Our Military Diva of the Week is Rear Admiral Alene Duerk, who became the first female admiral. Alene Bertha Duerk was born in Defiance, Ohio, on March 29, 1920. She received her nursing training at Toledo Hospital School of Nursing, earning her diploma in 1941. On January 23, 1943, she commissioned in the Nurse Corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving as a ward nurse at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia. After serving 10 years in the Naval Reserve working in various hospitals as well as the USS Benevolence (AH – 13), where she assisted the sick and wounded brought back from Third Fleet operations against Japan during World War II, Alene Duerk transferred to the U.S. Navy in December 1953. She advanced progressively in
rank and was promoted to captain in 1967 while working as the Director of the Navy Nurse Corps in Great Lakes, IL. On April 26, 1972, President Nixon approved her selection for the rank of Rear Admiral, making Alene Duerk the first woman to be selected for flag rank in the Navy’s 197th history. She was frocked in a public ceremony on June 1, 1972. Let’s celebrate this Military Diva for paving the way for many women in the United States Navy!
Source: Naval History and Heritage Command
