Della H. Raney (January 10, 1912 – October 23, 1987) was an American
nurse. Raney was the first
African American nurse to report for duty in
World War II, and the first to be appointed chief nurse. In 1944, she became the first black nurse affiliated with the
Army Air Corps promoted to captain, and was later promoted to major in 1946. Raney retired from the Army in 1978. This photograph of Raney seated behind her desk was taken in 1945; at the time, she headed the nursing staff at the station hospital at
Camp Beale in California.
Photograph credit: United States Office of War Information; restored by Adam Cuerden