Carmen Lozano Dumler is best known for being one of the first Puerto Rican women to become a United States Army Officer. Lozano was born on September 18, 1921. She was born and raised in San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico. She grew up on a coffee plantation that was managed by her father. She was well educated in San Juan, receiving her primary and secondary education there. After graduating high school, she enrolled in the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing. Lozano became a certified nurse in 1943. The United States had entered World War II by this time and needed a boost to its military capabilities. Therefore, the United States ordered Puerto Rico’s 65th Infantry Regiment to full war strength and drafted many off the island, including those who had little experience with the English language. The United States also recognized the need for bilingual nurses to help with soldiers that returned with wounds. The United States Army sent three Women’s Army Corps recruiters to the island of Puerto Rico with the goal of organizing a unit of 200, for various positions. Over 1,500 women applied for the job including Lozano. Lozano was sworn into the Army Nurse Corps on August 21, 1944. She was one of thirteen women to be selected into the Army Nurse Corps. She was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to the Rodriguez General Hospital at Fort Brooke, Puerto Rico. There, Lozano would continue to receive further training. After completing her advanced train at Fort Brooke, she was deployed to Camo Tortugero, where she also served as an interpreter whenever needed. Lozano was reassigned in 1945, to the 359th Station Hospital of Fort Reed in Trinidad and Tobago. There Lozano would attended wounded soldiers who had returned from Normandy, France. While stationed in Trinidad, Lozano had decided that she wanted to become a doctor. She also met Lieutenant Joseph Dumler in Trinidad, whom she would eventually get married to in the Base Chapel. Lozano returned to civilian life after the war and moved to Baltimore, Maryland with her husband. She enrolled as a part time student at the University of Maryland but put her studies aside after having her first child. She continued her nursing and counseling career for 20 year until her retirement in 1985. Second Lieutenant Carmen Lozano Dumler passed away on March 29, 2015 at the age of 93. She leaves behind the legacy of being one of the first 13 women to be commissioned into the Army Nurse Corps. She is a pioneer for Puerto Rican women and led the way for Puerto Rican women in the Army Nurse Corps.

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