Second Lieutenant Carmen Maria Lozano Dumler,This name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name '' "Lozano"'' and the second or matrimonial family name is ''"Dumler"''. RN, (September 18, 1921 – March 29, 2015), was one of the first Puerto Rican women to become a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she served as a nurse and interpreter, and provided support for patients who spoke Spanish. Lozano Dumler has since been featured in promotional and recruitment materials that celebrate diversity in the US military.

Early years

Lozano was born and raised in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, the capital city of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. She lived in a coffee plantation which was managed by her father. She received her primary and secondary education in San Juan. She graduated from the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in the spring of 1944. By this time the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

had entered

, and the Army drafted many Puerto Rican troops for service in the Caribbean and South Atlantic Theater of Operations. The Army recognized the need for Puerto Rican nurses to address language barriers in hospitals, and the Surgeon General's Office, the Governor of Puerto Rico, the Commissioner of Health of Puerto Rico and physicians worked together to develop criteria to select Puerto Rican nurses for the Army Nurse Corps for the first time. In 1944, WAC (Women's Army Corps) recruiters were sent to Puerto Rico to organize a unit of 200 WACs, and over 1,500 women applied. Lozano applied to become an Army nurse and on Aug. 21, 1944, became one of thirteen women selected. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, she "described it as the happiest day of her life."

Military service

Lozano was one of the first Puerto Rican women to become a United States Army officer. According to retired Lt. Col. Marilla Cushman of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation, "She is certainly a pioneer for Puerto Rican women, one of the first 13 to be commissioned into the Army Nurse Corps. Carmen and her 12 cohorts led the way for Puerto Rican women in the Army Nurse Corps. 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, Puerto Rico Fort Brooke was a United States Army post established on 3 March 1943 under General Order Number 10 during World War II after the German U-boat attacks of 1942 on the Caribbean Basin in conjunction to Operation Z. Early years During the early ...

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. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, in addition to her work as a translator, she also provided "her support to the patients who appreciated having someone to talk to who shared the same language." In 1945, Lozano was reassigned to the 359th Station Hospital of Ft. Read,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grena ...

, where she attended wounded soldiers who had returned from

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. According to Judith Bellafaire of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation, "Many appreciated being able to "talk out" their anxieties and nightmares," and according to the U.S. Army Medical Department Office of Medical History, "The Puerto Rican Army Nurses were applauded for their bilingual language abilities. Spanish-speaking patients expressed great appreciation for the nurses from their homeland that could speak and write letters for them in their native language." While in Trinidad, she decided that she would like to become a doctor after the war and took correspondence courses from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. She met Lieutenant Joseph Dumler in Trinidad and they were married in the Base

Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

Later years

After the war, Dumler moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

with her husband. She hoped to continue her education in medicine and enrolled as a part-time student at the University of Maryland, but put her studies on hold after having her first child. Over eighteen years, she gave birth to seven children. She later continued college at Roosevelt University, and completed a degree in Psychology at Northeastern University, as well as a Certificate Diploma in Substance Abuse Counseling. She continued her nursing and counseling career at the Brothers Health System for 20 years until her retirement in 1985. After retiring, the Dumlers lived in Florida for 23 years, and rented out four properties they bought as investments. Dumler died March 29, 2015, at Brookdale Senior Living facility in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. She was 93 and had Alzheimer's disease.

Awards and decorations

Among Dumler's awards and decorations are: Badges: * USA - Army Medical Nurse

Army Nurse Corps badge

Honors

Lozano Dumler has been featured in material that celebrates diversity in the US military, for Hispanic Heritage Month and for recruitment material: * National Hispanic Heritage Month 2009 (U.S. Army Medical Department) * National Hispanic Heritage Month 2015 (Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute) * National Hispanic Heritage Month 2019 (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

Notes

References

External links

Women's Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lozano Dumler, Carmen 1921 births 2015 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Female United States Army officers Female wartime nurses Louisiana State University alumni Puerto Rican nurses Puerto Rican Army personnel Women's Army Corps soldiers United States Army officers People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican military officers Puerto Rican women in the military United States Army Nurse Corps officers Women in World War II Neurological disease deaths in Illinois Burials at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery