Lenora's Hangout

To all Army women friends on FaceBook!

To all Army women and/or other military service women on FB, please check out the FB WAC Veteran’s group, join the group and invite others to participate. We presently have 200+ members and wish to connect with anyone who may be interested in communicating with these interesting members who served their country well.

  SPECIAL NOTICE: Nancy Dunn needs help in connecting with all the women in her group to LIKE or preferably SHARE with the FB group of the Friends of the Army Women's Museum Association. Their goal is to find as many former Army women and their friends and family members so that all Army women find out about the U.S. Army Women's Museum and visit it while they are still alive and able to do so.

If you haven’t done so yet, check out the 14th WAC Army Band FB group with great photos and interesting stories about the band.

If you served your country, please check out these groups on Facebook for fantastic photos and interesting stories.......a PROUD flock of women indeed.

Luv, Lenora

 

OLOC Herstory

While checking my older posts I made here, I ran across info I posted on Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (OLOC) way back in 2009. i decided to recheck the site and discovered some new information. These women have made great progress and I applaude them in their efforts...what a neat thing to see for us "oldies but goodies who are gay and gray" and are often forgotten about as the years pass us by.

They have an oral herstory (not history) project they created at OLOHP.  (Neat...I used this tag in my printed book WAC Major: Herstory). They state that "there is an urgency inherent in the nature of the OLOHP. Each year, women whose stories the project wanted to gather slip away. Some Old Lesbians die before we are able to interview them; others become unable to do the interview. The herstories of the women who lived through a unique period in time need to be preserved. The women deserve to be recognized for their experiences and contributions. And, just as importantly, there are thousands of other Old Lesbians who need to know they are not alone". 

They continue to state that: "The word "Herstory" is used intentionally as a way to help make these personal stories immediately identifiable as stories about women. It also helps emphasize that this project has been created and nurtured by women. It is not a political statement about men's role in writing history or in history itself. We are aware that the etymology of the word history does not imply gender". 

I love their article about "Ageism and Lesbophobia" which you can read in PDF form. These gals have it going on!

Then I lucked up and lo and behold I found them on Facebook.

Whether you are gay or not, the infomation and projects these ladies are sharing should be of interest to all.

Check them out.  So glad I found them.  Keep up the good work...not bad for 70 year olds.   

 

 

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

During my time in the service, there was no way anyone would expose themselves as being gay in the military. Constant witch hunts were conducted trying to sniff out gays and lesbians in order to get them out of the Army. The objective was to "stay in the closet" and try to perform our duties without getting exposed.  

Wow, how times have changed!  This year the Don't Ask, Don't Tell saga became a headline. For an update on this issue check out the following:

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell  on Sep 20, 2011

President Obama signed the law that repealed "don't ask, don't tell" and officially certified this summer that it would not diminish readiness. But plenty of opposition still remains."It's a tragic day for America," said Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council. While gays and lesbians can now serve openly, there are still limits: All servicemen and women -- regardless of sexual orientation -- must continue to abide by strict standards of personal conduct, such as those pertaining to public displays of affection.

Marines Opposition Update on Dec 5, 2011

Marine Gen. James F. Amos, the face of opposition in the military to lifting the ban on gays serving openly, now acknowledges his concern has proven unfounded that repeal would undermine the war effort. In fact, he says, Marines have embraced the change. A Defense Department spokeswoman, Cynthia O. Smith, said implementation of the repeal of the gay ban is proceeding smoothly across the military.

What a surprise. Isn't it nice to know that gays are not a threat to military readiness? Whippee do-do!

 

 

Lesbians over age 60 network

 

WHO WE ARE: We are a national network of Old Lesbians over age 60 working to make life better for Old Lesbians and to confront ageism in our communities and our country using education and public discourse as primary tools. During biennial National Gatherings hundreds of us come together to share experiences and ideas and recharge our energies for the tasks at hand.

Mission Statement For OLOC: Old Lesbians Organizing for Change is a national organization for Old Lesbians age 60 and over, and will:

• Promote Old Lesbian Pride.
• Educate, support and empower Old Lesbians.
• Challenge ageism in our society and educate the general public about the effects of ageism and oppression.
• Celebrate our strengths, our talents, our experiences, and document our lives.
• Convene national gatherings of Old Lesbians.
• Encourage, establish, and support local chapters and regional  events.

Questions on Second Military Assignment

Okay, you finished AIT/WOBC, your first assignment and went off to your next duty assignment.

1. When/where were you assigned?

2. What duties did you perform and for how long?

3. What people do you remember the most at this assignment?

4. What memories (good or bad) do you remember about this assignment?

 

Questions for Facebook WAC group members

Hey ya’ll!  I have posted several military questions for folks to respond to here on my blog and only a few out of 71 WAC/military members have commented.  Wow, some of the comments are great and shows how we all had different types of experiences during these time frames. 

If you haven’t responded please do such so members can read your interesting experiences. Click on the links below to respond to each question:

Basic Training

AIT

First Assignment

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Questions to come are Second Assignment and Vietnam and Gulf War assignments.  Stay tuned and please respond because we want to read your experiences.  Thanks for sharing ladies!

 

Questions on Second Military Assignment

Okay, you finished AIT/WOBC and your first assignment and went off to your next duty assignment.

 

 

1. When/where were you assigned?

2. What duties did you perform and for how long?

3. What people do you remember the most at this assignment?

4. What memories (good or bad) do you remember about this assignment?

Conspiracy against old folks!

THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY! We Must Stop This Immediately!

Have you noticed that stairs are getting steeper? Groceries are heavier. And, everything is farther away.  Yesterday I walked to the corner and I was dumbfounded to discover how long our street had become!

And, you know, people are less considerate now, especially the young ones. They speak in whispers all the time!  If you ask them to speak up they just keep repeating themselves, endlessly mouthing the same silent message until they're red in the face!  What do they think I am, a lip reader?

I also think they are much younger than I was at the same age.  On the other hand, people my own age are so much older than I am.  I ran into an old friend the other day and she has aged so much that she didn't even recognize me.

I got to thinking about the poor dear while I was combing my hair this morning, and in doing so, I glanced at my own reflection…well, REALLY NOW - even mirrors are not made the way they used to be!

Another thing, everyone drives so fast these days!  You're risking life and limb if you happen to pull onto the freeway in front of them.  All I can say is, their brakes must wear out awfully fast, the way I see them screech and swerve in my rear view mirror.

Clothing manufacturers are less civilized these days.  Why else would they suddenly start labeling a size 10 or 12 dress as 18 or 20?  Do they think no one notices? The people who make bathroom scales are pulling the same prank.  Do they think I actually 'believe' the number I see on that dial?  HA!  I would never let myself weigh that much!  Just who do these people think they're fooling?

I'd like to call up someone in authority to report what's going on -- but the telephone company is in on the conspiracy too: they've printed the phone books in such small type that no one could ever find a number in there! All I can do is pass along this warning:  WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!

Unless something drastic happens, pretty soon everyone will have to suffer these awful indignities.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO WE CAN GET THIS CONSPIRACY STOPPED!

PS: I am sending this to you in a larger font size, because something has happened to my computer's fonts - they are smaller than they once were.

When/where did you take AIT?

I am posting specific topics here for the Facebook WAC group to talk about so members can respond and we can view all comments and interact with each other better. Our WAC group WALL is limited for easy interaction, so trying this out.

The first question for the group was: When/where did you have Basic Training or OCS/WOBC officer training? You can go to this link and answer this question if you missed it the first time around. Only have about 10 out of 50 some members who have commented on this question…we have some great stories told here; so jump in and tell us yours.  I will ask a new question every week (next question will be about your first assignment after AIT).

1. When and where did you take AIT and what was your MOS?

2. What company/platoon and cadre members do you remember?

3. What other trainees in your platoon do you remember?

4. What do you remember the most during AIT?

5.  For officers: you may indicate your first assignment after WOBC/OCS and your branch if applicable.

OK. I will start this with my response:

Lenora Byrd (Lindsey).  After basic in 1961, I went to Ft Sam Houston, Texas for medical training (which I didn’t really want but back then we didn’t have much to choose from) but I hung in there and graduated.  I remember the cadre, 1SG Harban, SGT Lee Resnick and can’t remember the name of our Supply Sergeant (I believe all are deceased). They took good care of me while at AIT. I loved to march our platoon to/from class and I bought my first car—a big white Oldsmobile convertible.  I was free from the discrimination I endured at McClellan (or was I?—more on this in next queston)

After OCS graduation, I remained at McClellan as a training officer until 1965. I remember: CO-CPT Janice Jump and Platoon Officers: Alice Delgado (my mentor) and Nancy Bird (she was called Little Bird and I was Tweety Byrd). I also remember OCs: Peggy Ready, Freida Williams, Carole Monahan, Irene Evankovich and Dorothy Spencer, a hometown gal (we remain in touch to this day).

OKAY!  Your turn WAC group…let it rip!

My related posts:

When/where did you take Basic Training?

A Pet’s 10 Commandments

 

If you are a pet lover, you will enjoy this!  

View: 10 Commandments