DUBLIN, Ga. — Our men and women in uniform often get sent away from home for long periods of time. One Dublin Navy veteran is coming back to work at home after being gone for four years.
Kathleen McGowan enlisted in the Navy in 1989 and never thought she would land in Dublin. For Capt. Gowan, serving her country runs through her blood.
“My father was a veteran, and he served three years in the South Pacific, he was in combat in the Pacific Theater,” she said.
She says her father spoke about his medical issues, which is what inspired her next move.
“I ended up going to medical school. I was accepted and graduated from medical school in 1981,” she recalled.
By 1989, McGowan enlisted in the Navy with one mission.
“My first assignment was working at the Naval Operational Support unit in Des Moines,” she said.
Over the next decade, she traveled around the world, landing in places like Germany in 2007 – an evacuation spot for soldiers injured while serving in the Middle East.
“I was at Landstuhl. I saw things that I never thought I would I ever see. I saw young people come in with no arms or no legs; it was really heart wrenching some of the things I saw,” she said.
After being overseas, she returned to the Emerald City in 2010. Her main job was working with community outpatient clinics in Macon, Albany and Brunswick.
Four years into serving at the Dublin VA, she got another call to serve in Millington, Tennessee.
“We provided care making sure all of the injured sailors that they received the right care at the right time and received that care expeditiously,” said McGowan.
After four years of helping people who served in combat, she’s back in Georgia. Even though her journey is over, she says she has a better understanding of what veterans have done for our country. Her mission will always be to take care of vets.
McGowan says she’ll be retiring soon, but she’ll continue to train other physicians across the county in proper medical care. She adds that one of the most notable moments in her career was meeting former President Barack Obama.
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