Numerous Northeast Michigan women remember their time in military service

Courtesy Photo Sidney Urbanowicz poses in her U.S. Navy uniform.

ALPENA — Since the American Revolution, women have served in the U.S. military.

According to the Revolutionary War Journal, one of the first women known to serve was Deboarh Simpson. A Massachusetts native, she enlisted in the infantry with an alias name and disguised as a man. Records indicate she was wounded multiple times and served 18 months.

Other women known to serve during that war disguised as men were Margaret Corbin and Lydia Darragh.

A profile of women serving in the military was compiled by author and historian Danielle DeSimone. Her research began by revealing that, during the American Revolution, wives, mothers, and sisters traveled with the troops to tend wounds, prepare meals, mend uniforms, and clean items ranging from laundry to cannons.

By the Civil War, thousands of women served in the Union and Confederate ranks. Their services were similar to that of women during the Revolutionary War. The Red Cross’s Clara Barton, along with Dorothea Dix, lead an army of nurses into battle zones and field hospitals.

Courtesy Photo Phyllis Elaine Bailey Wright is seen in her Army uniform.

DeSimone and other historians state that up to 1,000 women, disguised as men, served on both sides during the Civil War.

In April 1917, the U.S. entered World War I with just over 400 women in the active duty Army nursing ranks. By June 1918, more than 3,000 nurses were deployed to British military hospitals.

During that war, the Navy began a classification called yeomanettes. That was 12,000 women who served with clerical duties and as telephone and radio operators. The Army offered a similar classification known as “hello girls” who performed similar clerical duties in France’s front lines.

An irony during that war was women did not have the right to vote but could serve in the military.

With the advent of World War II, more than 16 million Americans served on multiple war fronts. During that war period, all military branches had more than 360,000 women serve. Their duties were similar to those during World War I, but in World War II women also drove military vehicles, repaired and delivered aircraft, rigged parachutes, and were leaders within military intelligence and cryptology.

Courtesy Photo Jenni Johns, right, is seen in her Army uniform

One of the little-known intelligence stories occurred in Dayton, Ohio, where 300-plus Navy WAVES served under National Cash Register scientist Joseph R. Desch. A device called the Bombe decoding machine was developed and the WAVES, Americans, and allies were able to secretly “crack” Germany’s coded Enigma messages. Military historians stated that program literally shortened the war by years.

When the war ceased, many women returned home with hopes to continue a military career. Sadly, they were pushed out of service for men desiring to continue military service.

DeSimone stated, “Because of these women’s perseverance and dedication throughout the war, they helped pave the way for women in the miliary who would come after them.”

During the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman signed into law an act allowing women to serve as full, permanent members in all military branches. The act offered limitations, which included a low percentage of women who could serve in each branch, limitations of women becoming officers, women would be automatically discharged if they became pregnant and would be unable to command men or serve in combat positions. Months after Truman introduced that act, he added that Black women could also serve in the military.

During the Vietnam War, 11,000 women were stationed in Vietnam, many in war front zones. When the war was nearing closure, the Pentagon cited pregnant women could remain in active duty.

Courtesy Photo Diane Spleet is seen in her Army uniform.

During that era and in the decades which followed, women were able to be accepted into the military academies, fly fixed-wing and rotor aircraft, be accepted into combat roles, become military astronauts, and dozens of other routine and leadership roles.

In recent months, Admiral Lisa Franchietti was confirmed as the Navy’s first chief of naval operations and Admiral Linda L. Fagan is the U.S. Coast Guard commandant. In numerous other areas, women are commanding officers of flight wings, bases, strategic operations, as well as other traditionally male-led commands.

Defense Department data reveals there are currently 1.3 million military members serving active duty. Of that figure, 21.4% are women, with the U.S. Air Force leading all the other branches of women serving.

NORTHEAST MICHIGAN WOMEN VETERANS

Across Northeast Michigan are numerous cemeteries which offer interned military members.

Courtesy Photo Judy Sandor is seen in her U.S. Air Force uniform.

Tim Corn, sexton at Alpena’s Evergreen Cemetery, noted that, within Little Flanders Memorial Field, there appears to be several female veterans honored.

Ingrid Bailey Porritt noted her aunt, Phyllis Elaine Bailey Wright, is buried in Evergreen.

During World War II, she served as an Army nurse. Wright arrived in the United Kingdom and later into the French war front where she treated American, British, French, and German military members. That French region was the same area her father served during World War I. Upon returning to America, Wright continued her career at what was then called Alpena General Hospital, now MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena.

Sidney (Goodburne) Urbanowicz graduated from Alpena High School in 1956.

She held a number of retail jobs, later setting her sights on joining the military. Her mother resisted her joining. However, her stepfather paved the way for her mother allowing Urbanowicz to join the Navy.

Courtesy Photo Dawn Frank poses in her Navy uniform with her Aunt Millie.

She entered service in 1958 and trained as a radioman, with her longest duty post in San Diego. She obtained the rank of petty officer second class and was discharged in 1962, as she was expecting a child.

Urbanowicz fondly recalls during basic training her first visit to Washington. While serving in San Diego, a major ITT communications system located in Nevada went down in service. With the Navy’s San Diego system available, she and other radiomen entered dual service with military and civilian communications.

“It was several days of very long hours until the commercial system could be activated,” she said.

Upon departing the military, she served children with special needs and as a physical therapy aide.

Dawn (Paad) Frank graduated from Alpena High School in 1985. Later, she graduated from Alpena Community College with an emphasis in drafting.

During college, she set her sights on joining the Air Force. Meeting with the local recruiter, she was not able to obtain a delayed entry program. Upon exiting the Air Force office, she was pursued by a Naval recruiter, who said he could make her delayed program work within aviation, the profession she desired to pursue.

Frank entered basic training in Orlando, Florida during one of the Navy’s first co-ed training programs.

Command leadership encouraged her to pursue her education and eventually enter officer candidate school. She accomplished both and became commissioned as an ensign, serving 20-plus years, discharged as a lieutenant commander.

Early on, Frank served onboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise (CV-65).

Subsequent tours were in the United States and in Scotland and various Scandinavian and European countries.

A memorable moment for her was when, in Saudi Arabia, she was at a shopping mall with fellow crewmembers. Saudi officials determined that none of the men were her husband and she was expelled from the complex.

Diane Spleet graduated from Alpena High School in 1978. She attended ACC for a year. Similar to Urbanowicz, her mother balked at her entering military service. Her father reversed her mother’s decision.

Spleet entered Army basic training and subsequently received training within finance. Her future duty station took her to the 82nd Airborne Command in North Carolina. There, she continued with her finance responsibilities but also entered “jump school.” Spleet was one of the first women to complete that rigorous training.

She said one of her most memorable experiences was when cold weather training occurred in Alaska. She “fit the bill,” in that the deployment needed a parachutist with finance expertise. With less than five hours of continuous daylight, she completed her jump in minus-40-degree temperature.

As a sergeant, her military career spanned six years of active and reserve duty.

Upon exiting military service for the better part of two decades, she served in various capacities at Alpena’s Combat Readiness Training Center.

Judy (Thiem) Sandor is a 1974 Alpena High School graduate. She continued her formal education at ACC and Central Michigan University. After university graduation, she taught for fewer than two years at Alpena Public Schools and in a rural Montana school.

A close friend encouraged her to join the Air Force. She pursued that career move, which would offer her the unique opportunity for travel, an aspect she desired.

Upon being commissioned as a second lieutenant, she entered a 20-plus year career taking her to assignments across Europe, Asia, and a variety of U.S. duty stations.

Sandor’s leadership positions were within personnel administration.

She said that, during her Germany tour, she was involved with the base visits by then-President George H.W. Bush and famed author Tom Clancy.

Sandor resides in Midland with her husband, who was career Army. She retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel.

Jenni (Ritzler) Johns graduated from Alpena High School in 1978.

With limited financial resources, she determined military service would be a good career move. During high school, she experienced invigorating student broadcasting at WATZ radio.

Her direction was to go into military broadcasting or journalism. She interviewed with a number of military branch recruiters. The Army was the match.

After co-ed basic training, she was accepted into training at the Defense Information School (DINFOS) located near Indianapolis, Indiana.

The school’s curriculum was split into two areas: broadcasting and print journalism. Her voice tape did not make the cut and her new orders were directing her to be a cook. Johns’ persistence was to continue within print journalism. Through numerous meetings and reviews, she convinced the DINFOS command to allow her to enter print journalism training instead of being a cook.

Her tour took her to Germany, where she was assigned to public affairs and the base newspaper. She served from 1978 to 1981 with subsequent Michigan Army National Guard service within public affairs and supply.

During her Germany tour, her base was under high-alert status during the Iranian hostage siege of 52 Americans. Johns covered a number of joint nation training exercises. In addition, while in Germany, when off base, military members could not wear their uniforms because random terrorist bombings were occurring in the country.

Her combined tours helped her obtain her college degree from Central Michigan University. Her communications career continued in a number of areas with one being with Toledo’s Mercy Hospital’s public affairs office.

Jeffrey D. Brasie is a retired health care CEO. He frequently writes historic feature stories and op-eds for various Michigan newspapers. As a Vietnam-era veteran, he served in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Naval Reserve. He served on the public affairs staff of the secretary of the Navy. He grew up in Alpena and resides in suburban Detroit.