Tribute to Naomi (Neville) Johnson
Branch of Service: US Cadet Nurse Corps
Naomi N. Johnson was born in Osage City, Kansas on March 25, 1926 to Irene (Anderson) Neville and Charles Neville. The family lived in and around the Osage County area and were part of the Swedish American community in that region. Naomi had an older sister Barbara and after the death of her father, a younger sister Elizabeth when her mother remarried Walter Hamler.
As with many rural American families, the depression and the early war years impacted the lifestyle of the family. Naomi remembers her early school years as “very simple.” The family was active in the local Swedish Covenant Church. On the farm there were chores and once rationing began, few opportunities to drive a car. Her mother Irene once commented to her grandchildren about food rationing, “yes they even made hamburger with other sources than beef." Their butcher sign said ‘one-to-one’, which really meant one horse, one rabbit.”
Finishing up high school in the third year of World War II, Naomi Johnson signed up for the United States Cadet Nurse Corps. The United States Cadet Nurse Corps was a uniformed service created by Congress during World War II to provide essential services by supplying nurses for military, federal government, and essential civilian hospitals for the duration of the war. Cadet Nurses took and signed a Pledge and were given an ID card with a serial number.
President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9575 declaring, "The Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service to be a Military Service and a Branch of Land and Naval Forces of the United States during the period of the present war." (June 28, 1945). The Cadet Nurses wore clinical work uniforms with the Cadet Nurse insignia and wore dress uniforms. Naomi Johnson then began her training at nearby Stormont Hospital in Topeka, Kansas.
Naomi remained in the states for her three year enlistment in the Nurse Corps, serving from 1944 to 1947. When her service was over, she returned to college and completed additional work at North Park College in Chicago. There she met and married Gordon Johnson, a teacher who had served in the US Navy. They would have six children and lived most of their lives in northeast Kansas. Naomi continued her career in nursing, working at Bethany Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas until her retirement.
Naomi N. Johnson passed away on March 2, 2005. She is buried at the National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Submitted by Tim Johnson (son)
Updated 12/3/09