Rosemary T. McCarthy Papers

Rosemary Teresa McCarthy (1926-2012) was a member of the United States Army Nurse Corps for thirty years, retiring at the rank of Colonel in 1983. McCarthy earned a diploma in Nursing in 1948 from the McLean Hospital School of Nursing, in her native Massachusetts, followed in 1957 by a B.S. in Nursing Education at the University of Minnesota, a Master's in Biology from Boston University in 1967, and a Doctor of Nursing Science degree from the Catholic University of America in 1974. Lieutenant Colonel Phyllis J. Verhonick, an early and strong proponent of nursing research, served as Dr. McCarthy's mentor in the Army Nurse Corps, and encouraged McCarthy to publish a number of research studies, among them projects related to cardio-pulmonary capacity, metabolism, and vomiting. In civilian life, Dr. McCarthy held an adjunct professorship at the Catholic University School of Nursing for many years.

McCarthy's initial military assignments came as a staff and head nurse in surgical intensive care and post-anesthesia recovery, and included postings in Korea, then embroiled in the Korean conflict. She held instructional responsibilities at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco, and in nursing service direction at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. She also served as a nursing service consultant for the U.S. Surgeon General's office. After her retirement, McCarthy joined the Korean War Veteran's Memorial Advisory Board, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. She served as the only female member of that twelve-person commission -- and the only nurse -- guiding the difficult war-memorial design process to conclusion in 1995. Her interest in nursing history extended beyond the Korean Memorial commission, and in fact, her last active-duty posting was a five-year assignment as the historian for the Army Nurse Corps. At this time, in the spring of 1979, McCarthy co-founded the Historical Methodology Research Interest Group, a precursor to the American Association for the History of Nursing (AAHN), for which she served as president from 1986-88.