This bill recognizes the service of women who served in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps during World War II by treating their service as active military duty for certain veterans' benefits. During World War II, the federal government created the Cadet Nurse Corps to train nurses quickly to meet wartime medical needs. However, these nurses were never officially recognized as military service members, leaving them without access to many veterans' benefits that other service members received.

The bill fixes this by allowing former Cadet Nurses to receive an honorable discharge from the Department of Defense and be officially recognized as veterans. With this recognition, they become eligible for specific veterans' benefits including headstones and markers for graves. However, the bill specifically excludes burial at Arlington National Cemetery based solely on this service. The bill also allows the Department of Defense to create special service medals, commendations, or memorial plaques to honor these individuals. Importantly, this recognition applies only to those who served between July 1, 1943, and December 31, 1948, and the Department of Defense has one year from the bill's enactment to issue the honorable discharges.