Women Marine Rifle Qualification in 1978
Posted in: Female Marine, History, Marine Corps, Marksmanship, Military, Personal Stories, Training, USMC, veteransWomen Marine Rifle Qualification in 1978 By Corrina Martell Several years before women recruits began qualifying on the M16A1 rifle in Marine Corps boot camp, many women Marines were already qualifying on the M16A1 rifle in the fleet. In late November and early December of 1978, I was part of a detail of about 50 women
Women Marines Reserve Band
Posted in: Female Marine, veterans, Women of the Corps History Project, WWIIWomen Marines Reserve Band by Colonel Mary V Stremlow, USMCR (Ret) Probably the most colorful of all the Women’s Reserve units was the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve Band formed in November 1943 by Captain William F. Santelmann and trained by members of the Marine Band. Prominent music schools and colleges were canvassed for candidates and
The History of Operation Caring Friends
Posted in: Afghanistan, Conflicts, Events, Female Engagement Teams, Female Marine, Iraq, Marine Corps, Military, Personal Stories, USMC, Values, Women Serving in CombatOperation Caring Friends (OCF) was started in 2002 as a way to send our servicemen and women “a taste of home”. Its main focus has been to take care of those who get little or no support from home.Mary and Jeff Merritt first started this venture a few boxes at a time when few were
The Skuttlebutt Special
Posted in: veterans, WMA, WMA HistoryHISTORY OF THE SCUTTLEBUTT SPECIAL Excerpted from the WMA National publication of the 50 years of WMA Following their discharge, 28 WR’s, mostly from Miramar, kept their Round Robin letter alive for several years, then found themselves corresponding only at Christmas. Trying to get all the news crammed into one Christmas card proved to be
WMA CA-3 Greater San Francisco Bay
Posted in: Events, History, Marine Corps, Military, Personal Stories, USMC, veterans, WMA, Women Marines AssociationSan Francisco Bay Members Welcome WMA President By Kathy Wright Reproduced from WMA ‘Nouncements* Chapter Clippings This has been an eventful quarter for CA-3. We were honored, privileged, and delighted to have our National President, Betty Moseley Brown, as our guest of honor at our monthly meeting on 18 May. This event was hosted by Barbara Naas and
E. Louise Stewart, MCWR
Posted in: Female Marine, History, Marine Corps, Military, USMC, Women of the Corps History Project, WWIIWho’s that pretty lady on the magazine cover? By Sabrina Messenger You may recognize this highly glamorized iconic picture on the cover of the May 1943 issue of a popular general interest magazine of the time called Collier’s. Her face shows up on a lot of USMC related merchandise, including t-shirts, mugs, and computer mousepads.
Marine Corps WWI 100% Girls
Posted in: History, Marine Corps, Military, Personal Stories, USMC, veterans, Women Marines Association, WWIBy Sabrina Messenger Who were the 100% Girls of World War One? Nowadays, you see a lot of percentage numbers thrown around by either the media or political activists. Some recent examples? Occupy Wall Street slogan: “We are the 99 %”. A recent Presidential candidate spoke of people whom he labeled as the
The Founding of the Women Marines Association
Posted in: WMAIn the Beginning At the 1958 February Anniversary Luncheon in the Statler Hotel in Los Angeles, Jean Durfee announced her idea for a reunion of Women Marines. She enlisted the help of Marjorie Miller and Helen Hannah Campbell. Before any real progress was made Jean relocated in Bailey, Colorado. She continued to pursue her plans
Lela Leibrand Rogers
Posted in: History, Life After the Corps, Marine Corps, Military, Personal Stories, USMCBy Sabrina Messenger Sgt Lela E. Leibrand “Mackey” Rogers A Real “Hollywood” Marine! It’s a well know fact that all women Marine recruits go through basic training at Parris Island, SC and not MCRD San Diego, but there is at least one verifiable case of a woman who was literally a “Hollywood” Marine! Private Lela
The History of the Women Marines Association
Posted in: Female Marine, History, Military, USMC, Values, veterans, WMA, WMA History, Women Marines Association, Women of the Corps History ProjectIn the upcoming weeks we will go over the history of the Women Marines Association. The book was compiled by the WMA National Historian, Nancy Wilt in honor of the 50th anniversary of our Association in Denver in 2010. We start with a greeting written by Col Julia Hamblet Greeting from Colonel Julia E. Hamblet,
Rooted in Service
Posted in: Female Marine, History, Life After the Corps, Marine Corps, Military, Personal Stories, Professional Development, Training, USMC, Values, veterans, Women of the Corps History ProjectBy Sharon Tutt My family background has military roots that span as far back as World War I. My maternal grandfather, L. W. Knox, served in the Army in France for three years. Three of his sons joined the military during World War II; Uncle Curtis served in the Army and was stationed in the
An Affair With Image Development
Posted in: Boot Camp, Female Marine, Life After the Corps, Personal Stories, Training, USMC, WMABy Marine Cpl Sabrina (Williams) Messenger On the surface, I didn’t appear to be different from my peers. However, while most of them were content to simply meet Mr. Right, fall in love, and become wives and mothers, I knew I wanted something different. Something really special! Well the day came when I, too, fell