Brigadier General Anna Mae Hays

Anna Mae Hays was a true American trailblazer. Hayes was the first women to achieve the rank of general in the U.S. Military. She joined the Army Nurse Corps in May 1942 and was sent to India in 1943, serving with the 20th Field Hospital. Hays served in three wars: in the jungles of India during World War II, in Korea and in Vietnam. As a one-star Brigadier General, she paved a career path for other women by recommending that married officers who become pregnant should not face compulsory discharge, and that appointments to the Army Nurse Corps Reserve not depend on the age of the applicant’s children. Hays passed away in Washington, D.C. on January 7, 2018, at the age of 97.