Sue S. Dauser

Sue S. Dauser was the fifth Superintendent of the United States Navy Nurse Corps, guiding the Nurse Corps through World War II.

Early Life
Sue Sophia Dauser was born in Anaheim, California, on 20 September 1888. She graduated from the California School of Nursing in 1914.

Navy Nurse Corps Career
Sue S. Dauser became a Navy Nurse in September 1917, subseqently serving with Naval Base Hospital Number 3 in the U.S. and in Scotland during World War I, holding the grade of Chief Nurse for most of that period. Following World War I, she was placed in charge of nursing activities at the U.S. Naval Hospital at San Diego, California. During the 1920s, Chief Nurse Dauser served on board several ships and in overseas billets in Guam and the Philippines as well as in naval hospitals in the U.S. She tended President Warren G. Harding during his fatal illness in 1923.

In the 1930s, Chief Nurse Dauser was principal Chief Nurse at several Navy medical facilities.

Contributions as Superintendent
She was appointed Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps in 1939. Serving in that capacity throughout the Second World War, she supervised the great wartime expansion of the Nurse Corps and its activities throughout the world. In December 1942, after changes in the law, she received the rank of Captain. CAPT Dauser was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for her work as Superintendent during World War II.

Later Life
Captain Sue S. Dauser died on 11 March 1972.