Maj Gen Larita A. Aragon-Watson, USAF Ret. Oral History Part 1

title:

Maj Gen Larita A. Aragon-Watson, USAF Ret. Oral History Part 1

creator:

Aragon-Watson, Larita A. (Bly) (1947 December 3 -

subject:

Air National Guard

description:

Part 1 of 3. LaRita Aragon-Watson (Bly) was born December 3, 1947 in Shawnee, Oklahoma and grew up in Dale, Oklahoma, a town of only 300. She was influenced to go into the military by an uncle who was in the Army and stationed in Germany, and her family were no strangers to Air Force bases. Her father had worked in the maintenance department at Tinker Air Force Base for 38 years before retiring, and her mother worked there until her retirement as an aircraft inspector. Prior to enlisting, she had obtained a Bachelors degree in education and a Masters degree in guidance and counseling and was working as a teacher. At the time, she had two small children from a previous marriage and a friend recommended she join the Air National Guard of Oklahoma since teacher pay was not covering all their expenses adequately. She enlisted in September 1979 at 30 years old. Her family is of Cherokee and Choctaw descent, but growing up, because of the negative feelings towards Native Americans in the area, her family did not advertise their heritage. After doing some genealogical research with her sister and aunts they discovered more about their Native American history, and by the time she joined the military she was very upfront about her heritage. At the time of this interview, she is the highest ranked woman in the Air National Guard in Oklahoma with the rank of Brig. General with the 137 Services Flight at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. During her career, because she was one of the first women in her roles, she found her role models and mentors were generally male, but also felt the service was generally supportive of her both as a woman and part-Native American. She was deployed during Desert Storm, where she commanded the services unit dealing with mortuary and field units. She remembers being questioned by the press when the first woman was killed. After the Oklahoma City Bombing, LaRita took on the task of Military Mortuary Officer to support the Department of Defense victims of the Murrah Building bombing, helping to identify victims and sending out notifications of death to their families. In civilian life, LaRita taught kindergarten through seventh grade, becoming a principal in 1984 where she served for 22 years. She was recognized as Educator of the Year in 1990 by the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Women Veteran of the Year in 1998, and Red Lands Council Girl Scouts Women of the Year. She has also helped fundraise for the Women in Military Service Memorial and helped organize a military group that marched at the opening ceremonies. As of the interview, she was still serving as a Major General at the Oklahoma Air National Guard. For her service, she received the Air Force Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal, and Humanitarian Service Medal. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Chase, Shirley

date:

2004-06-05

type:

Audio

format:

Cassette

identifier:

31.01; 2002.031

source:

OHP | IMES

language:

English

relation:

458374

coverage:

1980s | Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm—1990-1991

rights:

Unrestricted