U.S. Nurses in World War I: Service Numbers and Contributions

Approximately 21,000 American nurses served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during WWI (1917–1918), with ~10,000 deployed overseas. An additional ~12,500 served in the Navy Nurse Corps and Red Cross.

Total U.S. nurse participation: over 30,000. They staffed base hospitals, field hospitals, evacuation units, and transport ships—often under fire, with limited supplies, managing trauma, gas injuries, and the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Over 200 died in service (mostly from influenza). Their professionalism established nursing as a critical military component and advanced women's roles in healthcare.