Nurse Dolores Dowling was born in South Point, Ohio, on May 30, 1914. After graduating from Huntington’s St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1934, she worked in Huntington as a registered nurse and medical secretary.
To support the American effort in World War II, Dowling joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1942 and became a combat surgical nurse with the first Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. She served with the 11th Field Hospital in North Africa and was one of the first American nurses to land during the 1943 invasion of Sicily. Dowling received four Battle Stars, a Bronze Assault Arrowhead, a Meritorious Service Award, and two Presidential Unit Citations. Injured in the line of duty, she served as a nurse procurement officer for the surgeon general’s office.
After the war, Dowling left the service as a first lieutenant. She returned to civilian life as an office manager for the Greater Huntington Radio Corporation and WHTN-TV and radio. She later worked for the Greater Huntington Theatre Corporation and the Veterans Administration Regional Office in Huntington.
Dolores Dowling died in 1996 at age 71.