Dolores "Wohnus" Campbell Padgett

Colonel Padget joined the Army Student Nurse Program my Junior year of High School 1961.  Upon entering a 3 year RN program at Chester County Hospital School of Nursing in West Chester, Pa., she was a Private and promoted to PFC in my Senior year of nursing school.  The Army Student Nurse Program paid for her nursing school and in her Senior year gave her a stipend monthly pay of $99.00. She was obligated to stay in the Army Nurse Corps for 2years with one year commitment to go to Vietnam.

She was commissioned 2^nd LT at Ft Dix in February 1966. Her Basic Training was at Ft. Sam Houston from February – April. She was my Basic Class Honor Graduate.  Hre first assignment was at Letterman Army Medical Center as charge nurse for 5 Orthopedic Wards.  Shw went to Vietnam December 1966 and was stationed the 85^th Evacuation Hospital QuiNhon.  She worked in the Surgical ICU/Recovery Unit for 9 months and also on a 3 Ward POW unit. Following her tour of duty, she was promoted to 1LT in Vietnam in February 1967.  She got out of the Army and was immediately recruited to work at Walter Reed Medical Center on a male general surgery unit as Charge nurse until 1969.  She returned to Active Duty in March 1971 at Letterman Army Medical Center as a Captain.  She was the Head Nurse of the General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Plastic and Ophthalmology Surgery Unit. She was promoted to Major. She transferred to the 6253^rd USAH in April of 1974 in order to complete her BSN.  While in the Reserves with the 6253^rd USAH, 347^th General Hospital, She held the positions of OIC Education, Beta Training Director for the 91A-B Basic Medic Exportable School for the Reserves, OIC of Officer Evaluations, and Chief nurse of the 458^th MASH. She was LTC while at the 6253^rd and Colonel at the MASH Unit.  During hr Reserves years, she was also a recruiter for the Army in San Francisco and Marin County.  She completed the Command and General Staff Course and was first in her class.  She also was a RN Team Leader at the Presidio San Francisco Armory at Crissy Field for Operation Baby Lift April 1975.  She was leader of one of the buses that received the babies on the first plane to SFO from RVN the day after the first C5 plane  crashed in RVN.  Her team for her 20 babies at the Armory were Boy Scouts.

She retired from the Reserves November 1994.

She hascontinued to be heavily involved with the military through the VFW.  She was the first woman Commander of the San Clemente VFW Post 7142 for 12 years when they merged with Dana Point VFW 9934.  She holds the position there as Judge Advocate. She has been the Women’s Veteran Liaison for VFW District 2 for the State of California for the last 8 years and also for her VFW Post 9934.