The United States (U.S.) Cadet Nurse Corps (CNC) was authorized by the U.S. Congress on 15 June 1943 and signed into law by president Franklin D. Roosevelt on 1 July. The legislative act contained a specific provision that prohibited discrimination based upon race, color, or creed. The pimary purpose of the law was to help alleviate the nursing shortage that existed during World War II. The United States Public Health Service (USPHS) was named the supervisory agency; it was answerable to Thomas Parran, Jr. the surgeon general of the United States. The USPHS established a division to administer the CNC program and Parran appointed Lucile Petry, a registered nurse (RN), as its director.