DEOMI 2001 Calendar Cover Images

The images on the cover of the 2001 DEOMI calendar attempts to capture the theme of the calendar, “A Celebration of Diversity andMulticulturalism in the Armed Forces Reserve and National Guard.” These images, from left to right and top to bottom are:

Lt. Gen. Edward Baca, chief of the National Guard Bureau, 1992-96, is of Mexican-American heritage, from New Mexico. Appointedby President William Clinton in October 1994 as the Guard Bureau’s 24th chief, General Baca retired on July 31, 1998, after 42 yearsof military service. In his 46 months as chief of the National Guard Bureau, he was one of the most widely traveled chiefs in NationalGuard history, and influential in expanding the Guard’s horizons beyond this nation’s borders. Photo courtesy of National GuardBureau

A wounded WWI veteran of the 369th Infantry Regiment, 93d Infantry Division, watches the 1919 Victory Parade, New York City,with his family. Nicknamed “Harlem Hellfighters,” the much-decorated 369th was the redesignated National Guard 15th New YorkInfantry Regiment. Photo courtesy of New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs: Military History

The 200th Coast Artillery, a redesignated New Mexico National Guard unit, was photographed in preparations for defense of thePhilippines in WWII. The predominantly Mexican-American unit, chosen partly for Spanish language skills, played a crucial role incovering the retreat of the Philippines’ defenders into Bataan.Photo courtesy of Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Foundation of New Mexico, IncSociety

Cover of the Air National Guard magazine Citizen Airman. Photo courtesy of Air National Guard

Corporal Hiroshi H. Miyamura, veteran of Japanese-American 100th Battalion/442d Regimental Combat Team in WWII, and ArmyReservist on active duty during the Korean War, was a Medal of Honor recipient for conspicuous gallantry against the enemy in Koreaon April 24 and 25, 1951. Photo courtesy Still Pictures Branch, National Archives, College Park, Maryland.(SC-445917, Box 267)

An RF-4 pilot with the Alabama Air National Guard, Birmingham, October 1981. Photo courtesy of Air National Guard. (ANGHistorical Photo #65)

Two unidentified Air National Guardsmen collaborate; photo is captioned “African Americans were rare in key operational fieldswithin the Air National Guard until after the Vietnam War.” Photo courtesy of Air National Guard. (ANG Historical Photo #66)

Major General Irene Trowell-Harris, Air National Guard, became the first African-American woman brigadier general in the U.S.Reserves when she was promoted on October 25, 1993. Photo courtesy of General Harris

Ola Mildred Rexroat, an Oglala Sioux from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, SD, joined the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)during WWII. She had the dangerous assignment of towing targets for student gunners. Photo courtesy of Women in Military ServiceFor America Memorial Foundation

WACS and WAVES Cut-out Dolls. Photo courtesy of Army National Guard

The WWII-era Coast Guard Women’s Reserve was known by the acronym SPAR (from the Coast Guard motto Semper Paratus,“Always Ready”). Five SPARs are shown holding a tire that reads “DON’T BE A SPARE, BE A SPAR. Photo courtesy of Womenin Service for America Memorial Foundation

Army Reserve MSgt Daniel Griecar loosens chains securing vehicles on an Army vessel. Photo courtesy of Army Reserve

Sergeant William H. Carney earned the Medal of Honor for bravery under fire during the assault on Fort Wagner, Charleston, SouthCarolina, on July 18, 1863. The first African American to earn the prestigious award, he was with the militia unit, the 54th

Massachusetts Volunteers (Colored), the best known of the all African-American regiments mustered during the Civil War, and theone depicted in the 1989 Tri-Star Pictures film, Glory. Photo courtesy of Redstone Arsenal, Alabama

Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute: Year 2001 CalendarCelebrating Diversity in the Reserves and National Guard

This calendar highlights the diversity and multiculturalism of the Reserves and the National Guard and their predecessororganizations in the United States Armed Forces and state militias. The calendar identifies significant instances in which minorities,including women and other underrepresented groups, have advanced the nation's military efforts since 1776 through their Reserve orGuard service. Every attempt has been made to include a wide spectrum of these underrepresented groups, as well as to reportachievements and notable events that relate to each of the military's seven Reserve and Guard components: Army Reserve, NavyReserve, Coast Guard Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Army and Air National Guard. The calendar alsoincludes Federal and other holidays.

It should be noted that some individuals or groups are mentioned more than once because their achievements have beenmultiple or defined by continual development. Other individuals or groups are distinguished by single, although no less significant,acts. For example, a number of Native American, Hispanic, and African-American recipients of high military honors, including theMedal of Honor and French Croix de Guerre, have been noted. Included also are diverse "firsts," such as the first African American tobe commissioned in the Marine Corps Reserve, the first female Navy Reserve astronaut to perform a spacewalk, the first NationalGuard adjutant general of Asian-Pacific Islander descent, and the first Native American "code-talkers," originally OklahomaGuardsmen. Other dates mark milestones in policy, such as the integration of the Armed Services, which have had relevance for boththe regular Armed Forces and the Reserve components.

The calendar attempts to be representative of minorities in the Reserve components, but is far from exhaustive. Indeed, it ishoped that this calendar will be a starting point, not only for personal reflection by readers on their experiences with cultural diversity,but also for expanded systematic attention to the topic of diversity within the Reserves. Such attention would be timely, both becauseof the increased importance of diversity in the Armed Forces, Reserve and regular, and because of the expanding role of the Reservecomponents in our post-Cold War national military strategy.

In the post-Cold War period, citizen-soldiers in their full diversity have participated in Department of Defense missions both athome and abroad at far higher levels than before. According to figures from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, in contrast tomuch lower Cold War levels of contributory support, today's Reserve forces provide almost 13 million person-days of supportannually to the active component. The increase, a 13-fold rise, is equivalent to 35,000 additional active component personnel, or twoArmy divisions. This change has occurred within the context of broader change in the ways and places in which U.S. militaryforces−and particularly Reserve forces−have been deployed in recent years. Large numbers of reservists have served in multiple far-flung regions. In Bosnia, over 19,000 have been called to service involuntarily since 1995, with another 13,000 serving voluntarily; inSouthwest Asia, 1,800 members of the Reserve forces have been called and some 8,000 have volunteered; and in the Kosovooperation, more than 5,600 persons have served involuntarily, joined by 4,000 volunteers. Earlier in the decade, there were two othercall-ups: Desert Storm, in which more than 265,000 reservists served; and the Haiti operation, where 8,000 served. Closer to home,

more than 23,000 members of the Guard and Reserve were deployed to Central America, to help in recovery efforts from HurricaneMitch.

At the same time that the level of participation in missions by Reserve components is increasing, the members of thesecomponents more and more reflect the diversity of our society. The number of Hispanics in the enlisted ranks of the Army Reservehas doubled during the past 20 years, for example, and African Americans, a mere one percent of the National Guard in June 1970made up, as of March 2000, 15.5 percent of the Army Guard and 8.7 percent of the Air Guard. According to March 2000 figures fromthe Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, racial and ethnic minorities (African American, Asian American, Hispanic,Native American, and other) account for more than 29 percent of the total personnel within the Reserve components, a figure whichwill increase substantially over the next several decades. Women make up over 16 percent of the Reserve components, up from about12 percent a decade ago.

Making effective use of these diverse Reserve forces is crucial if the Department of Defense is to realize the Total Forceconcept it now emphasizes. This concept calls for the seamless integration of Reserve and regular forces. Implementing thisintegration requires that the Reserve components not be accorded second-class status and that optimal use be made of the talentsavailable to them. Realizing these aims, in turn, demands the full recognition of the past contributions of both the Reservecomponents and the diverse personnel within them. Yet there are considerable stumbling blocks to attaining this full historicalappreciation.

The recognition of diversity and past accomplishments is complicated by the imprecision of military record-keeping. In thepast, records have only very inconsistently identified particular individuals as, for example, Hispanic. A far greater difficulty thanwho counts as a particular minority, however, is who counts as a member of the Reserve or the Guard. When there have been call-upsin the past, reports and records on individuals and units have often omitted mention of their original status as a Guard or Reservemember or unit. In a call-up, the citizen-soldiers−those with a prior identity as members of a unit−typically blend with draftees andvolunteers new to the military as well as with personnel in the regular forces, and such blended units are often attached and reattachedto others. In the process, awareness of the contributions of citizen-soldiers as such is lost. A further obstacle to appreciating thehistorical contribution of citizen-soldiers arises from the difficulty of determining what organizations count as predecessors orlegitimate analogues of the Reserve or the National Guard. Before the formal establishment of Reserves in the various branches of themilitary or the National Guard, organizations of citizen-soldiers existed as militia. Auxiliary organizations have also functioned likeReserves in the sense that they have provided training and readiness. For instance, loosely organized groups of boatsmen have beencalled upon for service in the Coast Guard, and the Red Cross has served as a source of personnel for the Army Nurse Corps.

In the face of these definitional issues concerning the Reserve and Guard, this calendar errs on the side of inclusivenessbecause of a desire not to under appreciate their role or the role of their minority personnel.

This calendar was compiled for the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute under an Interagency Agreement withthe Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. For this edition of the calendar, the compiler relied, in part, on researchconducted for earlier DEOMI calendars and would like to credit these works.

Bibliography

A variety of sources was used to compile the day-to-day listings in this calendar. The vast resources on hand at the Library ofCongress provided the majority of sources. The Internet was also relied upon for a large part of the research. A selective bibliographyof the most useful sources follows:

Baron, Deborah G., and Susan B. Gall, eds. Asian American Chronology. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996.Bellafaire, Judith A. The Women’s Army Corps: A Commemoration of World War II Service. Washington, DC: US Army Center of

Military History, 1993.Breuer, William B. War and American Women: Heroism, Deeds, Controversy. Westport, CN: Praeger, 1997.Cohen, Jerome D. Jews in American Military History. Washington, DC: Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, 1996.Dever, John P., and Maria C. Dever. Women and the Military: Over 100 Notable Contributors, Historic to Contemporary. Jefferson,

NC: McFarland, 1995.Feller, Carolyn M., and Constance J. Moore, eds. Highlights in the History of the Army Nurse Corps. Washington, DC: U.S. Army

Center of Military History, 1995.Gall, Susan B., and Irene Natividad, eds. The Asian American Almanac: A Reference Work on Asians in the United States. New York:

Greenwood, 1989.Holm, Jeanne. Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution. Novato, CA: Presido Press, 1982.Johnson, Charles, Jr. African American Soldiers in the National Guard: Recruitment and Deployment During Peacetime and War.

Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1992.Kanellos, Nicolas, ed. The Hispanic American Almanac. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998.MacGregor, Morris J., Jr. Integration of the Armed Forces. Defense Studies Series. Washington, DC: Center of Military History,

1981.McCullogh, Joan. First of All: Significant Firsts by American Women. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980.Morden, Bettie J. The Women’s Army Corps, 1945-1978. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 1990.Nalty, Bernard C. The Right to Fight: African-American Marines in World War II. Washington, DC: Marine Corps Historical Center,

1995.Nalty, Bernard C. Strength for the Fight: A History of Black Americans in the Military. New York: The Free Press, 1986.Proft, R.J., ed. United States of America’s Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and Their Official Citations. Columbia Heights,

MN: Highland House II, 1994.Sherrow, Victoria. Women and the Military: An Encyclopedia. Denver: ABC-CLIO, 1996.Smith, Jessie, ed. Black Heroes of the 20th Century. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1998.Swisher, Karen Gyaton, and Ancita Benally, eds. Native North American Firsts. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998.

Tanaka, Chester. Go for Broke: A Pictorial History of the Japanese American 100th Battalion and the 442d Regimental CombatTeam. Richmond, CA: Go For Broke, Inc., 1982.

Unterburger, Amy L., ed. Who’s Who Among Hispanic Americans, 1994-95. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994.Unterburger, Amy L., ed. Who’s Who in the Asian American Community, 1994-95. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994.

Web Based Resourceshttp://www.af.mil/news/http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/http://www.ngb.dtic.mil/http://www.ngaus.org/ngmagazine/main900.asphttp://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/.www/whatsnew.htmlhttp://www.af.mil/news/factsheets/Air_Force_Reserve_Command.htmlhttp://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/historyhttp://www.usmc.mil/historical.nsf/table+of+contentshttp://www.nm-arng.ngb.army.mil/history3.htmhttp://www.uscg.mil/general.htmlhttp://www.lib.noaa.gov/http://www.defenselink.mil/http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/indianheritage/http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/hispanic/http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/aah/http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/womenshistory/http://www.roa.org/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/index.htmlhttp://www.redstone.army.mil/history/integratehttp://www.nara.gov/

Priscilla OffenhauerFederal Research DivisionLibrary of CongressWashington, DC

Specialist Angela County, Army ReservistMultinational Force and Observers Peacekeeping in the Sinai

Army Specialist Angela County, an IndividualReady Reservist, took part in theMultinational Force and Observerspeacekeeping operation in Egypt's SinaiDesert. The MFO comprises about 2,000soldiers of 11 nations that have helped tomaintain the peace between Israel and Egyptsince 1982. In 1995, the U.S. for the firsttime deployed to the Sinai a mixed battalionmade up primarily of Reserve componentpersonnel, some 70 percent from the ArmyNational Guard and 10 percent Army Reserveand Individual Ready Reserve soldiers. TheReservists, assigned combat service support,included engineers, military police, groundsurveillance radar specialists expert in aircraftrecognition, and others. They werepredominantly from the Individual ReadyReserve, whose role is to fill vacancies inunits or to perform other specialized duties.An instance of a “Total Army” deployment inthe Sinai, the 1995 tour was noteworthy, aswell, with respect to diversity. For the firsttime, five women were assigned to an infantrybattalion, although not in a combat capacity.

Photo courtesy of the Army Reserve.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday1

New Year’s DayKwanzaa ends

1992: Computer pioneerRADM Grace Hopper dies;served in Navy’s WomenReserve (WAVES) and USNaval Reserve between1943 and 1986.

21943: Largely Hispanic158th Infantry Regiment,redesignated ArizonaNational Guard unit,departs for southwestPacific theater; called“Bushmasters” for jungle-fighting skills.

31999: MG Jake Lestenkof,Alaska Native of Aleutheritage, retires this monthafter 5 years as AlaskaNational Guard adjutantgeneral.

4 5 6Epiphany

1997: 2Lt Abdullah HamzaAl-Mubarak, Air Force’sfirst Muslim chaplaincandidate, is commissionedand enters Air ForceReserve.

7 8 91943: Eight African-American Women’sAuxiliary Army Corps(WAAC) officers receivecommissions through OCS.

10 111996: Navy christensguided missile destroyer,USS Hopper this month;named after RADM GraceHopper, Navy Reserve andinventor of computerlanguage COBOL.

121945: The Navy dropscolor bar against African-American nurses thismonth.

131994: Secretary of DefenseLes Aspin announces new,less restrictive groundcombat policy for women,rescinding 1988 “risk rule.”

14 15Martin Luther King Jr. ’sBirthday

1Lt Thomas E. Williams,Tuskegee Airman and firstAfrican American to joinAir National Guard, dies incrash during training.

16 171945: African American,Charity Adams Earley, whojoined WAAC in 1942,assumes command of6888th Central PostalDirectory Battalion thismonth; only African-American female unitoverseas in WWII.

181999: MG WillieAlexander is first AfricanAmerican appointedadjutant general ofAlabama National Guard.

19 202000: BG Clarence M.Agena, of Asian-PacificIsland heritage, isappointed deputy adjutantgeneral of Hawaii.

211942: 149th WAAC PostHeadquarters Company,first WAAC unit postedoverseas, arrives at AlliedForces Headquarters,Algiers.

221776: MassachusettsMilitia Law is passed;reversing practice in timesof threat, the law forbidsAfrican-American andNative-Americanenlistment into militia.

231957: 1LT Sylvia Marie St .Charles Law receivescommission, becoming firstwoman in Army NationalGuard. 1945: Army NurseCorps drops color baragainst African-Americannurses.

24Chinese New Year

1866: Dr. Mary Walker,surgeon in the Civil War, isfirst woman awarded Medalof Honor.

25 261863: Massachusettsgovernor receivespermission from Secretaryof War to raise militiaorganization for men ofAfrican descent.

271978: 2Lt Marilyn R.Koon, 161st Air RefuelingGroup, Arizona AirNational Guard, becomesfirst female Air NationalGuard pilot.

281926: WWII Medal ofHonor recipient PFCHarold Gonsalves,USMCR, born. 1960: LTCEdythe Turner promoted totemporary colonel, firstArmy Reserve nurse toserve as colonel.

29 30Franklin D. RooseveltDay (Kentucky)

311863: First African-American regiment in CivilWar, 1st Regiment, SouthCarolina Volunteers,organized in summer 1862,enters Federal Service;becomes 33d US ColoredInfantry.

2001January

African American Marines on Saipan

Photographed on Saipan in June 1944, fourmembers of the Marine Corps’ 3d MarineAmmunition Company pose with a capturedJapanese bicycle. The group seems to exhibitthe esprit d’corps that was typical of the MarineCorps’ ammunition companies, stemmingperhaps from the danger of the work and thelengthy training required for handlingammunition.

In June 1942, the Marine Corps, after excludingAfrican Americans since the AmericanRevolution, began to accept African Americans,who, like most non-minority wartime recruits,entered the Reserve for the duration of the warplus six months. The Marine Corps reaffirmedits commitment to racial segregation byorganizing all-African-American units. Theseunits were of two kinds: combat units and twotypes of combat service support units, depot andammunition companies. As it turned out, theservice support companies saw the most action,many in the thick of the savage fighting on thebattlefields of Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Peleliu,Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The 3d AmmunitionCompany depicted here, one of 12 ammunitioncompanies, underwent its baptism of fire duringthe landing on Saipan on June 15, 1944, D-Day.Because of their performance on Saipan, the 3dMarine Ammunition Company was among theAfrican-American companies sharing in thePresidential Unit Citation awarded to the 4thMarine Division.

Photo courtesy of Still Pictures Branch (NWDNS), National Archives, College Park, MD. 127-N-86008

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

African-AmericanHistoryMonth

11978: Women enlisting inthe Armed Forces after thisdate have a six-year reserveobligation.

2Groundhog Day

1901: Nurse Corps (female)made permanent Corps inregular Army, and, at sametime, provision is made toappoint nurses on Reservestatus.

3

41977: Japanese-American MGArthur U. Ishimoto, whoserves after 1982 as adjutantgeneral of Hawaii and Guardcommander, is Federallyrecognized as brigadiergeneral.

51895: PVT MichaelValente, Italian-bornGuardsman who earnedMedal of Honor in Franceon September 29, 1918,born.

61959: Assigned to PuertoRico Army Guard, PuertoRico’s 65th InfantryRegiment is only infantryunit ever transferred fromactive component Army toArmy Guard.

7 81974: John Q. T. King,World War II veteran,appointed brigadier general,becoming Army Reserves’first African-Americangeneral officer.

91930: Maj Gen Angelo D.Juárez, US Army Reserve,born, Chicago, IL.

10

11 12Lincoln’s Birthday

131943: Marine CorpsWomen’s Reserveestablished, only WWII-erawomen’s auxiliary not toadmit any AfricanAmericans. Ruth CheneyStreeter is appointeddirector with rank of major.

14St. Valentine’s Day

15Susan B. Anthony’sBirthday

161991: MG John W.Schaeffer, Alaska Native ofInipiut heritage, ends termas adjutant general, AlaskaNational Guard, this month.

17

181945: 1LT Nancy C.Leftenant, later first African-American member of regularArmy Nurse Corps, joinsReserve Corps, this month.

19President’s Day(Observed)

201997: Air Force Lt ColMartha Rainville elected tocommand Vermont AirNational Guard, firstwoman and youngest (38)adjutant general.

21 22Washington’s Birthday

1944: 1LT JackMontgomery, 45th InfantryDivision, OklahomaNational Guard, is firstCherokee to earn Medal ofHonor, in Italy.

23 241943: MG John R.D’Araujo, Jr., born; thoughtto be first FilipinoAmerican to hold rank ofMG and to serve as directorof Army National GuardBureau.

25 261980: This month, USArmy Recruiting Commandtakes over recruitment ofnurses for Reserve units.

27Shrove Tuesday

28Ash Wednesday

2001February

A Member of the Alaska Territorial GuardMinutemen of the Northern Frontier

Photo courtesy of Office of Public Affairs, Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

A precursor of the Eskimo Scouts, a specialunit of the Alaska National Guard, theAlaska Territorial Guard was established onMarch 1, 1942, after the mobilization of theAlaska National Guard for service in WWII.Although state guard units were organizedelsewhere, the Alaska Territorial Guard wasunique in mission and personnel. It wasformed to provide the United States themeans to identify further Japanese incursionsinto North America along the vast Alaskacoastline. Its formation involved somecontroversy because of the legal and socialsegregation by race that prevailed acrossAlaska at the time: The 6,600 members ofthe Guard were Alaska Natives, from ruraland coastal areas as well as a wide variety ofAlaska’s 200 federally recognized tribes.Women also participated, performing thesame patrol missions as men.

The tradition of the Alaska Territorial Guard,formally disbanded in 1947, continues withthe Eskimo Scouts. Organized during theCold War to patrol the Bering Straits,monitor movements on the tundra, andperform Arctic search and rescue missions,this special National Guard unit has acontinuous active duty mission. ManyAlaska Natives are still numbered among itsmembers, including, as of 1980, some 60women. Women have been official memberswith full benefits since 1976.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Women’sHistoryMonth

11950: This month, AirForce Reserve has a total of1,127 women, only about1.6 % of total Reserve force(compared to over 20% in2000).

21966: ENS Gale AnnGordon, USNR, becomesfirst woman in Navy to soloin Navy training plane T-34Mentor, this month.

3

4 51942: After activation ofAlaska National Guard,Alaska Territorial Guard, asallowed by Congress, isestablished this month, with6,600 largely Alaska-Native men and women;engaged in coastal watch.

6 7 81986: African-AmericanCol Irene Trowell-Harrisappointed commander,105th USAF Clinic; is firstAir National Guard nurse tocommand medical clinic.1945: ENS Phyllis Daley isfirst African-Americannurse commissioned inNavy Reserve Nurse Corps.

9Purim

10

111993: Brig Gen Nora A.Astafan (mobilizationasistant to DCS Logistics,HQ USAF) is promoted tomajor general,first woman to achieve rankin Air Force Reserve, orany Reserve components.

121864: Guard officer COLCharles Young, highestranking African-Americanofficer in WWI, and thirdAfrican American tograduate from West Point,born.

131865: Three weeks beforeConfederacy’s defeat,President Jefferson Davissigns bill authorizingenlistment of slaves; as inthe Union Army, status ofAfrican Americans wouldnot be that of regular Army.

14 15 161996: Jewish War Veteransof the United States, oldestactive national veterans'service organization inAmerica, celebratescentennial.

17St. Patrick’s Day

1945: As part of 45th

Infantry Division, NativeAmericans in redesignatedOklahoma National Guardunits, enter Germany.

18 191917: Navy Departmentauthorizes enrollment ofwomen in Naval Reservewith ratings of yeoman,radio electrician, and otheressential ratings.

20 211975: TSgt Doreen Burgessis first woman and firstfemale Air Force Reservistplaced on operational crewstatus at 79th Airborne EarlyWarning and ControlSquadron, HomesteadAFB, FL.

22 23 241899: Dorothy Stratton,coordinator and firstdirector of Women’sReserve of the Coast Guard(SPARS), born.

251917: DC National Guardunder command of African-American officer MajorJames E. Walker assignedto protect capital.

26Islamic New Year

271945: First Navy flightnurse, ENS Jane Kendeigh,USNR, reaches Iwo Jimathis month.

28 29 301976: Authorized ArmyNurse Corps strength inArmy Reserve increasedthis month from 1,900 tomore than 5,100 officers.

31

2001March

Lieutenant General Russell C. DavisChief, National Guard Bureau

As chief of the National Guard Bureau (NGB), General Davisis the senior uniformed National Guard officer responsible forpolicies and programs affecting more than half a millionArmy and Air National Guard personnel. Appointed byPresident William Clinton in 1998 for a four-year term, thegeneral serves as the principal adviser on National Guardissues to the secretary and chief of staff of the Army, and thesecretary and chief of staff of the Air Force. As NGB chief,he serves as the Army’s and Air Force’s official channel ofcommunication with governors and adjutants general.

The general began his military career in the U.S. Air Force in1958, becoming a bomber pilot by 1960. Released fromactive duty in April 1965, he joined an Air Guard fightersquadron – not in his home state of Alabama, where the Guardstill did not accept African Americans, but in Iowa, where ascaptain, he became the only African-American officer.General Davis earned a doctoral degree in law, serving at thesame time in numerous command and staff positions. By1982, he had risen to commander of the District of ColumbiaAir National Guard’s 113th Tactical Fighter Wing.Commanding general of the District of Columbia NationalGuard by 1991, he was appointed vice chief of the NationalGuard Bureau at the Pentagon in 1995, before assuming hiscurrent position.

Photo courtesy of National Guard Bureau.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Sat1

Daylight Savings TimeBegins

21943: Joseph Jenkinsgraduates this month, firstAfrican-American ensign inCoast Guard Reserve.

31971: Maj Patricia A. Nellbecomes first female flightsurgeon in Air Force andAir Force Reserve;assigned to 440th TacticalAirlift Wing, Billy MitchellField, WI.

4 51945: PVT Sadao S.Munemori, 100th InfantryBattalion, redesignatedHawaiian Guard unit in100th Battalion/442dRegiment Combat Team,earns Medal of Honor inItaly; first for JapaneseAmericans.

61973: Col William C.Banton II (mobilizationassistant, HQ, Strategic AirCommand, surgeongeneral) promoted tobrigadier general, firstAfrican-American brigadiergeneral in Air ForceReserve.

7Passover begins1983: Col Francis I.Mossman (mobilizationassistant to director,programs and evaluations,HQ USAF) promoted tobrigadier general, firstwoman brigadier general inAir Force Reserve, and inany Reserve components.

8First Day of PassoverPalm Sunday1917: As US enters WWI,200 women have enlistedas Navy yeomen, the firstof 12,000 women NavalReservists who serve as“Yeomanettes” by 1918.

91942: New Mexico’slargely Hispanic 200th

Coast Artillery Regiment islast unit to surrender at endof Bataan Campaign in thePhilippines; held out fourmonths.

101917: By this date, 403Army nurses on activeduty, including 170 reservenurses.

111941: There are 1,036Naval Reserve nurses, and72 on active duty thismonth; nurses are onlywomen allowed to joinNaval Reserve.

12 13Good Friday

Thomas Jefferson’sBirthday

14

15Easter SundayOrthodox Easter1919: Jane Delano,Director, American RedCross Nursing Service,dies, having establishedservice as primary Reservefor Army nurses. 1971: AirForce Reserve opens full-time technician program towomen.

161943: 1st Marine DepotCompany is first African-American unit overseas inWWII; men consideredReservists. 1947: Army-Navy Nurse Act establishesArmy Nurse Corps sectionof Officers’ Reserve Corps.

17American Samoan FlagDay

181956: Army Student NurseProgram established; uponcompletion participantscommissioned 2LT inArmy Reserve, and serveon active duty for two orthree years.

19 201994: Maj Jackie Parker,first woman combat pilot,Air National Guard,completes F-16C FightingFalcon training.

21

221997: Col Roberta Millsbecomes first femalegeneral in Air NationalGuard.

231951: Japanese-AmericanSGT Hiroshi Miyamura,veteran of 100th Battalion/442d Regiment CombatTeam and Army Reservistcalled to active duty, earnsMedal of Honor.

241877: After last Federaltroops are pulled out ofLouisiana, several southernstates deactivate African-American National Guardunits.

25 261993: Secretary of DefenseLes Aspin directs Servicesto open more specialtiesand assignments to womenthis month; lifts combatexclusion ban except in afew instances.

271946: Under a revisedconstitution, New Jerseybecomes first state to bansegregation in its NationalGuard.

281999: MG Paul Monroe isfirst African Americanappointed as adjutantgeneral California NationalGuard.

29 301971: SSgt Virginia Maierbecomes first female AirForce Reserve technician,assigned to 440th TAW.

2001April

Astronaut Kathryn Sullivan, USNR

NASA Astronaut Kathryn Sullivan,photographed in the cockpit of a T-38 aircraftin October 1984, prepares for departure for theKennedy Space Center (KSC) and the first ofher three space flights.

An oceanography officer in the U.S. NavalReserve, currently holding the rank oflieutenant commander, Dr. Sullivan joinedNASA in 1978, and became the first femaleNavy astronaut in 1979, as a member of thefirst Space Shuttle astronaut class. On hereight-day 1984 spaceflight, she accomplishedyet another first: she became the firstAmerican woman to perform a spacewalk,conducting a 3-1/2 hour ExtravehicularActivity (EVA) to demonstrate the feasibilityof satellite refueling. In April 1990, she was acrew member of the five-day Space Shuttlemission that deployed the Hubble SpaceTelescope. In March 1992, she served asPayload Commander on the first Spacelabmission.

She left NASA in 1992 to assume the positionof Chief Scientist, National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration (NOAA), and hassubsequently served as President and CEO,Center of Science and Industry, Columbus,Ohio. Photo courtesy of JSC Office of Public Affairs, Imagery Services, NASA. NASA Photo ID: STS41G-90028

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Asian-PacificHeritageMonth

11924: Troop C, 114th

Cavalry, only all-NativeAmerican cavalryorganized in the US isformed as unit of KansasNational Guard; oftenserves as honor guard.

21968: MSG Roy P.Benavidez, HispanicAmerican and former TexasNational Guardsman, earnsMedal of Honor inVietnam.

31975: DOD rulesinvoluntary separation ofwomen for pregnancy andparenthood not “viable,”this month.

41921: Machine GunCompany D, HaskellNational Guard, Kansas,only all Native-AmericanNational Guard unitorganized by IndianService, mobilized for oneyear of Federal Service.

5Cinco de Mayo1996: Col Betty L. Mullis,Reservist, becomes firstwoman in Air Force tocommand a flying wing,Air Force Reserve’s 940th

Air Refueling, McClellanAFB, CA.

61999: Air Force Reservist2Lt Abdullah Hamza Al-Mubarak becomes the AirForce’s first Muslimchaplain, this month.

7 8Harry S. Truman’sBirthday (Missouri)

9 10 111970: 1Lt Nancy A. Eaganbecomes first Catholic nunto enter Air Force Reserve,as flight nurse to 932d

Aeromedical Airlift Group,Scott Air Force Base, IL,this month.

12

13Mother’s Day

141973: Supreme Court ruleswomen must be treatedequally to men in allmatters of dependency &entitlements; DODauthorizes back pay.1942: PL 554 establishingWAAC (later WAC)signed.

152000: MarianneMathewson-Chapman,Florida National Guard,receives second star.1942: Army activates all-African-American 93d

Division; includesredesignated NationalGuard units.

161942: Major Oveta CulpHobby takes oath asDirector, WAAC.

17 18 19Armed Forces Day

20 21 221943: First African-American WAC unitassigned to 5th ServiceCommand arrives at CampAtterbury, IN.

231900: For bravery in 1863,SGT William H.Carney,54th MassachusettsVolunteer Infantry(Colored) receives Medalof Honor (Army): the firstsuch medal awarded to anAfrican American.

24 Ascension Day

1918: PVT Henry Johnsonand PVT NeedhamRoberts, 369th Infantry, 93d

Division, redesignated NewYork National Guard, arefirst African Americans toreceive Croix de Guerre.

251973: Women’sparticipation in ArmyROTC programs at allcolleges authorized.1942: Marine Corps ordersrecruitment of “coloredmale citizens”; recruitswould enter Reserve.

26

27 28Memorial Day1st Day of Shavuot1948: 2nd Lt John E.Rudder, Marine Reserveveteran, is first AfricanAmerican to obtain regularcommission in USMC.

291976: 2Lt Kathleen A.Rambo becomes firstfemale Air Force Reservistselected for undergraduatepilot training program thismonth.

301994: 1Lt Leslie DeAnnCrosby becomes Air ForceReserve’s first womanfighter pilot when shegraduates from AirNational Guard’s F-16training course in Arizona.

311980: Authorized strengthof Army Nurse Corps inUSAR medical units is5,682. There are 3,183USAR Nurse Corps officersassigned to paid drillspaces.

2001May

Photo courtesy of New Mexico National Guard, First to Fire, painting by Don Stivers.

The 200th Coast Artillery, a New MexicoNational Guard unit, was sent to thePhilippines before the Japanese air attack onPearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, to bolsterPhilippine defenses. The unit had beenselected for this assignment in part becausemany of its men spoke Spanish, a principallanguage of the Philippines. The New MexicoNational Guard had a high representation ofMexican Americans. Upon arrival, the unitwas the largest American military unit in thePhilippines, most of whose 140,000defenders were Filippinos in the PhilippineArmy (100,000).

Six hours after the strike on Pearl Harbor,Japanese aircraft attacked the Philippines.Responding with anti-aircraft fire, the 200th

Coast Artillery became the “First to Fire” in thePacific theater. In the next four months, thedefenders of the Philippines withdrew onto theBataan peninsula. The 200th and the newlyformed “child” of the 200th, the 515th, assumedthe mission of covering this retreat, and weresaid to be the “last to lay down their arms.” TheBattle for Bataan ended on April 9, and the 200th

and 515th Coast Artillery, along with the rest ofthe defenders, began the infamous “Bataan DeathMarch” to a prison camp internment of three anda half years. Only half of the New MexicanGuard members survived. They were honoredwith four Presidential Unit Citations and thePhilippine Presidential Citation.

200th and 515th Coast Artillery“First to Fire” and Last to Lay Down Arms

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday1

2000: Col Coral WongPietsch, Chinese-AmericanArmy Reservist, appointedchief judge, Office of JudgeAdvocate General, USArmy. If confirmed, shewill be Army’s first Asian-American female general.

2

3Pentecost1997: B. Sue Dueittpromoted to BG, becomingArmy Reserve’s firstwoman general outside theArmy Nurse Corps.

4 51942: Japanese-AmericanHawaiian ProvisionalBattalion, activated as 100th

Infantry Battalion, departsfor mainland training.

61918: SGT Bob Collins,African American, 369th

Infantry Regiment, earnsCroix de Guerre.

7 81985: Col Beverly S.Lindsey, Air ForceReserve, promoted tobrigadier general, thismonth; first Reserve nurseto achieve that rank.

9

10 11Kamehameha Day(Hawaii)

121948: President Trumansigns Women’s ArmedServices Integration Act,giving women permanentstatus in Active & ReserveForces of Army, Navy,Marine Corps, & Air Force.

131947: Born this day inPuerto Rico, MG EmilioDiaz-Colon is adjutantgeneral of Puerto RicoNational Guard, and onlyHispanic member of Re-serve Forces Policy Board.

14Flag Day 1998: RabbiAaron Landes, NavalChaplain Corps Reserve for33 years, honored; onlyrabbi with rank of rearadmiral in US NavalReserve.

15Mohammed’s Birthday

16

17Father’s Day

181942: ENS Bernard W.Robinson, Harvard medicalstudent, is first African-American commissionedofficer in Naval Reserve.

19Emancipation Day(Texas)

201944: On active duty inSaipan, Pvt Kenneth J.Tibbes, Reservist like allAfrican-American USMCvolunteers, is first African-American Marine killed incombat in WWII.

211861: Chinese-AmericanJohn Tomney joins NewYork Infantry, NationalGuard unit; later dies ofwounds at Battle ofGettysburg (1863).

221995: President Clintonjoins 6,000 women veteransin ground-breakingceremony of Women inMilitary Service forAmerica Memorial.

231946: First group ofAfrican-American officersis integrated into regularArmy.

241982: TSgt NancyBallenger, Air ForceReserve, qualifies as flightengineer on C-5 aircraftthis month, becoming firstfemale Reservist to do so.

25 261946: Women’s Reserve ofthe Marine Corps isdissolved this month.

271950: 13 platoons ofMarine Corps Women’sReserve mobilized for‘involuntary service’ inKorean War, this month.

281943: US Coast GuardAcademy opens doors towomen, the first Service todo so; 50 SPARS officercandidates report.

291913: “Reserve list” ofArmy Nurse Corps nowshows 4,000 nurses,primarily Red Cross nurses,eligible, by their consent,for active military dutyassignment.

301989: BG Dorothy B.Pocklington first woman toachieve general officer rankin Army Reserve. 1946:SPAR demobilization-completion day, with10,000 women havingdeparted the Service.

2001June

The “Harlem Hellfighters,” the 369th Infantry

Photo courtesy of Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, Historical Office, U.S. Army Missile Command.

The 369th Infantry Regiment, the redesignated National Guard 15th New York Infantry Regiment, wasthe first African-American U.S. combat unit to be deployed overseas during WWI. Since there was noofficial combat role for America’s 100,000 African-American soldiers in France, General John J.Pershing acceded to France’s request for troops by assigning the 369th (along with the other regiments ofthe African-American 93d Division) to the French Army. The Germans christened the 369th the“Hellfighters,” because in some 200 days of duty at the front they allowed neither any men to becaptured nor any ground to be taken. Nearly one-third of the men died in combat. France awarded theentire regiment, as well as a number of African-American individuals, the nation’s highest militaryhonor, the Croix de Guerre. No such recognition was forthcoming from the United States. Although the369th participated in the victory parade down New York City’s Fifth Avenue, none of the 127 Medals ofHonor earned in WWI was awarded to an African American (an omission acknowledged in 1991 with aposthumous award). The United States blocked other honors as well, prohibiting African-Americansoldiers from participating in the Bastille Day victory parade held in Paris.

Much of the unit’s outstanding record, achieved despite the hardships of discrimination, has beenattributed to unit cohesiveness among its former Guard members. Important also was its assignment tothe French Army. In keeping with the French policy of integration, a policy not adopted in the UnitedStates for three more decades, the unit received equipment, training, and field assignments withoutregard to race.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday1

1943: President FranklinRoosevelt signs PL78-110,converting Women’s ArmyAuxiliary Corps (WAAC)to Women’s Army Corps(WAC). 1949: Air ForceNurse Corps established;892 Reserve officerstransfer to it.

21964: Civil Rights Act of1964 becomes law,providing pressure againstracial discrimination inNational Guard units.

31972: As of July 1, thereare only 483 Women’sArmy Corps soldiers inArmy Reserve units and281 in Individual ReadyReserve (IRR).

4Independence Day

51943: Oveta Culp Hobbyappointed WAC Director,commissioned as a colonelin the US Army.

61994: Army NationalGuard Specialist 4 TerriAnn Hagen, of theOnondaga tribe of Iroquoisnation, killed fighting fire.1988: CMSgt CharlesJoseph is first African-American HQ Air ForceReserve senior enlistedadvisor.

71943: MG Edward Correa,of Asian-Pacific descent,appointed adjutant generalof Hawaiian NationalGuard on December 31,1999, born on this day.

81983: COL Amelia Carsonreports for duty as firstchief nurse for ArmyNational Guard.

9 101943: As part of 45th

Infantry Division, NativeAmerican redesignatedOklahoma National Guardunits, assault Scoglitti,Sicily. 1942: Firstenlistments for WAAC.

111943: PVT Minnie SpottedWolf, Native-AmericanBlackfoot, enlists inWomen’s Marine Corps,becoming first full-bloodedNative-American MarineReservist.

12 131950: For the first time,Women Reserves of MarineCorps mobilized duringKorean War, the Reservesreach peak strength of2,787.

141944: WAC contingentarrives in Normandy.

151945: Hawaiian Guard100th Battalion, as part ofJapanese-American 100thBattalion/442d RegimentCombat Team, honored inWashington, DC paradeand receives PresidentialUnit Citation.

161971: Army removes agerestriction on dependents(until now, must have been15 or older) of womenseeking appointment inArmy Nurse CorpsReserve.

171862: Congress enacts aMilitia Act extendingmilitary service to men of“African descent. ”

181863: Sgt Wm. Carney,54th MassachusettsVolunteer Infantry(Colored), wounded inheroic action at FortWagner, SC.1918: PFC George Dilboy,Greek-AmericanGuardsman, earns Medal ofHonor in France.

19 201942: First WAACTraining Center opens atFort Des Moines, IA., 440officer candidates,including 40 AfricanAmericans, report for basictraining course.

211944: African-AmericanMarines in ammunition anddepot units, all Reservists,join amphibious assaulttroops on Guam.

221998: Mary-Agnes BrownGroover, VeteransAdministration lawyer whoheaded WAC in SouthPacific during WWII, dies.

231991: Japanese-AmericanBG Allen M. Mizumotoassumes command ofHawaii Air National Guard,this month.

241956: Public Law 845authorizes female officersin National Guard thismonth.

25 261948: President Truman’sExecutive Order 9981 banssegregation in ArmedForces.1942: CAPT Joy BrightHancock appointeddirector, Women’s NavalReserve.

271938: COL Benjamin O.Davis, later first African-American Army general,takes command of NationalGuard unit, 369th InfantryRegiment, making it allAfrican American for firsttime.

281947: BG Dennis A.Kamimura, commander of29th Separate InfantryBrigade, Hawaii ArmyNational Guard, is born.

291994: Department ofDefense rescinds “riskrule,” opening 32,7000 jobsto women in active Army,Army Reserve, andNational Guard; effectiveOctober 1.

301942: President FranklinRoosevelt signs PL 77-689establishing Women’sReserve of the US Navy(WAVES); MildredMcAfee appointed director.

311947: In Hawaii, 100th

Battalion/442d RegimentCombat Team, much-decorated WWII Japanese-American Army unit,reactivated in OrganizedReserves.

2001July

Staff Sergeant Hiroshi H. Miyamura, Army ReserveKorean War Medal of Honor Recipient

President Dwight D. Eisenhower congratulates StaffSergeant Hiroshi H. Miyamura upon his belatedreceipt of his Medal of Honor during a formal awardceremony at the White House on October 27, 1953.Corporal Miyamura earned the medal for conspicuousgallantry near Taejon-ni, Korea, on April 24 and 25,1951. Taken prisoner that night, he received themedal more than two years later, having beenawarded it in secret to avoid further endangering himwhile imprisoned.

When WWII ended, New Mexico native Miyamurahad been on his way to Italy to serve with the much-decorated Japanese-American 100th Battalion/442dRegimental Combat Team. In the fall of 1945, hejoined the Army Reserve. Called to active duty inSeptember 1950, he became a machine-gun squadleader in Company H, 7th, Infantry Regiment, 3dInfantry Division. On the night he earned his medal,he killed 10 enemy soldiers who were overrunning hisposition, wielding his bayonet in hand-to-handcombat. After rendering first aid to his woundedsquad members, and eventually ordering the squad towithdraw, he continued firing his machine gun,killing some 50 of the enemy. Severely wounded, hecontinued to fight until captured.

Photo courtesy Motion Picture, Sound and Video Branch, National Archives,College Park, Maryland. NWDNM (m) – 111-LC-34233

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday1

1870: Robert B. Elliot,promoted to major general,becomes first African-American adjutant generalto command South CarolinaGuard; responsible forprotecting citizens from theKu Klux Klan.

2 31942: Mildred H. McAfeebecomes first womanofficer sworn into NavalReserve, with rank ofLCDR, then the highestranking female under law.

4

51943: Women’s AuxiliaryFerrying Squadron (WAFS)and Women’s FlyingTraining Detachment(WFTD) merge to formWomen’s Airforce ServicePilots (WASP).

6 71953: SSgt Barbara O.Barnwell, Marine CorpsReserve, awarded Navy-Marine Corps medal forheroism.

8 91974: MG Cunningham C.Bryant becomes firstAfrican-American adjutantgeneral of Washington, DCNational Guard. 1918:PVT Jake Allex, Serbian-born Guardsman earnsMedal of Honor.

101918: National GuardsmanSGT James Mestrovitch,born in Montenegro, earnsMedal of Honor in France.

111951: Defense AdvisoryCommittee on Women inthe Services (DACOWITS)established by Secretary ofDefense to interpret thepublic role of women inthe Services.

12 131918: Opha Mae Johnsonbecomes first of 305women accepted for duty inMarine Corps Reserve;hired as clerk inWashington, DCheadquarters.

14 151998: LTG Russell C.Davis becomes firstAfrican-American chief ofNational Guard Bureau.

161919: Activated afterArmistice into Army NurseCorps, 18 African-American Red Cross nursesserving in Illinois and Ohioare released.

17 18

191945: Japanese-AmericanMG Eugene S. Imai, ArmyNational Guard AdjutantGeneral, Hawaii Guarduntil 1996, born.

201945: This month, 2½ yearsafter founding, the MarineCorps Women’s Reservehas 17,640 women.

211950: Army beginsvoluntary recall of WACenlisted Reservists andcompany grade WACOrganized Reserve Corpsofficers.

22 231999: Capt Julie Hudsonbecomes first woman in AirNational Guard to pilot A-10 Thunderbolt this month;women not allowed to pilotA-10s when she joined in1992.

24 251950: Puerto Rico Guard296th Infantry mobilizeswhile regular army sisterunit, all Hispanic 65th

Infantry, nicknamed“Borinqueneers,” embarksfor Korea from PuertoRico.

261959: CDR Kathryn P.Hire, USNR, and NASAastronaut, born. In 1988,becomes first womanaviator to serve with acombat squadron.

27 28 291943: Los Angeles mayorraises Korean flag over LosAngeles City Hall to honorKorean-American “TigerBrigade” unit of CaliforniaNational Guard.

30 311983: Brig Gen FrancesMossman, Air ForceReserve, becomes firstwoman in any Reservecomponent to achieve rankof brigadier general, thismonth.

2001August

Second Lieutenant Ernest Childers, U.S. Army

Lieutenant Ernest Childers is shown accepting congratulationsfrom General Jacob L. Devers after receiving the Medal ofHonor for valorous actions in Italy during WWII. LieutenantChilders was the first Native American in the twentieth centuryand the first member of the Creek Nation to receive the award.He distinguished himself while leading an attack on machine-gun nests, killing two enemy snipers and the occupants of twoof the nests.

Childers served with the U.S. Army 45th Infantry Division, adivision made up of National Guard regiments from fourstates−New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Oklahoma.Oklahoma’s contribution to the division included Childer’sunit, a redesignated National Guard unit made up almostentirely of Native Americans. This unit, predominantly NativeAmerican for reasons of geography not segregation, boastsmore than one Medal of Honor recipient: Jack C. Montgomery,a Cherokee, also received one for conspicuous gallantry inItaly.

Childer’s exemplary record is in keeping with the performanceof Native Americans in the U.S. military more generally.Historically, they have the highest record of service per capitaof any group. Between 1941 and 1945, for example, more than44,000 Native Americans, out of a total population of less than350,000, served with distinction in both the European andPacific theaters of war.

Photo courtesy Still Pictures Branch, National Archives,College Park, Maryland. NWDNS-208-N-24772

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday SaturdayHispanicHeritageMonth(15 Sep – 15 Oct)

11998: Maj Gen IreneTrowell-Harris, African-American Air ForceReservist, achieves two-starrank.

21994: Mildred H.McAfee, director ofWAVES in wartime years,dies.

3Labor Day

41865: First African-American Army chaplain,Henry M.Turner, chaplainof US Colored Troops &enlistees of 1st DistrictRegiment of Columbia,mustered out ; later inRegular Army.

5 61961: In Berlin crisis,President John Kennedymobilizes 44,371 ArmyGuard members, including17 female Guard nurses;first time Guard womenmobilized.

71943: Hispanic-AmericanCompany E, 141st Infantry,36th Infantry Division,formerly Texas NationalGuard, is with first UScombat division on Italianmainland, at Salerno.

81949: Annie L. Grahambecomes the first African-American female to enterWomen’s Reserve of theUnited States MarineCorps.

91943: 100th InfantryBattalion, Japanese-American Hawaii NationalGuard unit, arrives in NorthAfrica.

101943: As part of 45th

Infantry Division, NativeAmerican redesignatedOklahoma Guard units,assault Salerno, Italy.

11 121992: Brig Gen Ravindra F.Shah, M.D., born in India,appointed state air surgeonfor New York Air NationalGuard, this month.

13 141951: PFC Edward Gomez,USMCR, earns Medal ofHonor in Korea.

151942: VADM SamuelGravely, Jr., enlists in NavyReserves; becomes firstAfrican-American rearadmiral in Navy in 197l.

16Cherokee Strip Day(Oklahoma) 1989: PVTDavid Barkeley recognizedas Army’s first HispanicMedal of Honor recipient;heritage first revealed 71years after death in WWI.

17Rosh Hashanah begins1952: White Houseceremony commemoratesthe first issue of US PostalService stamp honoringwomen in the military.

181951: First meeting ofDACOWITS held. 1997:Design concept unveiledfor National Japanese-American Memorial inWashington, DC; honorsWWII veterans & civilians.

191943: 100th InfantryBattalion, Japanese-American Hawaii NationalGuard unit, now part of 34th

Division, heads for Italy,arriving in Salerno,September 26.

20 21 221943: 2LT Ernest Childers,45th Infantry, OklahomaNational Guard, is first ofCreek Nation and firstNative American in 20th

century to earn Medal ofHonor.

23 241864: MAJ ChristianFleetwood, leader ofWashington, DC NationalGuard battalion through1880s, earns Medal ofHonor as soldier in 4th USColored Troops.

251996: White HouseNational summit on womenveterans’ issues held.

26Yom Kippur (Day ofAtonement) 1941: LargelyHispanic 200th CoastArtillery, former NewMexico National Guard,named best Anti-AircraftRegiment, assembles inPhilippines.

27Rosh Hashanah ends1944: Legislative approvalgiven for USCG SPARS toserve overseas.

28 291942: Nancy HarknessLove organizes 25 womenpilots into WAFS thismonth.

301918: National Guardsmenin African-American 372d

Infantry Regiment earn 152Croix de Guerre in Francethis month.

2001September

Native Marine Corps Women Reservists, During World War II

The Marine Corps Women’sReserve, which unlike the otherWomen’s Reserve, neveracquired an acronym, wasestablished on February 13, 1943.The last of the services to enlistand commission women inWWII, its ranks were open toNative Americans and otherminorities, although not toAfrican Americans before the endof the war. Depicted here atCamp Lejeune, North Carolina,are three Native Americans whowere among the Corps’ 20,000female reservists during WWII:(left to right) Minnie SpottedWolf, a Blackfoot; Celia Mix, aPotawatomi; and Viola Eastman,a Chippewa. Minnie SpottedWolf was the first NativeAmerican woman enlisted in theMarine Corps Women’s Reserve,July 11, 1943. Like all the Corps’women, she was known simply asa Marine.

US Marine Corps Photograph, October 16, 1943. Courtesy Still Pictures Branch,National Archives, College Park, Maryland. 208-NS-4350-2

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

NationalDisabilityMonth

11995: CMSgt Carol Smits,Air Force Reserve,becomes first woman toserve as senior enlistedadvisor, Air Force Reserve.

21st Day of Sukkot1956: Capt Norma ParsonsErb, nurse, enters NewYork Air National Guardthis month, becoming firstwoman to join NationalGuard.

31994: Lt Gen EdwardBaca, Hispanic American,becomes National GuardBureau’s 24th chief, thismonth

41944: SGT Van T. Barfoot,(later 2LT), 45th InfantryDivision, from NationalGuard units, is firstChoctaw awarded Medal ofHonor, for actions in Italyon May 23.

5 61955: Nurse anesthetistEdward L. Lyon,commissioned 2LT inArmy Nurse CorpsReserve, is first man toreceive a commission inANC.

7Sukkot ends1942: A flight-trainingprogram for WAFS isinaugurated to produce 500female ferry pilots; 40women are acceptedinitially.

8Columbus Day

91968: LTC M. Sue Walker,USARAN, arrives inVietnam as chief nurse,312th Evacuation Hospital,only US Army Reserveevacuation hospital inVietnam.

10Sinchat Torah1998: USAF museumhonors Lt Col (Ret) DoraDoroughty Strother, WASPpilot of more than 23 typesof aircraft.

111984: LCDR KathrynSullivan, USNR and NASAastronaut, is first Americanwoman to perform aspacewalk, on the first ofher three spaceflights.

12 13

141995: William AntonioNavas, Hispanic American,is appointed director, ArmyNational Guard, this month.

15 161977: LTC Margie O. Burt,RN anesthetist, is selectedto initiate ReserveComponent Personnel &Administration Center,OPM Program for ANCofficers, St Louis, MO, thismonth.

171994: COL Verna D.Fairchild, Kentucky ANGis promoted to brigadiergeneral and appointedassistant adjutant general,first woman to hold thatpost in any state.

18 191944: Ban on AfricanAmericans in WAVES isabolished.

201944: SPARS, Women’sReserve of Coast Guard,opens to AfricanAmericans.

211993: Lt Col Betty L.Mullis becomes firstwoman to command air-refueling unit, 336th AirRefueling Squadron, MarchAFB, CA, this month.

22 23 24United Nations Day

251940: Benjamin O Davis,commanding officer ofHarlem’s 369th CoastArtillery (National Guard),becomes first African-American general officer inregular Army.

261918: Over 600 Choctawand Cherokee soliders,142d Infantry of 36th Texas-Oklahoma National GuardDivision served in France;four earning the Croix deGuerre.

271916: African-AmericanNational Guard unit, 8th

Illinois Regiment,mobilized as part of forceto secure Mexican border,released from FederalService.

28Daylight Savings Timeends

291993: Air National Guard,Brig Gen (now majorgeneral), Irene Trowell-Harris is first African-American woman generalofficer in 357-year historyof National Guard.

302000: BG B. Sue Dueittbecomes second womanmajor general in history ofArmy Reserve.1950: Puerto RicanNational Guard quellsnationalist revolt in SanJuan.

31Halloween

2001October

Established on July 30, 1942, the Women’sReserve of the U.S. Navy, known asWAVES (for Women Accepted forVoluntary Emergency Service), opened toAfrican Americans on October 19, 1944.The earlier policy of excluding them hadbecome a political issue in the 1944presidential campaign, and was changedthree weeks prior to the election.

In December 1944, Lieutenant (juniorgrade) Harriet Ida Pickens and EnsignFrances Wills were the first two African-American WAVES commissioned. Theywere members of the first graduating classat the Naval Reserve Midshipman’s Schoolin Northampton, Massachusetts, whereofficers trained at Mount Holyoke andSmith Colleges. Pickens and Mills wereamong the small handful of African-American WAVES making up the total ofthe 100,000 WAVES who served in WWII.

Photo courtesy Still Pictures Branch, National Archives,College Park, Maryland. NWDNS-80-G-297441

First African American WAVES Commissioned

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Native-AmericanHistoryMonth

1All Saints Day1997: Lt Col Linda K.McTeague becomescommander of 201st AirliftSquadron, Washington,DC, Air National Guard,and first woman known tocommand flying unit in AirNational Guard.

2 31948: Col Katherine Towle,2nd director, Women’sReserve of Marine Corps,takes regular commissionas permanent lieutenantcolonel; appointed 1st

Director, Women Marines,with temporary rank ofcolonel.

41918: All African-American, 369th (“HarlemHellfighters”), formerNational Guard unit, is firstallied regiment to reach theRhine River in finaloffensive against Germany,this month.

51999: MG Celia L. Adolphifirst female Army Reserveofficer promoted to two-star general, Army Reserve.

6Election Day1986: Women in MilitaryService for America(WIMSA) memorial isauthorized.

71942: Commandant ofMarine Corps approvesinclusion of White womenin Marine Corps Reserve,and their being calledMarines.

81967: Congress passes PL90-130—equal promotion& retirement rules for men& women officers; womenallowed promotion above0-5 & membership in ArmyNational Guard.

91918: PVT David Barkeley,Hispanic American andTexas National Guardsmancalled to active duty inFrance, earns Medal ofHonor; first Hispanic ArmyMedal of Honor recipient.

101945: Frederick C. Branch,veteran of 51st DefenseBattalion, Marine Corps,becomes 2nd lieutenant inReserve, first African-American commissioned inMarine Corps.

11Veterans Day1918: WWI Armisticesigned.African-American 369th

Infantry Regiment, NewYork National Guard iscloser to Germany than anyother US troops.

12Veterans Day (Observed)1986: First nationalmemorial honoring Native-American veteransdedicated at ArlingtonNational Cemetery by theVietnam Era Veterans, thismonth on Veterans Day.

13 141988: Army announceswomen eligible to filladditional 31,287 jobs inActive Forces, 6,274 inNational Guard, and 1,736in Reserves.

151918: By this date, theNavy has enlisted 11,880women as “Yeomen (F)”;Marine Corps has enlisted305 Marine Reservists (F).

161995: MG Daniel James IIIis first African-Americanadjutant general in Texasand first Air NationalGuard appointee in Texasto that post.

171st Day of Ramadan1918: France awardsAfrican-American 369th

Infantry Regiment, NewYork National Guard,honor of advance guard inMarche Triomphal to theRhine River.

18 19 201980: Col Beverly S.Lindsey becomes first AirForce Reservist assigned ascommand nurse, StrategicAir Command, Offut AFB,NE, this month.

21 22Thanksgiving Day 1944:LT Margaret Moon,assigned to Hawaii toprepare for arrival ofSPARS, is first CoastGuard Women’s Reserveofficer to serve overseas.

231942: PL 772 establishesCoast Guard Women'sReserve (SPARS); acronymderives from Coast Guardmotto, Semper Paratus.1977: PL 95-202 givesWASP veteran status.

241942: SPARS placed undercommand of LCDRDorothy C. Stratton.

251989: France givesChevalier de l’OrdreNational du Merite, toChoctaw Chief Hollis E.Roberts this month, inrecognition of WWIChoctaw Code Talkers,Company E, 142d InfantryRegiment, formerOklahoma National Guard.

261918: 370th InfantryRegiment, redesignatedAfrican-American IllinoisNational Guard unit, fightsthis month in last battles ofWWI, earning 21Distinguished ServiceCrosses & 68 French Croixde Guerre.

271950: California NationalGuardsman, Hispanic CPTReginald B. Desiderio,commanding officer,Company E, 27th InfantryRegiment, 25th InfantryDivision, earns Medal ofHonor in Korea.

28 291943: “Molly Marine,”monument dedicated toUSMC Women’s Reserve,unveiled this month in NewOrleans, LA; is first statueof woman in uniformedService, US Armed Forces.

301943: 12th OCS class,WAAC Training Center,Fort Des Moines, IA,begins; first desegregatedclass.

2001November

The All-Hispanic 65th Infantry Division, Puerto Rico

A regiment of the Puerto Rico NationalGuard since 1959, and now part of the92d Infantry Brigade, Puerto Rico’s 65th

Infantry Regiment has been a unique unitthroughout its nearly 100 years ofservice. It was organized by the Army in1899, one year after U.S. forces, mostlyGuard members, seized Puerto Rico fromSpain. Although originally a regularArmy unit, the regiment was similar to aNational Guard unit and became evermore so, being made up of local residentswho served only in Puerto Rico, or in acombat role during war. A Puerto RicoNational Guard sister unit, the 296th

Infantry, was to provide Spanish-speaking replacement soldiers in theevent of war for the officially Spanish-speaking 65th.

The 65th had need for such replacementsduring its deployment in the KoreanWar. On arriving in Korea in 1950, the65th helped to stabilize the Pusanperimeter. The Puerto Ricans then tookpart in the U.S. breakout and drive to thenorth. In the meantime, the Armymobilized the Puerto Rico Guard’s 296th

Infantry for replacements. For theirservice in Korea, the men of the 65thInfantry won four Distinguished ServiceCrosses and 125 Silver Stars. The"Borinqueneers," as they were known,also were awarded the Presidential andMeritorious Unit Commendations, twoKorean Presidential Unit Citations, andthe Greek Gold Medal for Bravery.

Photo courtesy of Department of Defense, U.S. Army Center for Military History.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday1

1917: 8th Illinois, African-American National Guardunit, redesignated 370th

Infantry Regiment;assigned to 93d InfantryDivision in France.

21st Day of Advent1942: First two African-American WAACcompanies complete basictraining.

31973: 14 USC 762 ispassed; Women’s Reserveno longer separate branchof Coast Guard Reserve.

41943: Military Order No. 4issued, exempting Koreansfrom enemy alien statusand granting them the rightto enlist in any of USArmed Services.

5 61945: Ruth Cheney Streeterresigns commission asdirector, Marine CorpsWomen’s Reserve.

71973: Congress removesdistinction between men’sand women’s Coast GuardReserves, thereby allowingwomen to serve in regularCoast Guard.

81941: 200th Coast Artillery,largely Hispanic andNative-American unit, NewMexico National Guard,become “first to fire” inPacific theater.

9Hanukkah begins1906: RADM GraceHopper, pioneeringcomputer engineer inWAVES and then in NavyReserve, born.

101942: Dorothy E. Tuttle,first recruit to SPARS,enlists as yeoman thirdclass, this month.

111990: SGT Marie Elliott,member of National Guardunit called to active duty;among the first to arrive inSaudi Arabia to participatein Gulf War.

121982: MG Edward G.Pagano, of Aleut heritage,begins four-year period asadjutant general, AlaskaNational Guard, this month.

131918: African-American369th Infantry Regiment,NY National Guardawarded Croix de Guerre.1944: First AfricanAmericans complete officertraining for WAVES.

14 151991: MG Calvin G.Franklin, second African-American adjutant generalof Washington, DCNational Guard, leaves afterten years in office.

161982: Col Russell C. Davisis Air National Guard’sfirst African-Americangeneral. 1991: Davis isthird African-Americanadjutant general,Washington, DC NationalGuard.

17Hanukkah endsRamadan ends1945: Phyllis Mae Daley,first African-Americannurse commissioned inNavy Reserve Corps, swornin as ensign.

181995: MG Warren Freemanfourth African American tobe appointed adjutantgeneral, Washington, DCNational Guard.

19 201944: WASP program isdisbanded; pilots return tocivilian life withoutveterans’ benefits.

211999: African-AmericanCOL Bernard Taylor, Jr.,becomes deputy chief,Army Reserve this month.

221944: Harriet Ida Pickensand Frances E.Wills, firsttwo African-AmericanWAVES officers,commissioned.

231940: Kansas NationalGuard Troop C, 114th

Cavalry, only all-NativeAmerican cavalry unit inUS, is mobilized for oneyear of active FederalService.

24 25Christmas DayAsara B’Tevet 1776:African-American PrinceWhipple is amongMassachusetts militiamenwho serve as oarsmen inGeneral Washington’sDelaware River crossing.

26Kwanzaa begins

271917: 369th InfantryRegiment, “HarlemHellfighters,” redesignatedNational Guard unit, is firstAfrican-American combatunit shipped overseas;assigned to French Army.

291941: Fifty Koreansregister for the CaliforniaNational Guard and begintraining. Separate Koreanguard unit formed soonafter.

301999: MG EdwardRichardson, Chinese-American adjutant generalof Hawaiian NationalGuard, retires.

311950: African-American726th Transportation TruckCompany from Baltimore isfirst National Guard unit toarrive in Korea.

2001December

Since its inception in 1971, the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute at Patrick Air Force Base has been aleader in human relations training and equal opportunity research. To date, over 22,000 EO/EEO students have beentrained and numerous research projects have been conducted.

Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute 2001