Margaret Harper
{{Infobox military person
| name = Margaret Harper
| birth_date = July 23, 1911
| death_date = December 13, 2000
| birth_place = Potomac, Illinois
| death_place =
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| allegiance = {{flag|United States of America}}
| branch = {{army|USA}}
| serviceyears = 1941–1963
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| awards = Legion of Merit,
Bronze Star Medal,
Army Commendation Medal
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}}
Colonel Margaret Harper (July 23, 1911{{Spaced en dash}}December 13, 2000) was the 11th chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps (ANC) from September 1, 1959, to August 31, 1963. She served in World War II, received a master's degree in nursing service administration from Columbia University. She received several awards for her work as chief of the Army Nurse Corps (ANC).
Biography
Harper was born on July 23, 1911, in Potomac, Illinois.{{Cite web|title=Colonel Margaret Harper|url=https://e-anca.org/History/Superintendents-Chiefs-of-the-ANC/Colonel-Margaret-Harper|accessdate=November 27, 2019|website=The Army Nurse Corps Association}} She graduated from Evanston General Hospital School of Nursing in 1934.{{Cite web|url=https://history.amedd.army.mil/ANCWebsite/superintendents/Harper11.html|title=Superintendents|last=|first=|date=|website=ANC Website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203044757/http://history.amedd.army.mil/ANCWebsite/superintendents/Harper11.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 3, 2010|access-date=}} Harper received her commission in April 1941 at the hospital in Fort Lewis, Washington, becoming a colonel.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqhMAQAAIAAJ&q=margaret+harper%2C+1941%2C+colonel&pg=PA1109|title=United States Armed Forces Medical Journal|date=1959|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}} Her overseas assignments during World War II included service in Australia and New Guinea, and Europe. She was known for having a handgun on her at all times in New Guinea. She also served as superintendent of nurses at Chicago Memorial Hospital and Murry Hospital at one point. After World War II, Harper attended Teachers' College, Columbia University, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing education. She received her master's degree in nursing service administration in 1953.
In October 1955 Hayes became assistant chief of the ANC."New army nurse corps chief." (1955, Oct 05). The Washington Post and Times-Herald On September 1, 1959, Harper became the 11th Army Nurse Corps Chief and she served until August 31, 1963.{{Cite web|url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/085/85-1/CMH_Pub_85-1.pdf|title=Highlights in the History of the Army Nurse Corps|last=Feller|first=Carolyn|date=|website=U.S. Army Center of Military History|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920100011/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/085/85-1/CMH_Pub_85-1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 20, 2015|access-date=}} Under her tenure, the ANC began an intensive recruiting program in 1963 in light of the anticipated build up in Southeast Asia and other military operations, Operation Nightingale, to meet a serious nursing shortage. She received the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.{{Cite web|url=http://history.amedd.army.mil/ancwebsite/superintendents/Harper11.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203044757/http://history.amedd.army.mil/ANCWebsite/superintendents/Harper11.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 3, 2010|title=Office of Medical History - Margaret Harper|website=history.amedd.army.mil|accessdate=April 30, 2018}}
- {{Cite web|url=https://e-anca.org/History/Superintendents-Chiefs-of-the-ANC/Colonel-Margaret-Harper|title=Colonel Margaret Harper|website=The Army Nurse Corps Association |accessdate=May 11, 2018}}
- {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KDWiFMNlOfIC&q=Margaret+Harper&pg=PA122|title=American Nursing: A Biographical Dictionary|last=Bullough|first=Vern L.|date=2000|publisher=Springer Publishing Company|isbn=9780826111470}} After she left the ANC, Harper moved from Illinois to Chicago to San Antonio, Texas, where she died on December 13, 2000.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Directors of the United States Army Nurse Corps}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Margaret}}
Category:American women nurses