General Holm Remembered In Ceremony At Arlington
(April 3, 2010) |
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USAF Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm (courtesy photo) |
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WASHINGTON (3/30/2010 - AFNS) -- The first female two-star
general in both the Air Force and Department of Defense was
laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery March 29.
Retired Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm is credited as the single
driving force in achieving equality for military women and
making them a viable part of the mainstream military. She
was a champion of diversity and advocate for equal rights
for women.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and other
senior leaders, active and retired, attended the funeral
ceremony and internment.
After the service and burial, members of the Women in
Military Service for America Memorial hosted a wake where
friends and family members shared stories about the general.
"It's fitting that we're here remembering her," said retired
Col. Yvonne Schilz in reference to the Women in Airforce
Service Pilots display at the memorial. "Where the WASP
cracked the glass ceiling, Jeanne blew it open for the rest
of us. I was able to attend the Air Force Academy because of
what she did. |
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"In some way, we just all want to give back to her, so this
felt like the right place to be today," Colonel Schilz
added.
Retired Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught echoed the colonel's
sentiments.
"She made my career in the Air Force possible," said General
Vaught, president of the board of directors of the Women In
Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc. "She
definitely knew how to get things done and it was amazing to
see her work."
General Vaught shared several of her memories of her friend
Jeanne, who was partially responsible for the creation of
the women's memorial.
"She wanted to write a book about women in the military,"
General Vaught said. "In truth, she already had a lot of the
work done."
General Holm authored two books: "Women in the Military: An
Unfinished Revolution," which came out in 1982 and was
updated in 1994; and four years later she wrote "In Defense
of a Nation: Servicewomen in World War II."
During her 31-year career, General Holm accomplished much.
The Portland, Ore., native attained the rank of two-star
general in 1973 after a career that began in 1942 when she
enlisted in the Army. General Holm entered Women's Army Air
Corps in January 1943 where she received a commission as
third officer, the WAAC equivalent of second lieutenant.
General Holm also became the first woman to attend the Air
Command and Staff School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in
1952.
She was promoted to brigadier general July 16, 1971, the
first female Airman to be appointed to that grade. She was
subsequently promoted to the grade of major general
effective June 1, 1973, with date of rank of July 1, 1970,
the first woman in the armed forces to serve in that grade. |
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| U.S. Air Force Honor Guard flag detail members prepare the U.S. flag March 29, 2010, that covered the casket of Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm during her burial ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. She was promoted to major general with an effective date of July 1, 1970, and was the first woman in the Armed Forces to serve in that grade.
USAF photo by Scott M. Ash |
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In recognition of General Holm's pioneering career, Air
Force officials renamed the Air Force Officer Accession and
Training Schools at Maxwell AFB the Jeanne M. Holm Officer
Accession and Citizen Development Center in June 2008. Its
mission is Air Force officer recruitment and training within
the Air University.
During World War II, General Holm was assigned to the
Women's Army Corps Training Center at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.,
where she first commanded a basic training company and then
a training regiment. At the end of the war, she commanded
the 106th WAC Hospital Company at Newton D. Baker General
Hospital, W.Va. She then left active military duty in 1946.
In October 1948 during the Berlin crisis, she was recalled
to active duty with the Army and went to Camp Lee, Va., as a
company commander. The following year she transferred to the
Air Force, when a new law integrated women in the regular
armed forces.
General Holm served in a variety of personnel assignments,
including director of Women in the Air Force from 1965 to
1973. She played a significant role in eliminating
restrictions on numbers of women serving in all ranks,
expanding job and duty station assignments for women,
opening ROTC and service academies to women and changing the
policies on the status of women in the armed forces. During
her tenure, policies affecting women were updated, WAF
strength more than doubled, job and assignment opportunities
expanded and uniforms modernized.
The general retired in 1975. She served three presidential
administrations: special assistant on women for President
Gerald Ford, policy consultant for President Jimmy Carter
and first chairperson of the Veterans Administration's
Committee on Women Veterans for President Ronald Reagan.
General Holm died Feb. 15. |
By USAF SSgt. J.G. Buzanowski with MSgt. Russell P. Petcoff
contributing to this story
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
Copyright 2010 |
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Reprinted from
Air Force News Service
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