MARINE
CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Female veterans and active duty and future
Marines were united Friday by the Women’s Marine Association to recognize
Women’s History Month and celebrate the 73rd anniversary of proudly serving in the
Marine Corps.
The
ceremony at Paradise Point Officers Club on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune paid
homage to female Marines, their proud history and their promising future.
“This
[the association] is such a great organization and seeing all of the former
active duty Marines from the Korean War era, some from Vietnam, and they are
bringing in everything they have,” said Sgt. Maj. Yolanda Mayo, ceremony
narrator and organizer. “They have uniforms and pictures, and it’s just such a
good time for us to sit back and say, ‘thank you for your service’ and welcome
our new veterans as we have some of our youngest, soon to be Marines here who
are in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.”
While
all Marines have an important role to play, for many years female Marines have
served alongside their male counterparts to accomplish the mission. Today, the
new and future female Marines have new challenges but more opportunities ahead
of them.
“Since I
was little, I have wanted to be an infantry Marine. Even a couple years ago
that wasn’t possible,” said Alana Baker, a Lejeune High School JROTC cadet. “I
have wanted to be a Marine since I was a little kid, so being able to be around
all these women who have pushed past these barriers and still have had
successful careers, it’s really inspiring to me.”
Much
like the official Marine Corps Birthday Ball, the ladies conducted a cake
cutting ceremony, continuing tradition and heritage from one generation to the
next.
“Passing
on the history and tradition from the old to the young and bringing them into
the fold, it means a lot,” said Mayo. “The Marine Corps is built on tradition
so this is a little bit of ours.”
The unique
ceremony offered special opportunities for past, present and future female
Marines to share stories, advice, experiences and hardships with each other and
to the world.