Nurses, 1940-1945. Courtesy of the Maine Maritime Museum.
Nurses, 1940-1945. Courtesy of the Maine Maritime Museum.
When World War II began, 12 million women across the United States held paying jobs. Most women worked as teachers, nurses, or in administrative jobs and factories that were considered acceptable for young women without children.
Shipyard owners employed medical professionals, including nurses. As thousands of inexperienced workers joined the shipbuilding workforce, more nurses were needed to care for the sick and injured. The Maine Department of Labor Biennial Report, 1943-1944 stated that 4,112 accidents at the state's shipyards caused the loss of at least one day of work.