Lillian Dunlap (January 20, 1922 – April 3, 2003) was an officer and

military nurse Most professional militaries employ specialised military nurses. They are often organised as a distinct nursing corps. Florence Nightingale formed the first nucleus of a recognised Nursing Service for the British Army during the Crimean War in 1854 ...

in the United States Army. She served in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during World War II, later rising to the rank of brigadier general and being made chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps. Dunlap served as the 14th Chief of the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) from 1 September 1971 to 31 August 1975. She graduated from Santa Rosa Hospital School of Nursing in 1942, she received her Bachelor of Science cum laude from

Incarnate Word College The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located o ...

in San Antonio, Texas in 1954. She received her Master of Health Administration from Baylor University in Waco, Texas in 1960. Her main focus during her time as the ANC Corps Chief was professionalizing the education of military nurses by creating a standard Bachelor of Science in nursing. On 23 October 1973 Dunlap became the first woman in the history of the United States Army to serve as president of a Department of the Army Officer promotion board. She was decorated with the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster.

References

1922 births 2003 deaths American nursing administrators Female United States Army nurses in World War II Baylor University alumni Female generals of the United States Army People from Mission, Texas Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army Nurse Corps officers University of the Incarnate Word alumni Women in war in East Asia Burials at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery 21st-century American women Military personnel from Texas {{Nurse-bio-stub