Women's History Month (Women of the Month) - 3/31

Once a Marine, always a Marine: Belton woman served 22 years in the Corps

BELTON — Texas native Debbie Bates was always up for a challenge as a kid, so when she decided to join the military after graduating high school in 1974, her first and only choice was the U.S. Marine Corps.

“I had a plan for my summer (after graduation) but nothing beyond that,” the Belton resident said. “I had a summer job that fell through, so I decided to do something different.

“I was kind of thinking college, but the military came to mind and it had to be the Marine Corps. I don’t think recruiters came to the school, but there was a guy friend in one of my classes who signed up, so he was kind of planting the bug. That’s actually where it came from.

“I’ve always believed in gender equality. I guess I got that from my mom. She’s always been one to break gender barriers, and I lear ned that from her. At Taylor High School (near Round Rock), I was the first female in FFA (Future Farmers of America). Mom and I went to the father-son banquet,” she said, laughing. Except for the Coast Guard, the Marines Corps is the smallest branch of the U.S. military, with 220,000 members, and around 8% of those are female enlisted.

The first woman to join the Marine Corps was in 1918. In

office in Austin, Bates headed to Parris Island, South Carolina, for boot camp. She says she was excited to go but actually found the training a little disappointing.

1943, the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve was established. That same year, Congress approved the Women’s Ar med Services Integration Act that made women a permanent part of the regular Marine Corps. Bates, meanwhile, was born in Lubbock, 330 miles northwest of Killeen in the Texas Panhandle. Her parents were educators — mom a teacher and dad a principal and superintendent — and the family moved around quite a bit as better job opportunities arose. They lived in places like the Big Bend area, Grapevine, Liberty Hill, and the Austin area. After enlisting at a recruiting

“I left on Veterans Day. My mom tells me that story … that they had a parade in my honor in downtown Austin because I was leaving for boot camp,” she said, laughing. “So that was November 11th of ’74 and I graduated at the end of February, I think it was “It was kind of a mixture of good and bad. I thought (by) joining the Marine Corps that I would get some real good training — shoot guns and stuff. Nah. No, none of that. There was a lot of marching, a lot of running and physical exercises (but) it was mostly a lot of classroom instruction to lear n customs and courtesies and stuff.”

One memorable day involved gas chamber training, when recruits got a taste of what it is like being exposed to hazardous chemicals. Bates tells the story:

“That was pretty exciting,” she said. “The way they did it, there was a bunch of us going through, so the gas has already been released, and we walk in with our gas masks on. We all stand in line and we have to take our masks off and sing the first few lines of the Marines Corps Hymn (‘From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli; we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land, and sea; first

to fight for right and freedom and to keep our honor clean; we are proud to claim the title of United States Marine.’) Then we put our mask back on and walk out. It’s enough that you know what it feels like — your eyes are tearing and your nose is just running.”

Some of the boot camp physical fitness training involved modifications for female recruits. Instead of regular pushups, the women were allowed to do “knee push-ups,” and they also did a modified version of pull-ups. Instead of reaching up, grabbing a high bar and pulling themselves up and down, up and down, a spotter helped boost

them to the top position, where they held tight and tried to stay in place for up to 60 seconds to earn maximum points

Bates especially enjoyed that exercise.

“I made so much money when we had to do that,” she said. “Men are like, ‘Oh, man, that’s nothing. Anybody can do that.’ I’d say, ‘OK, c’mon, try it — and put some money on it.’ Men can do a pull-up, but they can’t do the arm hang. The usual bet was $10.”

Debbie served three years on active duty at Camp Lejeune and then spent 19 years in the Marine Corps Reserve. She completed warrant officer school in the Reserve and retired in 1996 as a chief warrant officer 3. She went back to school and worked as a computer software engineer until retiring for good in 2015.

There is an old saying that goes, “Once a Marine; always a Marine,” and Debbie says that definitely holds true for her. She enjoyed her military service and says she learned plenty of valuable lessons during her time in unifor m.

“I think confidence would be number one,” the mother of one who is a dedicated line dancer said. “I’m very confident in whatever I’m doing. I’m not very shy about it. I have the Marine Corps to thank for that.

“For whatever reason, I gravitate toward the male dominated.

MARINE

Like I mentioned, FFA and Ag in high school. Then the Marine Corps, and when I got into computer science — male-dominated. And I was never intimidated by being the only female. Maybe a little cocky, but mostly confidence, I’d say. In the Reserve, when we would go to two weeks’ active duty, I would be the only female, but it didn’t bother me. You want to mess with me? Go ahead.

“I would definitely encourage any and every young woman to join the military, but I think it depends on the woman. Someone who likes to be challenged, just for the personal satisfaction. Each branch is different. Some are harder; some are easier

“I also would encourage moms to encourage their children to serve in the military, because it’s a huge life lesson.”

Books on the impact of the internet and AI are finalists for the first-ever

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON — Books about the dizzying impact of the internet and artificial intelligence are among finalists for a new book prize that aims to help fix the gender imbalance in nonfiction publishing.

The shortlisted six books for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, announced on Wednesday, include Canadian author-activist Naomi Klein’s “Doppleganger,” a plunge into online misinfor mation, and British journalist Madhumita Murgia’s “Code-Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI.”

The 30,000 pound ($38,000) award is a sister to the 29year-old Women’s Prize for Fiction and is open to female English-language writers from any country in any nonfiction genre.

The finalists also include autobiographical works — poet Safiya Sinclair’s “How to Say Babylon: A Jamaican Memoir” and British art critic Laura Cumming’s “Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death.”

Rounding out the list are British author Noreen Masud’s travelogue-memoir “A Flat Place,” and Harvard

Women’s Nonfiction Prize

history professor Tiya Miles’ “All That She Carried,” a history of American enslavement told through one Black family’s keepsake British historian Suzannah Lipscomb, who is chairing the judging panel, said that “the readers of these books will never see the world — be it through art, history, landscape, politics, religion or technology — the

Naomi Klein arrives for a news conference at the Vatican on July 1, 2015. Books about how the dizzying impact of the internet and artificial intelligence are among finalists for a new book prize that aims to help fix the gender imbalance in nonfiction publishing.

ANDREW MEDICHINI | AP

same again.” The winners of both nonfiction and fiction prizes will be announced at a ceremony in London on June 13.

The prize was set up in response to a gender imbalance in the book world, where men buy more nonfiction than women — and write more prize-wining nonfiction books

The company Nielsen

Book Research found in 2019 that while women bought 59% of all the books sold in the United Kingdom, men accounted for just over half of adult nonfiction purchases Prize organizers say that in 2022, only 26.5% of nonfiction books reviewed in Britain’s newspapers were by women, and male writers dominated established nonfiction writing prizes

Military widow from Italy working to help veterans in Central Texas

Doris Brazzalle was living the good life in her hometown Vicenza, Italy, working for the family robotics business when a chance encounter with a young American GI stationed there with the 173rd Airborne Brigade changed her life forever.

“I had some friends on post, and so we got connected through some mutual friends,” Brazzalle said. “We met for coffee and the rest is history.”

That was 2000-01, and three years later, Doris married that paratrooper from North Carolina, and they had a baby. Seventeen months after their wedding, that love at first sight romance turned to tragedy when the 14-year veteran of deployments to Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo died by suicide after struggling with severe physical and mental health issues Their daughter was not yet a year old.

“It was unexpected,” Doris said. “It was hard.”

When her daughter was old enough to start school, Doris went to work for five years in the registration office on the military post in Vicenza, and then in 2012, she decided to move to the U.S.

At age 47, after spending all her life in Italy surrounded by family and friends, she packed up three suitcases and her three children (two from a previous relationship) and headed for Killeen, where a military spouse friend invited her to stay until she got settled. She worked three jobs when she got here and within six months was able to find her own home.

“When I moved here, I had to start all over,” Doris said. “I had to get my GED because my (schooling) credentials were not recognized here. I had to start with my GED and then I went to colle ge and got my associate de gree in science and business.”

Now, the 58-year-old Temple resident works as program assistant for The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Endeavors in Killeen, where she maintains databases, program and client files, monitors emails and supports the office manager and daily clinic operations

She will always be a proud Italian, but Doris says she loves living in Central Texas

“It’s hot,” she said, laughing. “Especially these days Italy is hot, too, but there are more of the four seasons there compared to here. But we love being here

“When I bought the tickets to move here, I had a three month open ticket. I said, ‘Let’s go; let’s see.’ I wanted to make sure

if we didn’t find it good here, I didn’t want to stay here miserable. If it wasn’t working, we were going back. But my kids said, no, we’re staying.

“I miss the food back home. I miss my family. I feel that the process of being here … We have been through a lot of adjustment and learning to live here. I’m not the same person I was when I moved here 11 years ago. I’m not even sure I would get along with the people who were my friends (back home).

“When I started to drive, I didn’t know where I was. I had to have a map to understand where Temple was located (and) what it means going north or south. So I was driving around town and getting lost, realizing that this road was connected with that road. Really learning the simple things. Everything is different. Learning to drive here. Going to the grocery store. Being scared to drive on the highway Understanding how to navigate streets and towns.

“I have learned to be by myself. Lear ning to take care of my family without any support. Being in a new situation can be scary. We don’t have anybody here, so we had to count only on us.”

Along with working since 2020 at the Endeavors clinic, which offers counseling ser-

VETERANS

vices for veterans and their families and also has Texas offices in Addison, El Paso and San Antonio, Doris is an avid cyclist and serves as a coach for the North Texas National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). She also devotes a lot of time to her position as co-chair for the 173rd Airbor ne Association’s Gold Star Program, a private, nonprofit group created “to provide Honor, Remembrance, Emotional, Peer, and Resource Support for 173rd Airborne Gold Star Families” who lost a soldier in the perfor mance of military duty Her work at the clinic and with the Gold Star Program are not only rewarding, but go hand in hand, she explained.

“My husband was in Iraq the first time, and then he did three tours in Bosnia and Kosovo. Those were tough, too,” she said. “I was with him maybe four years total, and I didn’t know much about PTSD at that time. We’re talking 18 years ago, so there wasn’t really a lot of mental health support at that time

“I learned more after his death, and I know a lot more about it now. I was working in another clinic before Endeavors and slowly, you start to understand some things.”

One example of the rewarding aspect of her new job was at a recent 173rd Airbor ne Brigade reunion when Doris made a presentation on resources that are available to help veterans and family members with such mental health concerns as depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, adjustment issues, anger, grief and loss, and transition challenges, along with marriage counseling, relationship counseling and children’s behavioral issues

“One of the ladies when we finished came to me bawling and she hugged me, and she said, ‘My daughter was murdered last year. I live in San Antonio You have no idea how long I’ve been looking for some help.’ That, to me, turns back to … We are able to provide hope. That gives me pride in working for this company

“Someone may be suf fering because they did 77 months deployed and got two Purple Hearts. Those people went through hell, and we are able to help them get some healing. This, to me, is important. When people come here, I can relate to what they are going through. They are concer ned; they need help. When I see people come in for couples therapy and talking about PTSD, I was there. I know their feelings “There’s shame. There’s worries. There’s fears. We are able to provide hope in a situation that feels hopeless.”

Doris, who earned an accounting degree back in Italy, recently ear ned an associate de gree and graduated with her daughter. Back in 2019, she became a United States citizen. She remembers very well the pride she felt taking that oath of allegiance during her citizenship ceremony.

“It was very emotional,” the mother of three and grandmother of one with another on the way said. “Still now

when you hear the national anthem, it’s really something important to me I have a friend who said, ‘You are the most patriotic person.’

“To me, it’s an honor to be here Here, it doesn’t matter what age you are – you have an opportunity. I don’t think I would ever at age 57 have gone to college and got my de gree. Here, even if you are older, you can still work. You still find a job, if you want to work.

In Italy, at 60 years old — 55 — if you lose your job, it’s extremely difficult to find another one. Companies look for younger people, rather than … Let’s say, middle-aged people

“I think when a person works and is able to provide for yourself, it gives you self respect. I feel that being a military spouse, you must be a special breed. Not everybody can be a military spouse. I think courage is something that is required, and a lot of strength and determination.”

The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Endeavors is celebrating its five year anniversary in August. Since opening in 2018, the mental health clinic has served more than 2,100 military veterans, active duty service members and their families throughout Central Texas. For more infor mation, go to www.cohenveteransnetwork.org.