Tag Archives: U.S. Army

RETIRED ARMY MAJOR WANTS WOMEN VETERANS TO REMEMBER THEIR MILITARY-ACQUIRED SKILLS
As a U.S. Army Reservist serving in a psyops (psychological operations) unit in Iraq in 2021, Tina Knutson and her team got into the minds of Iraqi citizens while deployed to Baghdad. As a police officer and hostage negotiator during her 21-year career in law enforcement in the Alameda County city of Newark, she once […]

CALVET’S ANNUAL WOMEN VETERANS RECEPTION, TRAILBLAZER AWARDS SET – VIRTUALLY – FOR OCTOBER 27
The California Department of Veterans Affairs will host the 2021 Women Veterans Reception, including the presentations of the annual Trailblazer Awards, in a virtual event October 27, via Zoom. The event begins at 6 p.m., and will include remarks from CalVet Secretary Vito Imbasciani MD and Virginia Wimmer, CalVet’s new deputy secretary of Women Veterans […]

ARMY, CALIFORNIA GUARD STEPPED UP WHEN 1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE, FIRE KNOCKED THE CITY DOWN
On the morning of April 18, 1906 – 115 years – the ground beneath San Francisco shook angrily and violently. Buildings fell. Fires broke out, fueled by severed gas lines, and allowed to spread by fractured water lines. The San Francisco earthquake, all 7.8 magnitude of it, sent a rude wakeup call to the mostly […]

HARRISON’S SUDDEN DEATH THIS DAY IN 1841 CREATED AN ISSUE IT TOOK CONGRESS 126 YEARS TO SOLVE
To say William Henry Harrison experienced a very distinct presidency would constitute something of an understatement. At 68 years, 23 days, he became America’s oldest president when sworn in on March 4, 1841. That record lasted until Donald Trump took office at 70, 220 days in in January 2017, followed by Joe Biden at 78 […]

VIETNAM VETERANS DAY: WHEN THE WALL IN DC WENT UP, OTHER WALLS BEGAN TO COME DOWN
When U.S. Army soldier Stan Leighton flew back from Vietnam in 1970, he landed in Seattle and then boarded the first available flight home to California. Like so many others who fought in that war, he returned to a nation embroiled in deep social and political turmoil over the war. “I was fortunate,” said Leighton, […]

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH AND CALVET HOME LOAN SUCCESS STORIES ALL ROLLED INTO ONE
During Women’s History Month each March, CalVet Connect tells the stories of some exceptional women veterans who live in the Golden State. This year, CalVet’s Home Loans program turns 100 years old, giving us opportunities to write about our veteran clients as well. Eboni Strader represents both. She’s a disabled U.S. Army veteran and single […]

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH BUILT ON FIRSTS, AND THESE TWO ARMY NURSES HELPED LEAD THE WAY
Women’s History Month traditionally highlights the groundbreakers, the glass-ceiling crashers, and the ones who went first. Count two U.S. Army nurses among them. On March 13, 1942, Major Julia O. Flikke, chief of the Army Nurses Corps, became the first female colonel in the history of the Army. Her second in command, Captain Florence A. […]