Hazel Winifred Johnson-Brown (October 10, 1927 – August 5, 2011) was a nurse and educator who served in the United States Army from 1955 to 1983. In 1979, she became the first Black female general in the United States Army and the first Black chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps. She was also the Director of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing. Early life Hazel Winifred Johnson was born on October 10, 1927 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Clarence L. Johnson Sr. and Garnett Henley Johnson. Johnson was one of seven children, she had four brothers and two sisters. Her parents were farmers who made a living from livestock and selling fruits and vegetables. As a child Johnson attended East Whiteland Elementary School with her siblings. She later attended Tredyffrin-Easttown Junior Senior High School, where she was considered an exceptional student. At the age of 12, Johnson wanted to become a nurse. Johnson applied and was denied admission to Chester County Hospital School of Nursing for being black. She then moved to New York City to attend the Harlem School of Nursing in 1947. Johnson's nursing career started at the Harlem Hospital emergency ward as a beginning level staff nurse. Military career Hazel Johnson-Brown enlisted in the United States Army in 1955, seven years after President Harry Truman eliminated segregation in the military. Johnson-Brown's obituary states she rose "in the ranks as she impressed her superiors with her skill in the operating room". She was a talented surgeon who took assignments across the world, including Asia. Johnson-Brown served in Japan, and trained nurses on their way to Vietnam. She was assigned to go to Vietnam as well, but fell ill. The unit was attacked shortly after arriving in Vietnam and the nurse who took Johnson-Brown's place was killed in the surprise attack along with numerous others of the group. In 1977 Johnson-Brown was mentioned in the magazine Ebony, where referred to her as "one of the real 'heavies' in her field". The magazine also anticipated Johnson-Brown to become "the first black woman general". Twenty-four years later she made history when she was promoted to brigadier general. With this promotion she took charge of 7,000 nurses in the Army Nurse Corps; the first black woman to hold the post. During Johnson-Brown's promotion she was quoted saying "Race is an incidence of birth" then furthering