MY TWENTY YEARS BEFORE THE MAST

by Eileen Neiler Eileen A. Morgan Neiler born in East Conemaugh, Pennsylvania on 16 December 1923, the only child of John and Edna Morgan. Growing up during the Great Depression required moving many times as my father sought work. This sometimes meant spending only one year in any particular school. Most of my elementary school

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Posted in: Female Marine, Life After the Corps, veterans, WWIITagged in: , , ,

Heidi Larson Hurley

This #CoronaArtChallenge adventure started March 14, 2020, at the beginning stages of the Covid shut down. I thought I would document my days and motivate myself to do “something” every day to share with whoever cared to see what I did. Schools, businesses, and restaurants all shut down. The world shut down. I lost physical contact with my students, friends and family and wanted to reach out, and share what was going on in my life and mind.

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Posted in: Female Marine, History, Life After the Corps, Marine Corps, Molly Marines, USMC

SSgt Elize McKelvey

2023 National Women’s History Month “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories” “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories” is not only the theme for National Women’s History Month but is also the Women Marines Association theme for March, Women’s History Month. Print, radio, TV, art, music, and social media are all platforms used to tell stories.

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Posted in: Afghanistan, Female Marine, History, Life After the Corps, Marine Corps, Personal Stories, USMC, veterans, Women Marines Association, Women of the Corps History Project, Women Serving in Combat

United States Marine Corps Women Reserves. USMCWR

2023 Anniversary of Continuous Service of Women Marines History of our Anniversary. (by Jeannine Franz and Gail Horn) By the WMA History Committee Happy anniversary lady leathernecks! Or, is it happy birthday?  This is a common debate, but the answer is simple. Every year, the Commandant of the Marine Corps writes a letter to women

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Posted in: Boot Camp, Female Marine, History, Marine Corps, Military, Training, USMC, Values, veterans, WMA History, Women Marines Association, WWII

Transforming pain through paint, ‘Tech Picasso’ leaves traumatic memories behind

iAsia Brown spent 16 years as a gay woman in a “don’t ask, don’t tell” military. Now, she’s producing Xbox games, chasing her master’s degree at USC Marshall and painting images that stop viewers in their tracks. BY Ron Mackovich-Rodriguez USC News iAsia Brown’s Oceanside home seems in artful disarray. The downstairs space, cleared of furniture, is

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Posted in: Female Marine, History, Life After the Corps, Marine Corps, Membership, Military, Personal Stories, USMC, Values, veterans, Women Marines AssociationTagged in:

Barbara Hoadley

USMC Enlisted in 1950 Greetings from Clovis, CA. My name is Barbara Hoadley and I am a proud WMA Life Member #379. I recently attended the WMA Convention in Las Vegas and have also attended conventions in Buena Park, Minnesota, and Charleston as well as the Memorial Dedication in October 1997. These events have given

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Posted in: Boot Camp, Events, Female Marine, History, Marine Corps, Personal Stories, USMC, Values, veterans, Women Marines AssociationTagged in: , , , ,

80th Anniversary Message

Celebrating 80 years since the USMC Women Reserves 13 Feb 2380 years ago, the slogan “Free a Marine to Fight” drew 19,000 women to the USMC Women Reserves during World War II. Today we are approximately 18,000 strong. We have moved from performing mainly clerical positions to filling combat infantry MOS slots worldwide. Every generation

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Posted in: Female Marine, History, Marine Corps, Military, USMC, Values, veterans, WMA, Women Marines Association, WWIITagged in: , , , , , , ,

80th Anniversary of the Marine Corps Women Reserve

13 February 2023 – 80th Anniversary of the Marine Corps Women Reserve Since World War II By Rosa Osborn. It is not widely known why we celebrate 13 February as the Women Marines’ Anniversary.  Eliminating the obvious, when women were officially authorized to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve, one might ask themself why we

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Posted in: Female Marine, History, USMC, ValuesTagged in: , , , ,

Meet Kassie Diaz

WMA LIFE MEMBER An Interview with Kassie Marie DiazBy Alyssa Diaz Known as the first, and only, female to operate unmanned aircraft as an external pilot for the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army, Kassie Diaz also qualified as a Pioneer UAV1 External Pilot in 2002. Additionally, she served as a Corporal

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Posted in: Conflicts, Female Marine, History, Iraq, Life After the Corps, Marine Corps, Values, Women Marines AssociationTagged in: , , , , , ,
Marine Recruitment 1970s

Recruitment of women Marines in the ’70s

This recruitment film, produced for the U.S. Marine Corps by Dallas-based Bill Stokes Associates, portrays the recruitment and training process for women in the Marines. The film starts with “Susie Smalltown” who joins the Marines for the “glamorous uniform”. The viewer then witnesses the transformation that takes place for women recruits during basic training and

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Posted in: Boot Camp, Female Marine, History, Marine Corps, Military, Training, USMC, Vietnam, WMA

Our History – Our Service

By Rosa Osborn In 2010, as a warrant officer and several years in the Marine Corps, I thought I knew it all. I knew the history of the Marine Corps. We all do. I didn’t discover just how little I knew until 2010 while attending the WMA Convention in Denver. I was not only amazed

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Posted in: Afghanistan, Awards, Conflicts, Female Marine, History, Iraq, Korean, Marine Corps, Military, Personal Stories, Values, veterans, Vietnam, WMA, WMA History, WWIITagged in: , , , , ,
Rosa-Osborn-Julia-Hamblet-Awardee

Rosa Osborn

Julia Hamblet Awardee WMA extends congratulations to WMA Member Rosa Osborn as the 2022 recipient of the Julia Hamblet Award. I want to take this opportunity to announce the recipient of the Julia E. Hamblet Award as our own, Rosa Osborn, for her extraordinary efforts in the preservation of the history of women Marine uniforms

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Posted in: Awards, Female Marine, History, Life After the Corps, Marine Corps, Military, USMC, veterans, Volunteer, WMA, WMA History, Women Marines AssociationTagged in: , ,