Penny Lee Deere, USA Ret. Oral History

title:

Penny Lee Deere, USA Ret. Oral History

creator:

Deere, Penny Lee (Madden) (1956 March 14 -

subject:

Women's Army Corps (WAC)

description:

Penny Deere (born Madden) was born on March 14, 1956 in Cobleskill, New York. She joined the Women's Army Corps right out of high school in 1975. After graduating she wasn't planning on attending college, so she was looking at other options including the Peace Corps that would allow her to travel. She initially thought about being a Marine but thought she wasn't tough enough for it, so she chose the Army. From day one, she planned to serve a full twenty years before retiring. Two of her four siblings also went into the military, and her father had served stateside in the Army during the Korean War. While in the Women's Army Corps, they weren't allowed to get married or have children or else they'd be discharged. When she first joined she was a postal clerk, and when WAC was disbanded and they were integrated into the Army she moved to military intelligence. Basic training for WAC was very different, they had a male drill sergeant who would call them hamburger head or sweet pea during drills. After being integrated into the regular Army, she says she was expected to meet the same fitness standards as the men (although that wasn't necessarily the case for every woman), and that things like changes in uniforms were meant to take away some of the women's femininity. After ten years in admin, Penny went to military intelligence, partially because of simple supply and demand in those fields. Between 1975 and 1989, she would go back and forth between serving stateside at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Fort Monmouth, New Jersey; Fort Gordon, Georgia; and Fort Huachuca, Arizona; and in Germany at bases in Pirmasens, Zweibr�cken, Ansbach, and Stuttgart. This includes being in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell, which she found incredible to witness from the start, but she is still amazed that she was literally witnessing history in real time. She then went to Saudi Arabia as a part of Operation Desert Storm as a targeteer. Her job was to know what the enemy forces were and different methods for countering those forces. After the battle, her job would also be to go out and assess the aftermath to see if their intelligence and decisions had been correct. Personally, Penny was and remains troubled by the destruction she caused, and she has a lot of support in addressing those feelings, including her art. She is currently taking part in studies investigating the cause of various health problems that people who served in the Gulf War have since faced. She was surprised, when she first went to survey the aftermath of the battle, to be so affected by the scenes in front of her, and that has her caused lasting trauma she addresses through various alternative therapies. She is also a massage therapist now, which she did in part to help herself and other veterans deal with their trauma and improve the connection between their bodies and minds. After going to individual therapy for 13 years, she never felt like it had helped, but as soon as she went to music therapy she was deeply affected. She also didn't realize how serious her PTSD was for several years after returning from Saudi Arabia. After several therapists, she was finally diagnosed with complex PTSD, which results from many smaller traumas piling on top of each other. She now runs an art for veterans group, which she sees as helpful for veterans partially because of a lack of teamwork and cooperation that veterans face upon leaving the service. Right before going to Desert Storm, Penny also experienced a military sexual trauma that she didn't report because she felt her subordinates would lose respect for her and consider her a snitch. Women were also being kicked out and court martialed upon reporting, which was in her mind at the time. Later, when the perpetrator was up for security clearance she was asked if she knew him, she told the story, and the perpetrator didn't get his security clearance renewed. He also ended up getting kicked out, as he didn't make a promotion quickly enough due to not getting this clearance. She is happy she served for her full twenty years and would encourage men and women to join the Army still, but would warn especially women to make sure they have a buddy who will have their back, so they can help keep each other safe. when she Penny left the service she had reached the rank of sergeant first class, and for her service she was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal and National Defense Service Medal. No transcript of this interview is currently available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Gill, Dennis

date:

2021-08-28

type:

Moving Image

format:

Born Digital

identifier:

1339; 2021.004

source:

Voices of Freedom Project - SWTA

language:

English

relation:

647312

coverage:

Cold War | Operation Desert Storm, 1990-1991 | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 1975-1995

rights:

Unrestricted