Women Marines Faithful to Core

Denver Post ^ | April 08, 2002 | Jim Sheeler

[MudPuppy]

Members of all ages gather to share pride of having served

By Jim Sheeler
Special to The Denver Post

Monday, April 08, 2002 - The bustling Sunday brunch crowd at Racine's restaurant is made up of churchgoers in their nice clothes, hipsters nursing hangovers and two dozen women with soft felt hats who suddenly stand up and bring it all to a halt.

Bea Leist was a member of the Woman Marines of Aviation Squadron Three based out of El Centro Marine Air Base in California during World War II.

"I pledge allegiance," they begin defiantly, and by the time they reach "flag," most everyone in the front room of the Denver restaurant has dropped both silverware and conversation. Some of the patrons join in; by the time the women finish, many in the restaurant have their hands over their hearts. Then the ladies - ranging in age from 16 to 85 - begin to sing.

"We are the women members of our fighting corps," they sing. "The name is known from burning sands to icebound shores. . . . "

The women don't mind the stares. They figure they deserve the attention. As "the smallest sorority in the biggest fraternity in the world," few people ever seem to notice them. They are, they say, "the fewer, the prouder, the Women Marines."

As they sit down and begin the meeting of the Colorado Columbine chapter of the Women Marines Association, 85-year-old Velma Brooke thinks back to the day she decided to enlist in World War II.

"My boss looked at me and said, "Now, why would a nice girl like you want to go off and join the Marines?' " she says, laughing. "Really. That's what he said."

The Marine Corps was the last of the services to include women. They were not given special names like the Navy women (WAVES) or those in the Army (WAC), so they say few people know about their existence. Actually, they have existed since the first woman enlisted in August 1918, when they were stuck with the somewhat unfortunate name "Marinettes." That group disbanded soon after World War I ended, but women were allowed to rejoin the Marines in 1942.

According to the group's website, about 19,000 women served during World War II, and tens of thousands more served in expanding roles over the next 59 years.

Founded in Denver in 1960, the Women Marines Association now boasts more than 5,000 members nationwide. In the six-state region that includes Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and the Dakotas, Colorado is the only state with a chapter, with about 70 members - with only about 30 active in the group.

These days the meetings begin with a list of the women - most of them World War II veterans - who cannot attend because of failing health. One just had "a tiny heart attack," another, who was the oldest of the bunch, died a few months ago. But nearly 60 years ago, the wrinkled hands at the table once worked on airplanes (their small size making it possible to wiggle into places men's hands couldn't), they drove dump trucks, coded messages and kept offices running smoothly.

"Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a little boy so I could be a Marine," says Bea Leist, a Denver native who enlisted as soon as she could, in 1943, and was in the third class of women to graduate from boot camp. "I didn't want to be a soldier. I wanted to be a Marine."

Leist ended up at an aviation-supply house in California, the last place the planes would stop on their way to the Pacific. Like many, she saw the men she trained near transferred to some of the bloodiest fighting in the war.

Ede Froyen, a founding member of the Denver chapter and a former drill instructor, worked at a shipyard in Washington state, where she delivered coded messages to battleships. One day she brought the message to the ship that held her fiance.

"I knew (the code), so I knew he was going to Iwo Jima, but he didn't know. I couldn't tell him. He was killed there," Froyen says. "You were friends with a lot of these fellas, and every time they went out, you thought, "I wonder if they're coming back,' and a lot of times they didn't."

Today the women continue to support other veterans - primarily through helping out at hospitals, knitting covers and blankets for wheelchair-bound comrades and sharing stories. Though a memorial to women veterans was dedicated in Washington in 1997, many Marines say women's wartime role remains largely forgotten.

"Being a woman at that time, (being overlooked) just came with the territory," Leist says. "But all that mattered was the chance to be able to make a difference. That's what was important."

These days, the Colorado group also comprises women from the Korean War and Vietnam War, along with active female reservists who continue to document the achievements of their forebears and share their stories with the next generation.

"They went through a lot, but mostly they talk about the good times," says Brenda de Luna, 17, one of two young guests from the ROTC at Adams City High School invited to the meeting - one who plans to join them in a few years.

"They're so close together," Jamie Cody, 16, says. "It's just something about being a Marine."

"There is something about it," says Roddy Godown, who served around the beginning of the Vietnam War. "You work so hard to get that pin, and then once you have it, you work even harder, because there's so much to be proud of."

And that eagle, globe and anchor logo still comes in handy - even for an 85-year-old.

"When I meet someone who wants to intimidate me I stand up and I say: "Don't mess with me! I'm a Marine!' " Brooke says.

"And you know what? It still works."

[MudPuppy]

didn't see this posted yet.....

If you're a former, retired, active duty or reserve, officer or enlisted
Woman Marine you're encouraged to join the Women Marines Association (WMA)

Semper Fi!

[MudPuppy]

please do your ping thing :)

[Trust but Verify]

I'll have to send this to my sister. She's a former Marine and very proud of it! She probably already knows about this group. Thanks for the story!

[homeschool mama]

Great article! I was just gonna ping snow bunny...you beat me to it. I'll ping anyway...and spookie...yoohoooooooo!

[Buggs]

I wonder if they'll make Catherine Bell from JAG an honorary member?

[SERE_DOC]

Hey DevilDog here is a ping for ya!

[LadyX]

Late seeing this, Mud, and I thank you!
I enjoyed the article.

Last Thursday was a Day of Glory, as I described on the USO Canteen Thread on Friday.
Took my 16-year old grandson (2 years of ROTC) to see the Real Thing - Parris Island!
That was My Home, instructing women recruits in classroom subjects, and yes - I did purchase 3 casette tapes of cadence calling - the Mother's Lullaby for CORPS!!

I wore that boy into the ground, so elated to be there!
Saw the Globe & Anchor Ceremony for Lima Company - 6 platoons comprised of 352 men and women.

Laid hands upon the replica of the Iwo Jima Monument there, for which I was Guidon Bearer for "A" Company in its Dedication Ceremony in 1952.
So many memories ~ ~ ~ it is AWESOME TO BE CORPS !!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"Standing at Attention"
"Eyes forward"

SALUTE

[SamAdams76]

When I was in the Marines, we always referred to them as "WM's." By and large, I never had a problem with women in the Corps. The few that I met personally seemed to work hard and weren't any less committed to their country than their male counterparts. While I don't support combat roles for them, for logistical reasons mainly, they can certainly perform other very important functions behind the front lines.

[LadyX]

Thank you, Brother Tonk..:)))

(((Hugs))) to my tin can sailor friend, 'recycled' into the current COAST GUARD AUXILIARY !!!

We *SALUTE* YOU.

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks for the bump -- what a neat article about the Women of the Marines Corps!

[michigander]

[LadyX]

Thank-you-for-reading-it BUMP !!!
Women Marines were changed from Reserve Status to full Corps in 1950, during the Korean Conflict.

My grandson's Army Jr. ROTC Lt Col told him, "Your grandmother could not have been a Marine - must have been a nurse!"
I plan a foray to his school very soon to 'educate' the ignoramus um..uninformed soul.
There is, of course, no such thing as a nurse in the Marines!
There are Navy Waves who are hospital corpsman who provide care TO Marines, not to be confused with a Woman Marine in any way..:)))

[LadyX]

Thank you kindly, michigander.

How is that 'little lake' out your door?!!

[michigander]

A little bit chilly yet. ;-)

[COB1]

I SALUTE YOU, WOMEN MARINES!!

THE FEWER, THE PROUDER, THE WOMEN MARINES!

[PhiKapMom]

I certainly hope you do set that "uninformed" person straight! I would love to be there to observe! Go for it!

[LadyX]

Thanks, Devil Dog..:)))

[MudPuppy]

dontcha just luv the Corps' terminology?

WMs (BAMs if you want a fight), dark green Marine; light green Marine, etc...
EVERYONE is green and a true Marine from the Commandant to the newly graduated Private.

Isn't it funny how Marines will find each other in any given situation....and then the war stories start.
Whether you're 85 years old or 18 yrs old there's a bond and respect like no other.

OOH-Rah!

[JoeSixPack1]

Semper Fi WMs !