Twenty years ago on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War ended. The echoes of the fall of the wall were heard around the world that night and changed lives forever. As an Army lieutenant stationed in Germany, this is one historic event I was fortunate to witness. Along with several…
This is the second installment in the weekly Honored Role Series. As a junior high student in Franklin, Tennessee, Becky Kanis remembers the excitement and awe of fellow parishioners when they learned a young woman from St. Philip’s Catholic Church received an appointment to a service academy. Carol Anderson, a high school senior and St….
Between 1980 and 2008, 3,245 women graduated from West Point and have served selflessly in the Nation’s armed forces. Most of them, whether or not they still wear the uniform, are ordinary women with extraordinary stories of perseverance and integrity. They are soldiers and wives, mothers and daughters. They are doctors, lawyers, teachers, clergy and…
This is the first installment in the weekly Honored Role Series. Odessa Maxwell is the story of a soldier turned poet. A study of complexities and contrasts, Odessa Maxwell describes herself as an unusual woman. Born in Germany to a Japanese mother and African-American father, Odessa grew up in the south. The family settled in…
How often have we heard the saying, “be careful what you wish for, it just might come true”? Earlier this month when I learned that John Quinones, co-anchor of ABC News “Primetime” and author of Heroes Among Us: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Choices, was scheduled to speak at the Park City Friends of the Library Luncheon,…
Akin to many women, I wear a myriad of “hats and coats”, including mom, wife, daughter, friend, writer, volunteer, and outdoor enthusiast. I am inspired often by the actions, involvement, excitement and stories of women I meet. Daily, I am reminded of the impact women make in other people’s lives. They bridge past, present and…
Lt. Dan Choi and I co-authored an article published in The Daily Beast and Global Grind that gender and orientation are not relevant to the military mission. A soldier is a soldier. Despite a persistent “macho” mythos, it is becoming clear that neither gender nor sexual orientation is directly pertinent to a soldier’s ability to…
It’s an epic battle of biblical proportions in writing. A title is the first impression a writer makes. The few words of a title are as important as the work itself. If the title does not capture the reader in the first few seconds, no connection is made and the reader may never pick up…