform CA. 1943. From the University Archives Photograph Collection, 1861-[ongoing]

Nurses and servicemen of the 65th General Hospital. From the Duke University Medical Center Archives: Photograph & Negative Collection.

65th General Hospital Exhibit. From the Duke University Medical Center Archives Exhibit.

From Campus to Cockpit: Duke During World War II. From the Duke University Libraries Exhibit. 

Duke University School of Nursing – Our History.

DUSON Prepares for World War II.

Dorothy Ray Salerno Interview.

All Images from Duke Medical Center Archives.