BW. Nellie Dewitt, NC, USN appointed 1st Director of New Navy Nurse Corps – May 13, 1947. (previously called superintendents). Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on May 13, 1947, appointed Nellie Jane DeWitt, Nurse Corps, USN as the first Diector of the new Navy Nurse Corps for a term not to exceed four years. The appointment was made in a directive handed Nellie Jane DeWitt by Secretary Forrrestal at a ceremony attended by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Chief of Naval Operations, and Rear Admiral Clifford A. Swanson, Surgeon General, as well as other high ranking officers of the Navy Medical and Nurse Corps at noon on May 13, 1947, in the Navy Department. The ceremony highlighted the thirty-ninth anniversary of the founding of the Navy Nurse Corps. Nellie Jane DeWitt, a native of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, has served a Superintendent of the old Navy Nurse Corps since November 9, 1945. She succeeded Sue S. Dauser, Nurse Corps, USN, retired, of LaMesa, California. A graduate of Stamford Hospital Training School, Stamford, Connecticut, Nellie Jane DeWitt has been a member of the Navy Nurse Corps for more than 25 years.
