LTC Regina Jo Walker, USA Ret. Oral History Part 1

title:

LTC Regina Jo Walker, USA Ret. Oral History Part 1

creator:

Walker, Regina Jo (1949 April 20 -

subject:

Women's Army Corps (WAC) | Army | Army Reserve

description:

Part 1 of 2. Regina Walker was born on April 20, 1949 in Wooster, Ohio. She enlisted in the Army in February 1972, and was sent from Cleveland, Ohio to Fort McClellan, Alabama for basic training and to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana for Adjutant General School. She then went to Fort Dix, New Jersey, and her class in WAC Officer Candidate School in 1974 was the first to be fully integrated into the Army and the last to wear the Prallas Athena insignia. She was on active duty until 1981, and served at Fort McClellan, Alabama; Fort Eustis, Virginia; Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Fort Caron, Colorado; Fort Ord, California; and Goeppingen, Germany. While she was stationed at Fort Cason, when they were in the field all of the women had to sleep in a tent separate from the main camp, but Regina was a platoon leader and this separation between herself and her platoon didn't sit well with her. Instead of staying in the women's tent, she and her platoon sergeant rearranged the cots in the platoon’s tent and used blankets to section off a small corner for her. From that night on, she slept with her platoon like her male counterparts. From 1979 to 1981, while at Fort Ord and Goeppingen, Germany, Regina was the only female officer on the General's staff of the First Division Forward Big Red 1. In June of 1981, she decided that there weren't enough combat service support female officers on active duty, so she left active duty and joined the reserves. While in the reserves, she completed Command and General Staff College and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring in 1992. By the time she had retired, she was awarded the National Defense Medal, two Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Spanu, Kirstin

date:

2021-05-11

type:

Moving Image

format:

Born Digital

identifier:

1338.01; 2021.01

source:

OHP

language:

English

relation:

362701

coverage:

1970s | 1980s | 1990s | Vietnam War (1964-1975) | Operation Desert Storm—1990-1991 | 1972-1992

rights:

Unrestricted