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I was stationed overseas in 1976...

When the absentee ballots came on base in early Oct for the Nov election we had 10 days to go and vote before they were sent back to the States...

When I went by appointment to see my “Election Officer” to vote he put my ballot on his desk and covered part of it with a book and held it there waiting for me to mark it...

all I could see was the line for Jimmy Earl Carter...

I asked to see all of my ballot and to vote in private...

The (feel free to place bad words here) told me that as I was from another country I did not understand how people voted in America..

As this was the very first election I had voted in having just become an American citizen the year before... 1975..it was important for me and I was thrilled to be able to actually vote...

He persisted but he may have not realized thatr I probably knew more about American civics than he did having learnt much in order to qualify to be naturalized...

I knew for instance there should be at least one more name and Jim Crow was dead..

As I had also been weaned on the Australian Ballot, the secret ballot, and he was not going to allow me my Constitutional rights, I began to educate this young officer (me a humble NCO)..

I told him that yes I was from another country, and it was true that I had never voted in America, but I had voted BEFORE I came to America and the process was much the same, and in secret...

I explained what the Australian Ballot was and that I had a right under the Constitution to vote in private and without undue influence from any one party...

I told him that I did not desire to vote for Jimmy Carter and I would like to see the names of the other candidates...

He told me that I had refused an opportunity to vote and to return to my duty section...

I was not rude to him but had spoken quietly and as respectfully as I could although throughout I had felt like crying..

Was I punished for “disobeying an officer when it was my duty to do so” ???

In a word yes...

although they couldnt get me for refusing to vote for Carter, they couold do other things to me..

for 6 weeks before Christmas extra staff was required at the base Post Office to handle all the packages from home...

Usually slackers or low ranking servicemen were excused from their squadrons and assigned to the task..

I was NCO of my section and had a computer job few others knew how to do..

I had continual high performance reports and was relied upon to keep my part of the mission going..

However the very next week I found myself with orders cut assigning me for indefinate duty at the Post Office...

My supervisor tried to get me out of it but no dice I was to go...

It is amazing how God will turn some evil against us to our good..

The mail was only delivered in the morning and we spent most of the day putting it up..

There was a long line at lunchtime for mail and then again about 4-4.30PM

Since all the mail was already up by about 1-2PM the rest of the day was easy...

I found that the 2 permanent junior staff left work early to attend college at the local base Elementry School...

Since I had already been going to the University of Maryland on basse my new boss told me I could go early too..

There were 2 classes every night...1 at 4.30 the other at 6PM

as I usually worked until 5 or after at my normal duty I could only take a 6PM class...

Now I could take 2...back to back classes ..

My new boss usually let his college men go at about 4 and handled the later line on the days they had school with the other temp staff so I went at that time also and then when someone told him why a super troop like me was there he let me go at 3;30 which gave me time to pick up my son from the day care sometimes...

While we had nothing to do during the day after the mail was up the staff would read a book or study...

Our boss encouraged us to study...

I was able to get 6 extra credit hours finished in the time they left me at the Post Office yes I didnt go back after Christmas like I should have...

When my orders came down at the end of January I went back to my duty section and the shambles it was now in 2 days after the end of class...

Now you ask yourself...

Would Nana having stood up for herself at age 27 and in a volunrable situaton and could have been jailed for disobeying an officer really roll over and play dead and vote for Willard Jimmy Carter Romney when she is older and wiser and now has nothing to fear ???