City of Goose Creek

She was a native of Goose Creek, and a trailblazer whose life of service and accomplishment serves as an inspiration. 

Nancy Leftenant-Colon was the first Black woman to serve as a registered nurse in the U.S. Military, after volunteering and being accepted into the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1945. In 1946, she was assigned to the 332nd Station Medical Group at Lockbourne Army Air Base. 

She was the first and only woman to serve as President of the Tuskegee Airmen. In 2007,  she received the Congressional Gold Medal from President George W. Bush.

She was born on Sept. 29, 1920, in Goose Creek, and passed away at the age of 104 early this year in Amityville, NY, where she lived. The Amityville Memorial High School Library was named in her honor in 2018. 

See Live 5 News' story about her incredible life here.

Read the Associated Press story from earlier this year.

Leftenant-Colon graduated from Amityville Memorial High School in 1939 and dreamed of becoming a nurse. In 1941, she graduated from Lincoln School for Nurses in New York City, the first school in the country to train Black women to become nurses. She attempted to sign up for the Armed Forces but was informed that the military was not accepting African American nurses. 

Nancy persevered, after briefly working at a local hospital, in January 1945, she volunteered and was accepted into the Army Nurse Corps as a reservist with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Her first assignment was to Lowell General Hospital, Fort Devens, Massachusetts where she treated World War II wounded soldiers. She and other black nurses impressed the doctors so much with their superior performance that they were promoted to First Lieutenant after only 11 months.

In 1946, Leftenant-Colon was assigned to the 332nd Station Medical Group at Lockbourne Army Air Base in Columbus, Ohio, making history as she was accepted, commissioned, and integrated into the regular Army Air Corps.

After transferring to the newly established Air Force in 1947, Captain Leftenant moved on to other assignments, including serving as an elite flight nurse during both the Korean and Vietnam wars. She evacuated wounded soldiers and set up makeshift hospital wards in active war zones, and is credited for saving numerous lives during the wars. Following her military retirement (Chief Nurse, Major, USAFNC) Leftenant-Colon returned to her hometown, Amityville, to continue in public service as a high school nurse until she retired in 1984.

She was married to Air Force Reserve Captain Bayard Colon, who died in 1972, and who was a member of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen.

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