Biographical Note
Doris J. Watson (later Doris Matthews) was born on March 9, 1912 and raised in East Lansing, Michigan. In 1939 she graduated from the Mercy College of Nursing, in Detroit, Michigan, and in 1943 she enlisted in the United States Army Nurse Corps. She served from 1943-1946 with the 11th Evacuation Hospital in Tunisia and Italy.
As a surgical nurse, Watson treated patients wounded at Tunisia, Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio Beach, and Rome-Arno. She also experienced poor health during her service, suffering from pneumonia and impetigo, and spent 103 days in the hospital as a patient before returning to work.
Watson was discharged with the rank of Major in September 1946 and returned to civilian life, eventually moving to New Hampshire. She died on March 15, 1978.