Fi
nally someone has put into print and perspective the realities of past experiences in the Army - it was not all cake and ale, as some would have you believe. For a lifetime practically, I thought I was alone in some of my experiences in the military - silly me. However, what Lee has written pertains in some degree, I'll wager, to quite a lot of Wacs, regardless of color.
For whatever reason quite a few males in the military treated female soldiers as the enemy - and you really had to wonder why - we all in the military; all had a job to do; so you'd think that those in charge (and the men were 99 percent in charge except at WAC Center) would just go along and get along. I think in retrospect, that part of the problem was that some men were afraid of women whom they perceived were better educated and/or smarter than they - little bugs to be stomped on every chance they got.
....
Lee hit the nail right on the head when she stated that she'd be working for an angel and then in walked the devil. I know that it happened to me on more than one occasion, or I'd be in a position that I really liked, working for people that I liked and respected, and would reenlist for my vacancy only to be moved out 6 months later to a hell hole -and you would know the minute you walked in the door that you were in trouble. No matter what you did or how good you did it, you'd still be lied to, lied about, cheated, and denied what you rightfully earned.
....
However, in spite of everything, I wouldn't trade my time in the Women's Army Corps and the army for all the medals and accolades on the planet. That's the way it was.
Delores Charles (Charlie),
US Army,
E-8, MSG (Retired)
