Collector Cards

Dorothy was born December 26 1916 in Waterloo, IA one of seven children of Theresa and Carl Woebbeking.

While she was a student at Drake University in Des Moines, IA she read an article about the Red Cross seeking nurses and she wrote to them. She was contacted and enlisted in the military June 5 1941 before the US entered WWII. Dorothy went to Lincoln Airbase in Lincoln NE and was told she was being reclassified to the Air Force. However, she wanted to stay with the Army, so she was transferred to Camp Kilmer in New Jersey in preparation for overseas deployment.

While overseas, she served with the 11th Evacuation hospital in five campaigns: The Rabat, North Africa Campaign; Sicily Campaign; Italy Campaign: French Campaign and German Campaign. She earned seven battle stars. The 11th Evacuation hospital could perform 100 surgeries a day at their 400 bed hospital. Everyone was given a nickname according to Dorothy and hers was “Moonbeam” after a character in the Lil’ Abner comic strip.

Dorothy served from 1941 to 1945 as a first lieutenant. Three of her brothers also served in WWII. Female nurses were not paid equally to male nurses during the war, however that was changed in 1948 by President Truman.

When Dorothy returned to the States, she used the GI Bill to finish her degree at Minnesota University in public health nursing. Her first job was in Bloomington, IL where she met her future husband William (Bill) Worst, who lived in Lockport. Bill had also served overseas in the Army Signal Corp.

Dorothy and Bill married and had 4 children; Sally Cindy Sandy and Marc.

Dorothy accepted a nursing position at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, IL. She was employed there from 1956 to 1982. After her retirement she traveled often with her friends and took up golf and skiing. She stayed active into her 90’s even swimming 5 days a week and volunteering at the hospital’s Encore Shop. She is also a member of the Lockport VFW Post No. 5788

Bill passed away in 2000. Dorothy celebrated her 98th birthday in December of 2014 and still lives in the Worst family home built in the 1840’s along with her son Marc.