Clara Adams-Ender facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Clara Adams-Ender
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Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender
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| Birth name | Clara Leach |
| Born | July 11, 1939 Willow Spring, North Carolina |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ |
United States Army |
| Years of service | 1961–1993 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands held | Fort Belvoir United States Army Nurse Corps |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit Meritorious Service Medal (4) Army Commendation Medal |
| Other work | Management consultant |
Clara Adams-Ender, born Clara Leach on July 11, 1939, is a retired United States Army officer. She served as the Chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps from 1987 to 1991. She made history as the first woman to earn a master's degree in military studies from the United States Army Command and General Staff College. She was also the first African-American nurse officer to graduate from the United States Army War College. When she retired in 1993, she was the commanding officer of Fort Belvoir in Virginia. After her military career, she wrote a book about her life called My Rise to the Stars: How a Sharecropper's Daughter Became an Army General.
Early Life and Education
Clara Leach was born in Willow Spring, North Carolina, on July 11, 1939. She grew up with nine brothers and sisters. Her family lived on a tobacco farm in Wake County, North Carolina. Her father, Otha Leach, was a farmer.
Clara went to Fuquay Springs Consolidated High School. She graduated when she was sixteen years old, as the second-best student in her class. She then attended North Carolina A&T State University, which is a historically black university. While there, she took part in the Greensboro sit-ins, which were peaceful protests for civil rights.
Leach joined the United States Army to help pay for her nursing school education. In 1961, after she graduated, she became a second lieutenant in the United States Army Nurse Corps.
Military Career Highlights
After graduating, Clara Leach worked at Brooke Army Medical Center. In 1961, she became a staff nurse at the hospital at Fort Dix. She also took part in a special program for intensive care at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center.
In 1963, she moved to work at the 121st Evacuation Hospital in South Korea. She later became an instructor at Fort Sam Houston, where she taught from 1964 to 1967. After 1967, she went back to school. She earned a master's degree in medical-surgical nursing from the University of Minnesota's School of Nursing. During this time, she married James Adams, but they later divorced. She kept her married name.
Adams started teaching at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1969. By 1974, she became the Director of Nursing at Fort George G. Meade. The next year, she attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College. She graduated in 1976, becoming the first woman to earn a degree in military studies from that college.
In 1978, she was sent to Frankfurt, Germany. She started as an assistant chief in the Department of Nursing at the 97th General Hospital. By the time she left in 1981, she was the chief. That same year, she was promoted to colonel. Also in 1981, she married Heinz Ender. After her time in Germany, she returned to the United States.
Known as Adams-Ender after her marriage, she worked hard to recruit nurses for the Army. She moved to Fort Sheridan and led the nurse recruitment program there. While at Fort Sheridan, she also attended the United States Army War College. She graduated in 1982, making her the first African American nurse officer to graduate from that college. She left Fort Sheridan in 1984. Besides recruitment, she also worked to get better pay for nurses.
In 1991, Adams-Ender was chosen to be the Commanding General of Fort Belvoir, Virginia. She also served as the Deputy Commanding General of the United States Military District of Washington. She held these important roles until she retired in 1993.
After Retirement
Clara Adams-Ender retired from the Army in 1993. She then started her own consulting company. She was also the former president of an organization called Caring About People With Enthusiasm. In 2001, she published her life story in a book titled My Rise to the Stars: How a Sharecropper's Daughter Became an Army General.
Honors and Awards
In 1996, Working Woman magazine named her one of 350 women who "changed the world." She has received many awards for her service. These include the Army Distinguished Service Medal (twice), the Legion of Merit, and the Meritorious Service Medal (four times). She also received an Army Commendation Medal.
Adams-Ender was also honored with the Roy Wilkins Meritorious Service Award and the Gertrude E. Rush Award for Leadership. In 2019, she was added to the United States Army Women's Hall of Fame.
She is also a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
