MAJ Mary Virginia Krueger, USA Oral History Part 1

title:

MAJ Mary Virginia Krueger, USA Oral History Part 1

creator:

Krueger, Mary Virginia (Biglow) (April 1969 - )

subject:

Army

description:

Part 1 of 2. Major (Dr.) Mary Krueger (formerly Biglow) was born in April 1969 in Melbourne, Florida. Her family moved to Ashburnham, Massachusetts when she was eight, and she graduated from Oakmont Regional High School in 1987. She went to Houghton College in New York, graduating with a major in biology and a minor in psychology in 1991. She was generally interested in medicine but didn’t have the income to study further herself, so she applied for an Army scholarship and started medical school in September 1991. She was the first person in her family to join the military. She officially got the scholarship in April 1992 and went to Officer Basic Course that summer at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. She did specialty training in family medicine working in surgery at Fort Lee, Virginia; obstetrics at Tripler in Hawaii; and her residency in family medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. She got married and had two kids while in Washington. She remained at Madigan as a staff member, and after a few years was selected for a faculty development fellowship, which required a master’s in public health that she got at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her thesis was on barriers to breast feeding in active-duty Army women. She was offered positions at several bases and decided with her husband to move to Fort Belvoir, Virginia in September 2002. She went to a ten-week Advanced Course at Fort Sam Houston soon after arriving at Fort Belvoir. While she was there, her husband called and told her that he heard through the grapevine that she was being sent overseas to serve in Afghanistan. She went to Fort Benning, Georgia soon after and was deployed to the 48th Combat Support Hospital. There, she provided medical care for American troops, enemy soldiers, and worked with local tribes to help Afghan women. Working in tents, she was initially assigned to the emergency room. Most injuries were land mine injuries, diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections, and kids falling off roofs. After two months, she moved to civil affairs to help develop Afghan healthcare through mobile clinics. Dr. Krueger was still in the service as of this interview and had reached the rank of major. For her service, she has received two Army Commendation Medals, an Army Achievement Medal, bronze star, and combat medical badge. A partial transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Scott, Kate M.

date:

2003-10-22

type:

Moving Image

format:

Hi-8

identifier:

531.01; 2003.531

source:

CLIR - Recordings at Risk

language:

English

relation:

575586

coverage:

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)—2001-2014 | 1992-interview

rights:

Unrestricted