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Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Hazel Johnson, Nurse, Awards, Photographs, and Other Material, A&M 4348, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

Hazel Anne Johnson was born in Buffalo, WV on December 6, 1937. She graduated from Buffalo High School and went on to get a nursing degree from Kanawha Valley Hospital in Charleston, WV. Hazel became one of the first nurses at the West Virginia University Hospital as she pursued further nursing education at West Virginia University (WVU). During the Vietnam War, Hazel served as a Lieutenant Flight Nurse for the Air Force Reserves. Hazel lived in Seattle, Atlanta, and Boston before moving to South Carolina. In South Carolina, Hazel became an instructor of nursing at the University of South Carolina where she would soon join the army and escalate her traveling. In the 1980s she became involved in the Reserve Military Officer Association of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR) attending annual conventions for many years. After visiting 80+ countries, Hazel ended her military career as Chief Nurse for the South Carolina National Guard with 26 years of military service. In recognition of her instrumental time at WVU, she established the Hazel Johnson Scholarship for those pursuing nursing at the WVU Health Sciences Center and demonstrating academic excellence. Hazel Anne Johnson passed away in 2016.

This information was sourced from the obituary provided with the collection.

Scope and Contents

Collection of items belonging to Hazel Johnson, an esteemed nurse who had a long association with the military, including service during the Vietnam War, and who attained the rank of Colonel. A native of Buffalo, West Virginia, she went to West Virginia University and attained a masters degree in nursing. The collection includes awards, certificates, ephemera, and photographs of her travels.

Box 1; folders 1-8: Papers relating to women in the military including: DACOWITS (Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services) fact sheets, multiple historical narratives, a chronology, and miscellaneous texts; 1993-1994/undated
Box 1; folder 9: OSMTH (Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani, Sovereign Military Oder of the Temple of Jerusalem) memorabilia; undated
Box 1; folders 10-12: Contains certificates, letters, citations, and diplomas to Hazel Johnson; 1969-1994/undated.
Box 1; folder 13: An article on the Hazel Johnson Scholarship; 1989
Box 1; folder 14: The Hazel Johnson family genealogy; 2012
Box 1; folder 15: Buffalo High School graduation program; 1954
Box 1; folder 16: Hazel Johnson's nurse hat; ca. 1954-1955
Box 1; folder 17: Five photographs including her graduation photo, nursing photos, and group photos; 1954-1955
Box 1; folder 17: United States Army Retired Reserve certificate; 1995

Box 2; folders 1-3: Photographs culled from Hazel Johnson's photograph albums; includes: travels to Grenada and portraits and other pictures of her; 1987-1987/undated
Box 2; folders 4-6: Photographs of her professional and recreational travels; 1990/various dates
Box 2; folders 7-11: Items regarding Hazel Johnson and WVU including: the 35th anniversary of the school of nursing and newspaper clippings of the school of nursing; 1990-1996
Box 2; folders 12-16: Photographs of different CIOR (Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers) meetings throughout Europe; 1988-2001
Box 2; folders 17-19: Items and photographs regarding events that Hazel Johnson attended including: the Vietnam War Memorial Dedication, a convention in Charleston, South Carolina, and her own Deactivation Ceremony; 1982-1995
Box 2; folder 20: Photographs of a CIOR meeting in Paris, France; 1991
Box 2; folder 21: Photographs of a CIOR meeting in London, England; 1988
Box 2; folder 22: A student guide to the College of General Studies of the University of South Carolina; undated
Box 2; folder 23: Magazine clippings related to a woman in the military; 1995
Box 2; folder 24: A CIOR event participants list; 1998

Box 3; Statue of an eagle that is the Col. (Ret.) William C. McLain Jr. Award for Hazel Johnson; 1995

Box 4; Contains 5 items: The mayors key of Columbia, South Carolina (undated), WVU School of Nursing 50th Anniversary Golden Graduate Award (undated), A Portrait of a young Hazel Johnson in her nursing uniform (undated), a small silk flag of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (undated), a robe of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (undated), and a USC nametag of Hazel Johnson for the American Business Women's Association (undated)

Box 5; Contains 14 plaques or framed items: A plaque from the Pickney Chapter (1988), Bachelor of Science (Nursing Education) degree from WVU (1967), Masters of Science Degree from WVU (1969), Certificate from the Columbia Council of Career Women (1977), Certificate from the Conference of Defense Associations (1990), Photograph of Hazel Johnson and other military officials (undated), Certificate from the WVU Board of Examiners for Registered Nurses (1958), Certificate from Kanawha Valley Hospital (1958), Diploma from Buffalo High School (1954), a Meritorious Service Award from the South Carolina Army National Guard (undated), Multiple pictures that are singularly framed with a title of "Honoring Women in Military Service" (undated), Certificate of Basic Training from the U.S. Air Force (1968), Picture of Hazel Johnson in a helicopter (undated), Certificate of Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Air Force (1974); 1954-1990/undated

Box 6; Hazel Johnson's gavel of the Pickney Chapter and a coaster from WVU as a gift to major donors; 20008/undated

Box 7; Two certificates: One a certificate from South Carolina House of Representatives (1994) and one a Certificate of Service from the National Guard Bureau (1986). A copy of the poem I Am the Guard (1976); 1976-1994

Box 8; Commendation letter from the House of Representatives thanking Hazel Johnson for her service and a large portrait photograph of Hazel Johnson; 1997, undated

Box 9; Letter of Recognition from Carroll A. Campbell, the Governor of South Carolina, granting Hazel Johnson the title of "Palmetto Lady" and a certificate of completion of the Reserve Components National Security Course; 1994, 1984

Box 10; Certificate from the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (OSMTH); 1987

Box 11; Four photograph albums of Hazel Johnson's professional and recreational travels in Thailand, China, Greece, Morocco, and Gibraltar; 1983-2004

Box 12; Three photograph albums of Hazel Johnson's professional and recreational travels to Germany and England as well as activities with her friends; 1984-1995

Box 13; Four photograph albums of miscellaneous military travel, recreational trips, WVU homecoming, and a military trip to Kentucky; ca. 1980-2008

Box 14; Four photograph albums of miscellaneous military events include a CIOR meeting in Norway, professional travels to Honduras and Granada, and a recreational trip to Canada; 1984-1996

Box 15; Four photograph albums documenting miscellaneous professional and recreational travels including travels to: Egypt, Ireland, and Monticello, VA; ca. 1993

Box 16; Four photograph albums documenting miscellaneous professional and recreational travels including travels to: Yellowstone National Park, London, Prague, Warsaw, and Budapest; 1997-1998

Box 17; Five miscellaneous certificates including a certificate of Red Cross Appreciation and a U.S. Army Academy of Health Sciences diploma; 1976-1987, undated

Box 18; Nine miscellaneous certificates including a First U.S. Army Area Intelligence School certificate of completion, a Woman of the Year of South Carolina award, and a Attestation of Visit to the Great Wall of China; 1974-1994

Unboxed; Framed collage of women of prestige and achievement titled: "Women Pioneering the Future"; 2003

Unboxed; Artifact: Military uniform of Hazel Johnson; undated