Rivalry for the sky: a prelude to the development of the flight nurse program in the US Army Air Forces

Historical methodology was employed to examine letters and reports of the Aerial Nurse Corps of America (ANCOA), the American Red Cross (ARC), the American Nurses' Association (ANA), and the United States (US) Army written from 1937 to 1942. Data revealed that the formative years of flight nursing prior to the development of the program in the US Army were marked by the rivalry of the ANCOA and the ARC to provide the flight nurses for a military flight nurse program. The rivalry highlights an issue that has plagued nursing from its beginning: that nurses should control their own profession. Ultimately, the rivalry was "much ado about nothing," but the deliberations of nurse leaders of the ARC and the ANA concerning the ANCOA and its founder, Lauretta M. Schimmoler, a pilot, offer insight into how nurses worked to maintain control of nursing and serve as a source of inspiration for nurses of today in their professional efforts.