History

HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY
(Partly adapted from an article by Eugenia Bradford Roberts, Honorary President and Founder, originally published in the 1938 Annual Report)

For many years there seemed to me to be a need for some society for daughters of Regular Army officers whereby they could keep in touch with their girlhood friends. In the Army by the frequent changes in station, Army girls do not form the ties that girls in civil life do and usually maintain throughout their lives. By marrying and so changing her name, or when retirement comes and there is a move to civil life, an Army girl becomes lost to her childhood friends and to her parents’ friends. So it seemed that if in some way a society could be formed to keep up early friendships and to help carry on the traditions and customs of the service, it would serve a very good purpose.

In January of 1928 there were about forty Army daughters stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia, and the time seemed propitious to form an organization. So an invitation was issued to all of these Army daughters to meet to present and discuss the idea of forming an organization.

After a presentation of the needs and desirability for some society of Army daughters, there was a general discussion, and it was unanimously decided to form a society. A temporary President and Secretary-Treasurer were elected and a committee appointed to draft a Constitution and Bylaws to be voted on at the next meeting. And so was launched the Society named the Daughters of the United States Army.
In March of the same year, the Constitution was adopted, officers were elected and chapters were formed across the country.

Though the Society was originally formed in Fort Benning, in 1933, the Headquarters were established in Washington, D. C., and national officers for the Society were elected.

In 1947, the Society was incorporated as a non-profit organization in the District of Columbia and the official seal of the corporation still in use today of an eagle with spread wings, head turned to right, standing on ribbon lettered D. U. S. A. superimposed on a laurel wreath was created.

DUSA Scholarship Fund
The scholarship fund was created in 1940 and was initially named the Army Daughters Scholarship. Initially the fund was designed to provide support for the daughters of deceased or retired officers of the Regular Army. To help finance the scholarship, membership dues were raised from $.75 to $1.00 with the additional $.25 being directed to the scholarship fund. The first scholarship was awarded in 1942.

In 1952, the fund was renamed the Eugenia Bradford Roberts Memorial Fund in honor of our founder.

In 1970, the Colonel Hayden W. Wagner Scholarship Fund was founded in his memory by his daughter, Mrs. Duncan S. Somerville. This fund continues to award scholarships to this day.

In 1988, the family of Margaret McGregor Prickett Scholarship fund was established by her family in recognition of her 90th birthday. Mrs. Prickett served as National Treasurer of the Society from 1951 to 1979. In addition to funding from the family, the Margaret McGregor Prickett Scholarship Fund has been generously supported by her many DUSA friends.

Shortly after the death of his wife Gladys, Dr. John K. Simpson former Chief of Service at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas endowed a scholarship fund in her memory. The Gladys and John K. Simpson Fund established in 1998 continues to award scholarships.