Mary L. Petty

Mary Louise Petty (January 4, 1916 – September 14, 2001) was an American Army nurse and a pioneering figure in the racial integration of the United States Army Nurse Corps during World War II. She became the first African American nurse in the corps to achieve the rank of captain. In 1944, she was appointed to lead a nurse training program for Black women at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and in 1945, she commanded the first group of African American nurses deployed to serve in the European Theater.

Petty’s leadership occurred during a national campaign led by civil rights groups to end racial exclusion in the military. Her promotion and overseas service preceded key federal desegregation policies, including President Truman’s Executive Order 9981, which formally ended segregation in the U.S. armed forces in 1948. Historians have described Petty’s career as both a professional milestone and a civil rights breakthrough, and her legacy continues to reflect broader efforts to advance equity in military and nursing institutions.