Irma Dryden

American military nurse (1920–2020)

Irma Dryden

Nickname(s)| "Pete"
Born| (1920-05-28)May 28, 1920
New York City, New York
Died| September 17, 2020(2020-09-17) (aged 100)[1]
Canton, Georgia
Place of burial|

Arlington National Cemetery

Allegiance| United States of America
Service / branch| United States Army Nurse Corp
Rank| Second Lieutenant
Battles / wars| World War II
Spouse(s)| Charles W. Dryden
Children| Charles a.k.a. Thumper Dryden, Keith Dryden, Eric Dryden, George Bingham, Kenneth Bingham, Tony Bingham, Cornelia-Rose White

Irma Cameron Dryden (May 28, 1920 - September 17, 2020) was an American military nurse, best known for her work with the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII. She was involved in the first military wedding at Tuskegee. She went on to be the oldest living Tuskegee Aircorps nurse before her death in 2020 at the age of 100.

## Early life

[edit]

Dryden was born in New York City in 1920.[2] Her father was a dental technician and her mother was a school teacher.[1] Both of Dryden's parents were Jamaican.[3] Dryden's ambition was to become a physician, however, she decided to pursue nursing because she had difficulty accessing the necessary education.[4] She graduated from the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing in 1942.[2]

## Military career

[edit]

In 1942, Dryden enlisted as a military nurse and traveled to Alabama with two of her classmates, Alice M. Dunkley and Mary Rickards.[3] Being from New York, Dryden was shocked by the discrimination she and other black nurses faced in the segregated south.[5] She recounted in an interview with Tuskegee University that she "didn't eat the whole trip" due to rules requiring black passengers to eat behind a curtain after white passengers had finished.[5]

She married Tuskegee Airman Charles W. Dryden in 1943.[6] Their wedding was the first military wedding at Tuskegee.[3] The two would eventually divorce after 32 years of marriage but would remain friends until Charles Dryden's death in 2008.[4]

Irma and Charles Dryden's story was mentioned in Tom Brokaw’s An Album of Memories: Personal Histories from the Greatest Generation as well as Charles Dryden's memoirs, A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman.[3]

## Later life and death

[edit]

Dryden left the military in 1944.[3] She went on to start a medical lab in New Jersey which she oversaw for over 20 years.[4] In 2013, she became the first honorary member of the Atlanta chapter of the National Black Nurses Association.[7] In 2014, Dryden received a Congressional Gold Medal for her military service.[8]

Dryden died at the age of 100 in September 2020. She was the oldest living Tuskegee Aircorps nurse at the time of her death.[9]

## See also

[edit]

* Executive Order 9981
* List of Tuskegee Airmen
* Military history of African Americans
* The Tuskegee Airmen (movie)

* Biography portal

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Tudor, Martha Ann (2020-09-29). "Irma "Pete" Cameron Dryden, 100, nurse to Tuskegee Airmen". ajc.com. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
2. ^ a b "Nurse to Tuskegee Airmen dies in Georgia at 100". abcnews.com. 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
3. ^ a b c d e "Tuskegee Army Nurses Project – Irma Cameron". Retrieved 2024-02-07.
4. ^ a b c Tudor, Martha Anne. "Irma "Pete" Cameron Dryden, 100, nurse to Tuskegee Airmen". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
5. ^ a b The Associated Press (2020-09-29). "Nurse to Tuskegee Airmen dies in Georgia at 100". Air Force Times. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
6. ^ "Only Living Tuskegee Airmen Nurse Who Cared for WWII Cadets Celebrates Her 100th Birthday". people.com. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
7. ^ "Atlanta Black Nurses Association (ABNA)" (PDF). NBNA News: Continuing the Legacy: 18. 2013.
8. ^ "94-year-old Tuskegee Airman honored for her service". TheGrio. 2014-11-12. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
9. ^ "Obituary for Irma "Pete" Dryden | Hanley-Shelton Funeral Directors". Hanley-Shelton Funeral Directors. Retrieved 2024-02-07.

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Tuskegee Airmen

Units|

* 99th Fighter Squadron
* 100th Fighter Squadron
* 301st Fighter Squadron
* 302nd Fighter Squadron
* 332d Fighter Group
* 477th Bomber Group

Air fields|

* Chanute Field
* Mather Field
* Moton Army Air Field
* Oscoda Army Air Field
* Selfridge Air Field
* Tuskegee Army Air Field

Pilots
and crew|

* Paul Adams
* Rutherford H. Adkins
* Halbert Alexander
* William N. Alsbrooka
* William Armstrong
* Lee Archer
* Robert Ashby
* Willie Ashley
* Charles P. Bailey
* William Bartley
* Howard Baugh
* Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler
* George R. Bolling
* Herbert V. Clark
* Granville C. Coggs
* Woodrow Crockett
* Harold Brown
* George L. Brown
* Roscoe Brown
* William A. Campbell
* Herbert Carter
* Eugene Calvin Cheatham Jr.
* Milton Crenchaw
* Lemuel R. Custis
* Clarence Dart
* Alfonza W. Davis
* Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (C/O)
* Charles DeBow
* Robert W. Deiz
* Gene Derricotte
* Lawrence Dickson
* Elwood T. Driver
* Charles W. Dryden
* Wilson V. Eagleson
* John Ellis Edwards
* Joseph Elsberry
* Raymond Cassagnol
* James Clayton Flowers
* Julius Freeman
* Robert Friend
* Willie H. Fuller
* Edward C. Gleed
* Joseph Gomer
* Alfred Gorham
* Oliver Goodall
* Charles B. Hall
* Vernon V. Haywood
* George Hardy
* Raymond V. Haysbert
* Percy Heath
* Mitchell Higginbotham
* Daniel "Chappie" James Jr.
* Clarence C. Jamison
* Alexander Jefferson
* Carl C. Johnson
* James H. Harvey
* William Lee Hill
* Lincoln Hudson
* William H. Holloman
* George J. Iles
* James Johnson Kelly
* James B. Knighten
* George L. Knox II
* Roy E. LaGrone
* Herman A. Lawson
* Walter I. Lawson
* Clarence D. Lester
* Wilmore B. Leonard
* John Lyle
* Hiram Mann
* Walter Manning
* Robert Martin
* Armour G. McDaniel
* Charles McGee
* Walter L. McCreary
* John Mosley
* Fitzroy Newsum
* James O. Plinton Jr.
* Wendell O. Pruitt
* Louis R. Purnell Sr.
* Price D. Rice
* Lawrence E. Roberts
* George S. Roberts
* Curtis C. Robinson
* Isaiah Edward Robinson Jr.
* John W. Rogers Sr.
* Mac Ross
* Robert Searcy
* David Showell
* Wilmeth Sidat-Singh
* Graham Smith (pilot)
* Eugene Smith
* Calvin J. Spann
* Vernon Sport
* Lowell Steward
* Harry Stewart, Jr.
* Charles "Chuck" Stone Jr.
* Percy Sutton
* Alva Temple
* Roger Terry
* Lucius Theus
* Edward L. Toppins
* Robert B. Tresville
* Andrew D. Turner
* James A. Walker
* Spann Watson
* Luke J. Weathers
* Sherman W. White
* James T. Wiley
* Malvin "Mal" Whitfield
* Oscar Lawton Wilkerson
* Yancey Williams
* Romeo M. Williams
* Henry Wise Jr.
* Coleman Young

Incidents|

Freeman Field mutiny

Aircraft|

* Bell P-39 Airacobra
* Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
* North American B-25 Mitchell
* North American P-51 Mustang
* Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Media|

| Fictional films|

* The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
* Hart's War (2002)
* Red Tails (2012)

|

Documentaries|

* Flight of the Red Tail (2009)
* Red Tail Reborn (2007)
* Wings for This Man

Other|

* Fly (play)
* Henry Browne, Farmer
* "Wingmen"

Legacy|

* Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk
* Red Tail Squadron
* Tuskegee University
* Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

Other|

* Leslie Edwards Jr.
* Wilfred DeFour
* Maycie Herrington
* Buford A. Johnson
* Thomas Ellis
* Theodore Johnson
* Noel F. Parrish
* Wallace P. Reed
* Willie Rogers
* Thomas Franklin Vaughns

Related|

* African American military history
* Buffalo Soldier
* Golden Thirteen
* 366th Infantry Regiment
* U.S. Army Black Panthers
* United States Colored Troops

* Category
* aviation portal

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