Agnes Lowe may have turned 100 but she’s still got work to do. She’s advocating for long-overdue recognition.
Lowe is pushing lawmakers to finally recognize those who served in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps during World War II as veterans, according to nurse.org.
Lowe, of Cocke County, Tennessee, recently celebrated hitting the century mark surrounded by friends and family. She smiled for photos, donning a pink feathered boa, representing her favorite color. While most 100-year-olds are simply content to enjoy their remaining years, Lowe is still advocating. She’s using her platform as one of the last remaining members of the cadet program to have laws changed giving those nurses “veteran status.”
In the midst of war, Lowe joined thousands of young American women to provide help in overwhelmed hospitals. The U.S. was dealing with a crippling gap in trained nurses to care for soldiers, veterans, and civilians. To mitigate the problem, Congress passed the Bolton Act, better known as the Nurse Training Act, in 1943. The Cadet Nurse Corps was born.
With accelerated training, the nurses were equipped to provide health care to the military, public healthcare facilities and to VA hospitals. Before the program ended in 1948, about 120,000 nurses were trained under the program.
“We did 80% of the nursing that was done on the Homefront, and we were credited with saving the healthcare system," Lowe told WCYB News in Tennessee in 2024. “The Surgeon General at that time had said that we were as important to the healthcare system as the Marines were to D-Day.”
The program also provided young women interested in nursing, but unable to pay for college training, an opportunity to pursue the medical field.
While Lowe, and her fellow cadet nurses, appreciated getting honored in speeches, nursing history testimonials, and museum exhibits, there was something mission – veteran status. So many nurses who served in the program have died without the benefits of VA care, military discharge documentation and veteran burial markers.
Lowe’s efforts are backed by a coalition of nurses’ groups, along with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and the American Nurses Association.
In recent years, Lowe has worked with her daughter, Donna Penick, to pressure the government into granting veteran status for cadet nurses. They’ve been knocking on office doors of senators in Tennessee and gathering support from constituents. Could positive change be in the works?
In the past few years, Congress has introduced and revised the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act, proposing to:
- Grant honorary status to those who served in the Cadet Nurse Corps.
- Provide an honorable discharge where merited.
- Authorize a service medal and permit burial plaques or grave markers to acknowledge their service.
The bill does not state, however, providing full VA benefits, health care or pensions.
Earlier this year, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hosted hearings, listening to testimony from support groups. While momentum to pass the legislation is growing, the bill remains stagnant. Passing the measure into law could depend on more pressure from proponents, veterans’ groups, and continued bipartisan support.
Many of the young women who joined the Cadet Nurse Corps, like Agnes, were innocent, small town kids just hoping to make a difference in the war effort. It was a crucial time when their country needed them. They answered the call.
Now they’re hoping the country they served will honor them in return.
