Carmen Lozano Dumler

Carmen Lozano Dumler
Carmen Lozano Dumler
	File:CarmenLozanoDurnier.jpg Second Lieutenant Carmen Lozano Dumler
Born	1924; San Juan, Puerto Rico
Allegiance	United States Women's Army Corps
Years of service	1944-1946
Rank	; Second Lieutenant
Unit	65th Infantry Regiment, United States Army Nurse Corps

Second Lieutenant Carmen Lozano Dumler,^{[note 1]} RN, (born 1924), was one of the first Puerto Rican women to become a United States Army officer.

Early years

Lozano was born and raised in San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico, where she also received her primary and secondary education. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in San Juan where she became a certified nurse in 1944.^[1]^[2]

By this time the United States had entered World War II and therefore needed to boost its military capabilities; as a result, the Army ordered Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment to full war strength and drafted many Puerto Ricans — even those whose knowledge of English was minimal. The Army recognized the need for bilingual nurses to help the soldiers that returned with wounds. In 1944, the Army sent three WAC (Women's Army Corps) recruiters to the island to organize a unit of 200 WACs. Over 1,500 women responded to the call and applied. Lozano applied to become an Army nurse and was one of thirteen women to be selected.^[1]^[3]

Military service

On August 21, 1944, she was sworn in as a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to the Rodriguez (161st) General Hospital (named after Major Fernando E. Rodriguez Vargas) at Fort Brooke in San Juan, where she continued to receive further training. Upon completing her advanced training, she was sent to Camp Tortugero where she also assisted as an interpreter whenever needed.^[1] In 1945, Lozano was reassigned to the 359th Station Hospital of Ft. Read, Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies, there she attended wounded soldiers who had returned from Normandy, France.^[1]^[4]

While in Trinidad she decided that she would like to become a doctor after the war and took correspondence courses from Louisiana State University. She met Army Doctor Lieutenant Joseph Dumler in Trinidad and they were married in the Base Chapel. After the war, Lozano, like so many other women in the military, returned to civilian life. She continued her nursing career in Puerto Rico until she retired in 1975.^[1]^[5]

Awards and decorations

Among Dumler's awards and decorations are:

	Army Good Conduct Medal
Women's Army Corps Service Medal	American Campaign Medal	World War II Victory Medal

Badges:

Army Nurse Corps badge

Notes

^ This name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name "Lozano" and the second or matrimonial family name is "Dumler".

References

External links

Women's Memorial

Template:Persondata

[1] This name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name "Lozano" and the second or matrimonial family name is "Dumler".

[CD-2] Women's Memorial

[3] Voz

[4] The Contributions of Hispanic Servicewomen--Written by: Judith Bellafaire, Ph.D., Curator

[5] Puerto Rican Servicewomen in Defense of the Nation

[6] Puerto Rican History

[note 1]

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