Ritaann Schultz – Yellow Shirt Cleared for Takeoff
In the mid-1970s, Ritaann Schultz breaks barriers for women in the Navy by working on an active P-3 flight line as an aviation boatswain’s mate handler, then gaining flight status and getting NATOPS qualified as a utility air crewman and instructor.
LCPL Clemon Alexander – KIA
Murial A. H. Kweyama remembers her younger brother LCPL Clemon Alexander, a U.S. Marine who was killed in action in a bomb blast in Lebanon in 1983. She describes the affect his death had on her and her family.
Henry L. Brown – KIA, 2003
Army veteran and Gold Star spouse Jodona Brown describes meeting her husband Henry Brown, their marriage in Mississippi, and his death from wounds caused in a mortar attack in 2003.
Patricia Patten – Chats Shaping History and Fate
Pat Patten served as a data processing technician in the Navy, utilizing an early form of the internet for global naval ship communication. She was once mistaken for a London police officer because of her uniform and credits her nanny’s decision to avoid a park with potentially saving her daughter from an IRA bombing.
Jodona Brown – Driving Trucks and Driving Sand
As a motor transport operator in the Army, Jodona Brown drove in truck convoys from Kuwait to Iraq during “shock and awe.” She describes a difficult experience during a sandstorm yet still says she misses being in the Army every day.
Benjamin F. Walker – The Missionary’s Mission
As a young sailor, Benjamin F. Walker was encouraged to take a promotion test, which he passed despite his limited formal education. Later, while stationed in the Philippines, Walker organized repairs for a damaged windmill at a nearby mission station and later led a humanitarian aid effort after a flood, providing supplies to affected individuals.
Stacy Douglas – Plotting a Course to Escape the Odds
As a teen mom with no high school diploma, Stacy Douglas enlisted in the Navy on a waiver and became an Operations Specialist. Working as a navigator and attending GCCS school, she made E-5 in 2 years. Now, out of the Navy, she is doing graduate work in industrial organizational psychology.
Denise Everett – Ditching the Snow for Shock and Awe
Unable to find a job because of no work experience, Denise Everett joined first the Navy and then the Army National Guard for the student loan repayment program. She later served in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom and recounts experiencing “shock and awe” and the unit’s trend of writing messages on trucks to provide encouragement […]
Pia Woodley-Signature Service
Dr. Pia Woodley, a Navy veteran, shares her journey from growing up in Miami, Florida, to her experiences in the Navy and her post-military career. She discusses her family background, education, decision to join the Navy, and the challenges she faced during her service, including deployment to Iraq. Dr. Woodley emphasizes the importance of leadership, […]