April 16

1947: Congress passed the Army-Navy Nurses Act of 1947, giving Army, Navy, and Air Force Nurse Corps members commissioned rank. Also, this act made the Nurse Corps of the Army and the Navy permanent. Florence A. Blanchfield pursued this legislation.

1947: The term “cold war” was coined by Bernard Baruch, who, for decades, was an advisor to presidents on economic and foreign policy issues. It would define the relationship between Washington and Moscow for the next four decades.

1972: After a four-year lull, the United States resumed bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong in North Vietnam. It was part of the U.S. response to a North Vietnamese offensive, which had begun on March 30.

Quote of the Day: “[A]fter several years of cold war, we are intensely aware that a military effort cannot be separated from political objectives.” – Omar Bradley, A Soldier’s Story (1951)

Brandus, Paul. This Day in U.S. Military History (p. 102). Bernan Press. Kindle Edition.