To the editor:
I write in response to the recent article “Forgotten WWII Veterans” by Dr. Barbara Poremba on May 30, 2022. Dr. Poremba makes a compelling case, but it seems that the WWII Cadet Nurses have been forgotten by our country for their service in wartime. All other uniformed groups have been granted veteran status, so why not the women who served in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps?
The United States Cadet Nurse Corp Service Recognition Act of 2021 successfully passed the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs in July 2021, but the bill remains stuck in the House Armed Services Committee. Meanwhile, Cadet Nurses such as Mary Maione of Hamilton, 99 years old, have little time to waste. The nurses only ask for honorary veterans status, with no financial or VA benefits, which other groups, such as the civilian seamen of the Merchant Mariners whose service was in the immediate post-war period, have been granted.
Currently, the bill remains stuck in the House Armed Services Committee where Rep. Seth Moulton is a member. We ask Rep. Moulton to personally champion HR2568, The U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act, through this committee on behalf of Mary Maione and all of the members of the USCNC. The service of these women matters.
Kathleen Keough Adee, DNP, RN
Friends of the WWII US Cadet Nurses
