Did
you know that 15% of those serving in the US Army are women? And that many of the Quilts of Valor that we
make are awarded to women that have been touched by war?
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| Find out more about the QOVs awarded to these women at: http://tinyurl.com/mxkmdnc |
Let
me introduce you to one of those women – a woman who has worked virtually her
entire adult life towards integrating women into the military. She is Evelyn “Pat” Foote, US Army Brigadier General, Retired.
Yes,
you read that right – Brigadier General !!
There had never been a woman to reach the rank of general when Foote
first served in Vietnam
in 1967/8 and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a law that made it
theoretically possible.
Foote
was born in 1930, during an era when girls were automatically funneled into
Home Economics classes and discouraged (and often prevented from) taking math
and science classes. But Foote was
rebellious and ended up with a BA from Wake
Forest in NC, an ES degree from Shippensburg State
in PA and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wake Forest.
Foote’s
US Army career spanned 1959-1989. When she
first served in Vietnam
in 1967, she was shocked to discover that women serving there had received no
special training for the location and were not armed. Since that time, she has worked tirelessly
fighting to have women properly equipped and trained.
Subsequently,
Foote became the first woman to command a brigade in Europe.
She was awarded the rank of general in
1986. And, she has received the Distinguished
Service Medal, a Legion of Merit and a Bronze Star.
Was
that career enough for Foote? Not nearly enough, she
now serves on the Advisory Council of the Business and Professional Women’s
Foundation. She continues to champion
for women’s advancement in the armed forces and transforming all workplaces for
women to those where they can find diversity, equity and work-life balance.
The
US Army has since had 55 women generals.
Learn more about Pat Foote and her accomplishments, plus other
groundbreaking women’s stories, at this PBS site:
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