Nickname(s) Leona Years of service 1936–1958 Rank Captain | Name Wilma Jackson Role Nurse | |
Born September 1, 1909
Union, Ohio ( 1909-09-01 ) Commands held Director of the United States Navy Nurse Corps, 1954-1958 Battles/wars World War II
Korean War Awards American Defense Service Medal
Asiatic Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Commendation Ribbon Died March 23, 1998, Dayton, Ohio, United States | ||
Service/branch United States Navy Allegiance United States of America Battles and wars World War II, Korean War | ||
Capt Wilma Leona Jackson was the third Director of the United States Navy Nurse Corps, serving in that position from 1954 to 1958.
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Early life
Wilma Leona Jackson was born to Roy and Carrie (Furnas) Class in Union, Ohio in 1909. She attended Butler Centralized School, Vandalia, OH, graduating in 1927. In September 1930 she graduated from nurse's training school at Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, OH.
Navy Nurse Corps career
Leona Jackson was appointed to the United States Navy Nurse Corps on 6 July 1936. She served her first few years, from 1936 until 1939 at the Naval Hospital, Philadelphia, PA and then at the Naval Hospital, Brooklyn, NY from 1939 to 1940.
In 1940, then Ensign Jackson was assigned to the Naval Hospital, Guam, Marianas Islands. In December 1941, two days after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded and took all personnel prisoner. Jackson and three other nurses, under the supervision of Chief Nurse Marian Olds, continued to work at the hospital until they were transported to Japan where they were held as prisoners of war until August 1942 when they were repatriated through Mozambique.
Jackson was promoted to LTJG in 1943 and then, in 1944, she was assigned to the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) in Washington, D. C.. After her promotion to LT in 1944, she returned to Guam where she was assigned to Fleet Hospital #103. She was the Senior Nurse Corps Officer in the Island Command until her transfer in December 1945.
Director, Navy Nurse Corps
Later life
Jackson retired to Ohio. She died on 23 March 1998 at the Veteran's Administration Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, and is buried at Polk Grove Cemetery in Vandalia, Ohio.
Education
Graduated Miami Valley Hospital, Nurses Training School, Dayton, Ohio in 1930. BS and MA in Nursing Administration, Columbia University, NYC, 1952.