“Thank you for your service.” Those five words were a point of redemption in Beth Macy’s life.
Beth was teaching math but was looking for something more. Her father was an airline pilot so Beth explored the Air Force. Their quota was full, so she joined the Navy. She enlisted in 1976 while the Vietnam War was still fresh in everyone’s mind and military members were still unduly scorned.
At the time, women in the Military still faced great challenges. A British officer took her aside and warned her that she would have to perform three times better than her male counterparts in order to make it. While still in the service, Beth chose to return to college for her Master’s Degree. One day she was running late and didn’t have time to change out of her uniform. She was shocked at the treatment she received from her fellow students including being called a “baby killer” and having food thrown at her in the cafeteria. Beth chose to leave the Navy in 1980.
Beth could never shake the hostility shown by her fellow graduate students. She also found a degree of apathy toward military service upon entering the private sector. For decades Beth consciously chose to suppress her military service and wrote off that portion of her life.
One thing Beth did do was put Veteran plates on her vehicle. A couple of years ago, she was approached in a store parking lot. Beth says he looked like someone who would have been a Vietnam War protestor and prepared for the worst. Instead, he thanked her for her service. Beth says she broke down and cried on the spot.
Beth feels that many female Veterans from the Cold War era suffered from “imposter syndrome”. But that simple “Thank you for your service” from a stranger spurred her to once again take pride in her service. “I even park in Veteran reserved parking spots now!”
Beth draws upon her experience working on top secret projects for her “Moscow Nights” book series.
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