[Ops Lens] When Anna Mae McCabe Hays joined the Army in 1942, she knew she was signing up "for the duration" of the war plus six months. In all likelihood she had no idea that the Army would be her career, nor how successful that career would be. She certainly had no idea that by the time she retired she would rise to be the chief of the Army Nurses Corps and America’s first female general officer.Anna Mae McCabe Hays was born on February 16, 1920 in Buffalo, New York. Graduating with honors from Allentown High School and instilled with a strong drive to help others, Hays entered Allentown General Hospital School of Nursing in 1938. Like thousands of nurses of her generation, Anna Mae enrolled in the American Red Cross following graduation.
After Pearl Harbor, inspired by a sense of duty and patriotism, Hays joined the Army Nurse Corps (ANC). "I joined during World War II. As you know, the war was declared on December 7, 1941, and from that time until I joined in May of 1942, the papers were full of stories about individuals serving their country. Being a nurse, I too wanted to serve my country."