Woman Marine Memoirs - Marine Corps Headquarters

        Following my short leave (during which time I never took off my uniform) I reported for duty at Headquarters, Henderson Hall, in Arlington, VA. I felt like a fish out of water. My first time away from home and on my own. I was assigned a room in the barracks that was more like today's office cubicles where the walls are open at the top than a private room, but it was mine! I stumbled around the base for days trying to get my bearings. Since it was Marine Headquarters, there were officers of all ranks everywhere and my arm ached from all the saluting. I was probably saluting other privates too just to be sure I was not making a mistake and neglecting to salute. I think I might have even saluted the mess sergeant when I went for meals. Somehow I knew they all knew I was a "raw recruit".


         The dress blues went into the back of the closet and my days as a Marine began. I would like to say the job was thrilling, but it was just a job. I was assigned to Disbursing and spent my days buried in paperwork, but my evenings were my own and I had a social life. The consolation was that the barracks were located right above Arlington National Cemetery and the most beautiful view of Washington DC imaginable. The history and grandeur of the city more than made up for the job duties. On very still nights, with the barracks window open, you could hear the faint clicking of the metal shoe plates of the Marine guards parading back and forth in front of the Tomb of the Unknown. It had only been a year since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and I would walk as often as I could to stand at his grave site.  No other duty assignment could have instilled the deep patriotic sense I absorbed in Washington, D.C.

          I did receive a temporary assignment to give tours to dignitaries at the Pentagon. The dress blue uniform came back out of storage. Tours were restricted and limited to the very public areas and it was at this time that I finally became aware of the war going on in Vietnam. I guess I had my young head in the sand. I was fascinated and at the same time horrified about the stories of Vietnam I was hearing. Yet it was far away and didn't directly affect me at the same time, or so I thought.

         In the meantime, I had joined a base volleyball team that competed weekly with teams from surrounding bases in the area. We were a very gung-ho team. During one such competition, I jumped up to spike the ball and came down hard. I hit the ground harder. When I tried to stand up, I couldn't move. It appears that my left knee cap was behind my leg. An ambulance was called and I was transported to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. I had already decided that the Marine Corps would be a lifetime career for me. I belonged in the Corps. But as it turns out, this was the beginning of the end of my military career.