Born dirt poor on September 9, 1913, in Farrar, Texas, Mildred Allison picked cotton
as a child with his family. After high school, tired of low- or no-paying jobs during the
Great Depression, he enlisted in the United States Army on December 31, 1936. That three-year enlistment opened his eyes to a bigger world, including duty in China, and led
to a momentous second enlistment in 1940 that literally changed his life forever. Allison audio-taped his life’s story in retirement. His oldest daughter, Sandy Bishop, transcribed it for descendants – and now the public – to read. His grandson, Marc Bishop, researched the story further.
Getting Faith and Education
“We were Southern Baptist and attended Church regularly,” Allison recorded. One Sunday, “I felt an uncontrollable urge to run down the aisle to the alter to be saved. I was around the age of seven.” The preacher obliged and Allison became a Christian.
Naturally smart and curious about the world, Allison read lots of books and with his best friend, Lee Parks, rebuilt numerous cars. “I knew the only way to get out of the cotton field was to get an education and change my environment.” Allison was valedictorian of Munday High School, but he did not speak in front of others on graduation day because he was ashamed of wearing worn clothes and not having shoes.
Football and a Missed Opportunity
“I played tackle for Munday…from my freshman through senior year.” He scored his only touchdown on a trick play that tied the football game’s score, teammates got the extra point and they earned a conference title in 1931. “As I cleared the defensive players, moving from my left to the right…I began to realize that the end zone was in sight.” Allison received a football scholarship to Texas A&M College, but without a job to pay for room and board, he dropped out.
Bootlegging and a Lucky Escape
“Life was hard for most people during the late 20’s and early 30’s. There was never enough money and very little food.” The lure of easy money bootlegging liquor from Mexico to Fort Worth caught Allison like a fish.
On his third trip, “I backed my car into the worn down garage, to filthy looking Mexicans, who filled the back with the booze I was to deliver and was off to Texas, without a hitch, so I thought.” He hit a huge rut and the rear end went out, but a mechanic swapped repairs for beer. Then, someone followed him at high speed until a tire popped and the car stopped.
A man walked up from behind, hand on his sidearm. It was a Texas Ranger. “As the ranger moved closer to my car, I knew by the build, it was Uncle John.” A thousand to one chance!
His favorite Uncle John towed Allison to the first service station. Without any words being spoken, Allison realized, “This was my one and only get out of jail free card. He left, without any offer of help.” A mechanic traded booze for a patched tire. Next, the radiator broke and Allison barely made it to Fort Worth. However, only one bottle of Tequila remained!
Joining the Army
Although Allison attended a business school a while in 1936 and worked odd jobs, he’d finally had enough of eating beans three times a day and living like a pauper. “I knew it was time to make a major change in my life. So, in December 1936, I left school and enlisted in the United States Army for a three-year hitch.”
His first enlistment started at hot, sandy Fort Bliss, Texas. Marching. Physical training. Hand combat and marksmanship. Graduation and orders followed to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where Allison patrolled the Mexican border – a boring duty.
Next came California. “I got a good duty at the Presidio. I was a prisoner chaser for my unit.” One day, he fired warning shots close to three escaping prisoners and they stopped. On his last prisoner assignment, he and another soldier guarded a soldier on a train to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The prisoner had killed a man over a poker game and a prostitute.
Duty in China
“I spent the last year of my enlistment in China…We were there to train with the Chinese Army.” Japan had invaded Manchuria in 1931. “The training was for show. We would go out a couple times a week in force, and do mock battles. We were always sure to look impressive.”
Allison ended his enlistment there and took a troop ship to San Franciso
to be discharged. Entertainment came through poker games. One night, his cards couldn’t lose. “Hell, you know you’re hot when you win a pot of several hundred dollars on a pair of deuces.”
A New Car and Another Chase
After separating from the Army, Allison bought a new 1939 LaSalle touring car and headed home to Texas in style. Instead, he ended up in East Texas chasing bank robbers when his Uncle Marshall, a town marshal, jumped on the running board of his shiny car and shouted,
“Follow that car!” The bank robbers pelted the LaSalle with bullets from a tommy gun. Uncle Marshall shot the driver, causing him to crash. The chase ended with two bank robbers caught and Allison’s new vehicle ruined.
He moved to Fort Worth searching for a job. “I needed a job fast before I found myself living on the street.” The Gusher Cafe hired him as a dishwasher, fifty cents a day plus meals. It was hot and he was on his feet from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. “It was hard, disgusting work.” Unable to find other work, “I resolved that my best recourse was to re-enlist in the United States Army. I was unaware how this decision would change my life forever.”
Back to the Army
First, Allison was assigned to Fort Bliss again, under Lieutenant Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was then reassigned to Fort Lewis, Washington, near Canada, which was at war. “At Lewis, I was assigned as the company supply sergeant.”
It was August 1941 and America was not yet at war. Allison and four soldiers discussed joining the Canadian Army with their company commander to get into the fight. Captain Rosen advised them not to.
However, soon afterward, Allison submitted paperwork to purchase his discharge from the Army, which was permitted in pre-WWII. The Army did not respond. The man of action decided on a course of action.
A Life-Changing Decision
“On Friday, August 9, 1941, I returned to my company commander’s office and asked for a three-day pass with the intent of going to Canada to join their Army.” He told Captain Rosen of his plan. Remarkably, Rosen signed the pass anyway. Allison told him, “I have given it plenty of thought and believe this is what I need to do.”
Allison’s life was about to change forever. Henceforth, the Canadian and U.S. armies would play major roles in his life in the near and long term. Next month, read more about Sergeant – soon to be Corporal in the British Columbia Regiment – Allison’s extraordinary journey. • Story by Lt. Col. Richard Stephens, Jr., USAFR, Ret. website: Rich Travel Niche

Across Oklahoma, dedicated JROTC cadets enter high school classrooms with a profound desire to wear the uniform and serve their country. However, a major hurdle often stands in their way: meeting the military’s qualifying Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score. For many capable students, a lack of targeted test preparation closes the door on enlistment before they even graduate.

ASVAB Edge Academy-a veteran-owned organization led by 12-year U.S. Air Force and Army veteran Winnie Robinson-was founded to solve this exact problem. Our mission is clear: to increase enlistment eligibility for 11th and 12th-grade JROTC cadets through structured, data-driven ASVAB test preparation.

Proven Impact at Frederick Douglass High School

Earlier this year, ASVAB Edge Academy partnered with Oklahoma City Public Schools to launch a pilot ASVAB Test Prep Bootcamp at Frederick Douglass High School, running from December 3, 2025, to January 9, 2026.The results speak for themselves. Out of 30 enthusiastic participants, the three-week curriculum delivered a powerful impact, successfully moving 5 cadets from testing below thresholds to fully ready for enlistment.
As Principal Kevin Jones noted of the initiative, “Our pilot ASVAB Test Prep Bootcamp was successful through strategic partnership with ASVAB Edge Academy.” Furthermore, 100% of student feedback confirmed that the program’s pacing was “just right,” with specific focus placed on strengthening foundational math and verbal skills. This initiative directly aligns with forward-thinking frameworks like the OKCPS Future Driven 2030 strategic plan, which ensures graduates are fully prepared for enlistment, employment, or enrollment.

A Statewide Call to Action for Leaders
The success at Frederick Douglass High School is just the beginning. Veteran JROTC instructors across Oklahoma-including districts in Tulsa and Lawton-have expressed an urgent, growing need to scale this support so more cadets can achieve their dreams of service.
Achieving statewide impact requires collaboration. We are actively calling on state superintendents, school board members, government officials, and corporate partners who believe in this mission to step forward. If you want to know how to bring the proven OK LEADS ASVAB Prep Program to your school district and unlock new opportunities for your students, we want to hear from you.
Together, we can ensure that every young adult in Oklahoma who wants to serve our nation is given the academic tools to succeed.
To learn more about bringing a bootcamp to your district or to partner with ASVAB Edge Academy, visit www.asvabedgeacademy.org or contact our strategic team at 405-206-3377.
• Story and photos submittd by Quincy Benton | Strategic Advisor

by Freddy Groves
Let’s hear it for whistleblowers, especially when big money is involved, and most especially when some of that money should have gone into the pockets of veterans.
Specifically, starting in 2001, non-VA medical providers and veterans had 90 days to file for reimbursement for veterans who had sought emergency care. Then in 2022 the Cleland-Dole Act added the requirement that
non-VA providers submit payment requests within 180 days for providing nonemergency care. However, there was no mention of veterans having that same 180-day time limit to file for reimbursement, or any time limit at all.
The VA continued, however, to apply the original 90-day payment limit.
Enter the VA Office of Inspector General because of the whistleblower. When asked, the VA identified 78,000 claims — to the tune of $373 million — that had been denied because they didn’t meet the 90-day limit. And no, they hadn’t reviewed those 78,000 denied claims. Apparently there was confusion due to the fact that the law was written to give non-VA providers that 180 days, but not veterans.
Further confusion (or so it was said) arose because it wasn’t clear whether the 90-day filing period should begin on the date of discharge, the date of a veteran’s death during emergency treatment or the date it became clear that a third-party payer would not cover the claim. The VA sought clarification from the policy department … and promptly dropped the ball, not pursuing answers.
The VA began processing those claims, leaving it to the individual claims processors to decide whether they would use the 90- or 180-day limitation.
If you need to get emergency care at a non-VA medical facility, there are some rules you need to know so it will be paid for. You can read the
info at www.va.gov/resources/getting-emergency-care-at-non-va-facilities so you’ll know what you should do in an emergency. For example, going to urgent care doesn’t count. And someone needs to tell the VA within 72 hours that you’ve had a medical emergency. You can notify the VA at 844-724-7842.

Lisa Hendricks was born and raised in Tulsa. Her father restored art professionally, exposing her to the trade from a young age. Her path to becoming one of Tulsa’s public artists began somewhere else entirely: the U.S. Navy.
Her parents were not wealthy, so Hendricks saw the military as her only realistic route to receiving a formal education. Two years after high school, in 1981, she visited a recruiter’s office and weighed every branch. Small in stature, she didn’t think she would be a good fit in the Marines or Army. Her father’s Air Force service earned her admiration, but her love of the ocean and skill as a swimmer pulled her toward the Navy.
Serving in the Navy exceeded her expectations, especially once she resumed schooling while enlisted. It wasn’t easy as women were rare in the Navy during that time. During a posting in Cuba she was one of few female sailors and was closely watched and stereotyped by the men around her. After nearly three years, she transferred to the Nuclear division in Norfolk, Virginia. She was assigned to NAVSEA 8, the command overseeing East Coast nuclear submarines. One of her duties while there was to help retrieve the radioactive debris from the Challenger explosion.
As a Nuclear Controls Specialist, Hendricks monitored radiation levels in submarine reactor cooling systems and tested the safety of onboard nuclear weapons. Her small frame let her do work most men couldn’t like squeezing into tight spaces to run cords or reach behind equipment. This made her feel essential, even when she sometimes felt used because of it. She still did her duty without complaint, never chasing recognition.
Hendricks left active service in 1989 and immediately went to work at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. At her father’s urging and because of his worries about the threat of war, she returned to Tulsa after four years.
Back home, Hendricks began helping her father and rediscovered her love of pencil drawing. Growing up surrounded by his work, she was self-taught. Drawing became an emotional outlet during this period of rebuilding her identity. She took a job as an operator at Ford Glass where she encountered a hiring culture built around family connections and was initially treated as an outsider. She became a journeyman machinist and spent close to 17 years sharpening her eye for precision, a quality that fed directly into her art work.
When Ford Glass closed, Hendricks moved into aerospace manufacturing with Spirit AeroSystems, became a quality engineer, then transferred to Triumph Aerospace. This included a five-year assignment inspecting airplanes in Israel. She retired in 2021, using an educational benefit to earn degrees from Northeastern State University in Homeland Security and Criminal Justice. She had already earned degrees in physics and mathematics.
Known for painting tiny, intricate objects like tea bags and eggs, Hendricks built a following through craft shows and a local artists’ website, which led the Skiatook Art Center to invite her in. After she painted a winter mural on the building’s front, the owner asked her to tackle the opposite wall with a tribute to military service. Looking at a painting that hung in his office gave her the insight as to how she might give honor to the warriors of past and present. She initially refused, insisting she only worked on small items. As she was exiting his office, she locked eyes with a portrait of his father on a wall of honor dedicated to his military service. He beckoned her to say yes and she did.
What began as a planned 12-by-16-foot piece grew to 20 by 20 feet. Hendricks spent a month preparing and 20 days painting, often 12 to 16 hours a day. She started from a grid cut from her late father’s roll of drafting paper that was laid out on her ping pong table.
The mural, Tribute to America’s Warriors, portrays the cost of service. No one in it is smiling. It depicts and honors Native Americans, Buffalo Soldiers and Freedom Riders, honoring those who lived on the land first. A chief and a bald eagle watch over the scene. A pair of military boots sit at the bottom of the mural symbolizing all that’s left behind when a service member doesn’t come home and honors all who have fought to keep our land and our country free.
Unveiled on July 25th at the Skiatook Art Center, the mural drew far more attention than Hendricks expected. She received a Citation of Recognition from the Oklahoma State Senate, an honor she calls humbling and surreal and one she says was not just for her but
for everyone represented on the wall. • story by Jill Stephenson, contributing writer

Staff Sergeant Bill Dooley and four team members donned gas masks with respirators, heavy-duty rubber gloves and coveralls to avoid smelling or touching Vietnam War-era Herbicide Orange, aka, Agent Orange, they were removing from 15,000, 55-gallon
drums. Forty-nine years later, his military service-connected disability increased to 70% after he proved his connection to Agent Orange. The PACT Act helped him qualify for the higher rating.

Operation Pacer HO (Herbicide Orange)
Dooley, a logistics specialist with the 2953rd Combat Support Logistics Squadron (CLSS), deployed to the Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Mississippi, with 20 other Airmen from Tinker AFB for six weeks between April and June 1977. He left Martha, his wife, and three children behind. CLSS’ from the Air Force Bases at Kelly, San Antonio, and Hill also deployed to remove the defoliant.

Preparation
Dooley remembered squadron leadership saying, “that we’d be taken care of with clothing and appropriate material during getting rid of the herbicide orange…And I’ll say this, they did.” He added, “Before we went, we were all tested for various things in our system”
Medical testing, for heart, for lungs, for any ailments. When we got through with the job, we were tested three different months to see if there was any difference from the beginning.”

On site
Dooley, the third person in the assembly line, served as the tipper and sprayer. After tipping the barrel over, “I sprayed it with diesel fuel with a little foot thing (lever) which would shoot up and clean it.” The Gulfport Sun Herald newspaper reported, “Both the herbicide and fuel will be pumped into railroad tank cars.”
On their last work day, one of the guys attached a white sheet to the railroad car with the wording, “Bye, bye Herbie. And he sat on top of the railroad car,” said Dooley. “It was a good feeling.”

What was Herbicide Orange like?
“Kind of reddish-brown color,” remembered Dooley. It had the consistency of vegetable oil. Were there vapors? Yes. “That’s why we wore a gas mask all the time.” A smell? “It had a horrible smell…musty…and it was on our clothes. They burned our clothes when we
got all through.”

What happened to the defoliant?
Newspaper reports said that once the railcars were filled with defoliant, they were moved to the Port of Gulfport, where hoses transferred the defoliant to the incinerator ship Vulcanus. The ship sailed near Johnston Island in the Pacific Ocean where the liquid was burned. The Environmental Protection Agency approved the entire plan.

Homecoming
Even at home, Dooley said, “You could smell it all the time. It wasn’t a nauseating smell, and it perforated everything you wore. My wife said she could smell me for about several months afterwards, no matter how much I shaved, no matter how much I bathed.”
Tinker’s deployed CLSS members received Air Force Commendation Medals.

Disability
Dooley retired as a Master Sergeant on November 1, 1984, with 21 years of service and a 10% disability rating from the VA for having an enlarged heart. On February 12, 2023, the VA increased it to 40% after evaluating his kidneys, diabetes and heart. Finally, after talking with veterans and reading about the PACT Act (Honoring our Promise to Address
Comprehensive Toxics Act, a law signed in 2022), Dooley, who lives in Del City, requested and received extensive VA tests. Result? His major conditions identified hypertension, coronary artery disease and chronic kidney disease. Those findings increased his overall disability rating to 70% on Dec. 15, 2025.

Advice to veterans
“I looked into the possibility of increasing my disability because of my handling of Agent Orange,” Dooley said. “I hope veterans will read this and if they’re not feeling well, check with the Veterans Administration.”
He encourages veterans to seek testing if they believe their past or current military service has affected their physical or mental health.

Veteran resources
“The PACT Act is a law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. This law helps us provide generations of Veterans-and their survivors – with the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve.” (from the VA website at www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-vabenefits/)

This soldier did not see combat; he dealt with WWII’s aftermath.

He travelled through destroyed towns in France and Germany and saw old people and children picking up rubble to make homes. Guarded German POWs. Met Displaced Persons in camps. Aimed his M-1 Carbine at U.S. Army Military Police. These were some of Private Floyd Cheatwood’s actions in 1946 at age 19 while occupying defeated Germany after WWII.
Eighty years later and 5,125 miles from that, Cheatwood was the center of attention oan June 11, 2026, as 70 family, friends and fellow residents celebrated his 99th birthday at the Norman Veterans Center.
Cheatwood was drafted to active duty Army Air Corps service on August 19, 1945, before WWII ended. After basic military training, he went to several locations in the United States before de-boarding a troop ship in Le Havre, France, in January, 1946. In February, he arrived at his assigned unit, 9th Aviation Engineer Command, Erlangen Army Airfield, Bavaria, Germany.

Erlangen Duty
Soldiers slept and worked at Ferris Barracks, a former Wehrmacht post with little war damage. “They rebuilt it before we got there and that was the best barracks I ever stayed in. It had those marble floors and bathtubs.”
Cheatwood’s primary duty was to repair special purpose, heavy-duty bulldozers and other civil engineering construction equipment. He served there through August, 1946, before departing on emergency leave to the United States because his step-mother died.

Additional Duty
“I was in the bed (of a two-and-a-half-ton truck), guarding four prisoners. I was sitting there with a carbine across my lap. The guy that was driving was reckless, turned the corner real quick. I went out in the bed of the truck, and the rifle went over, slid against the cab. I was thinking, ‘Well, I’ve had it now.” You know, a new soldier. They gingerly got out of their seat, all four of them, went over there and picked me up, took me back and set me on the bench, and put the rifle back in my lap,” he said, smiling. “And right then I just thanked the good Lord for what was happening. All they wanted to do was go home. The war was over. They did not want any problems.” He guarded up to 19 Germans at a time.

Military Police Incident
“My sergeant told me to guard the building…not let nobody in the driveway. He said it was some stuff being stolen.” A jeep full of MPs pulled up and Cheatwood told them they could not park there. “One said, ‘Do you think you could get that carbine around before I got this .45 out of the holster?’ And crazy me, I pointed the rifle right at his throat and that was kind of scary. And I said, ‘Buddy, I’ve got a round in the chamber.’ One of them in the back seat said, ‘Well, we can park somewhere else because the kid is just doing what he’s told.’” Cheatwood said, “I thank the Lord that it didn’t come to that because I had the rifle pointing right at his throat. I felt bad about that ever since.” Was a bullet in the rifle’s chamber? No. “I played their bluff.”

Displaced Persons
“I talked to some of those people from Denmark, Sweden,” Cheatwood said. “They was in the next compound compared to our compound. The fence was 20 feet high. They had thousands that had come there from being repatriated, waiting for somebody to put them on the paths to where they could go back home.” This was the Erlangen Displaced Camp which held 822 people who were Holocaust survivors, forced laborers and refugees, according to Arolsen Archives.

It’s the Army or Me
After his step-mother’s funeral, Cheatwood didn’t return to Germany. Instead, he qualified as a paratrooper, rode gliders and worked on heavy equipment at various Army posts. He was honorably discharged as an E-5 Staff Sergeant in August, 1949. As a civilian, he worked for Halliburton, the City of Oklahoma City, and at Transcon.
Cheatwood did not reenlist. Why? He stated, “Fell in love…She said either the Army or me so I became a poor, foolish civilian.” So, he married Helen Jean Spaniel from Seminole in 1948. They were married 48 years before she died. After four years, he married Elva Jean, who died in 2015.
Older brother Ralph fought in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, 31-year career. Younger brother Charles fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, 20-year career. Floyd’s family includes one son, Tommy Lynn Cheatwood, and daughters Susan Ann Chavez, who is a retired U.S. Army Reserve nurse, and Marilyn K. Cheatwood. • Story by Lt. Col. Richard Stephens, Jr., USAFR, Ret. website: Rich Travel Niche

By Jill Stephenson
U.S. Army Camp Frank D. Merrill serves as the home of the 5th Ranger Training Battalion and hosts the demanding Mountain Phase of the U.S. Army Ranger School.
Taking place annually during the last weekend of April, a ceremony is held to honor six fallen rangers for a one year period.
During the annual 5th Ranger Training Battalion’s Open House, the U.S. Mountain Ranger Association (USMRA) is honored to add the names of Fallen Rangers to a memorial sign at the bridge spanning the Etowah River on Camp Frank D. Merrill. Family and friends are welcomed to attend and join in honoring these fallen comrades.
Every Ranger student who has trained at Camp Frank D. Merrill has, at some point during their time in the mountains, crossed this bridge. Walking beneath the sign, students are reminded of the “Ranger Way” and the legacy embodied by each name.
To be considered for the Fallen Ranger Memorial, a nominee must be put forward by a USMRA member and meet the association’s membership qualifications – either as a graduate of Ranger School or as someone who served in combat with a Ranger unit. The sponsoring member must submit a packet, including a biography and photo of the nominee, no later than the February USMRA meeting. The six nominees are then selected for honor.
I was fortunate to attend this year’s event as my son, CPL Benjamin Kopp, was one of the Rangers selected to be honored. Coinciding with the new names being added to the memorial bridge sign, a “critter cookout” takes place on Friday night which is truly a BBQ event on a large scale. While there may be some wild game included in the cookout, it’s mostly basic hamburgers and hotdogs. On Saturday the camp is open to the public for
a family friendly event. Local folks not usually allowed onto this military post
are bused into the rural hideaway. Families are treated to witness simulated battle scenarios, rappelling displays from blackhawk helicopters and hand-to-hand combat demonstrations. The event also features interactive displays of military vehicles, tactical equipment, a shooting range and mountaineering gear. The event brings everything up close and personal providing a front row seat to active duty military men/women presenting a sampling of the training and skills they possess. Witnessing a Black Hawk touch down just 100 yards away – watching men fast-rope to the ground, pull others to safety, then lift back into the sky while clinging together on that same rope – reveals
the depth of character and mettle such a feat demands.
Camp Merrill does not have a large footprint compared to other military posts, however it is the place where blood, sweat and probably some tears are left behind as those attending the Ranger leadership course attempt to earn the coveted Ranger tab over a period of twenty-one days. It is divided into four phases: lower and upper mountaineering, mountain
techniques, and tactical operations. Students negotiate mountainous terrain, conduct day and nighttime repelling, build rope bridges, and move cross-country conducting day and night combat missions. This is the kind of place that quickly turns boys into men, although there are numerous men over the age of forty that have completed the course. Its purpose is to develop combat survival skills in a realistic environment.
The annual nominees for the fallen Ranger memorial can come from any era of service and they don’t have to be killed in action, just no longer living.
As seen in the photo of the 2025 honorees, there are two famous men who died just prior to being nominated; Kris Kristofferson and James Earl Jones. While most Rangers are humble, I believe my son was honored to welcome them Home and to stand proudly beside them at their final checkpoint.
I have always felt a sense of reverence to walk where my son walked. I spoke to him several times while he was held over during the Mountain Phase for an extra three weeks. He was inspired by the veterans who had come before him and made friends with others currently serving at Camp Merrill. In our conversations it was clear to me he was becoming something he wouldn’t have ever imagined – a name on a sign alongside other nominated legends. At Mountain Ranger Camp my Ben learned important skills that readied him for combat, earned him a tab of honor and secured a place in Ranger history.

Priscilla Adams stood before a room full of women veterans being honored on June 13th at the Claremore Veterans Home and reminded them that their stories, sacrifices, and voices matter. For far too long, she said, women veterans have been the ones left out of the conversation.
As the keynote speaker for the event, her own story began long before she put on a uniform. Her father was a Marine and taught her the value of discipline and hard work. He convinced her to join the Navy instead of the Air Force, something she still teases him about. Her mother was tough when it counted, but loved just as fiercely. Through 21 years of service, her husband and her family carried her. She said her husband made countless sacrifices for their family, often taking on the role of both parents when her military and professional responsibilities pulled her away. Her son, now 23, recently graduated from college after earning a football scholarship. Her daughter holds a brown belt in karate and wrestles for her high school team. She says she is a force to be reckoned with.
Adams is candid about what her service actually cost. In 2004, she deployed to Iraq supporting special operations with a helicopter squadron. Her son was only a one-year-old and just learning to walk. She stated that as a 22-year-old, the deployment was hard, frightening, and rewarding all at once. She witnessed combat, sacrifice, and the incredible bond shared by her brothers and sisters in arms who are all willing to do anything for each other. These are experiences that cannot truly be understood by someone who wasn’t there.
Her career wasn’t without its battles closer to home. She described serving
under a commanding officer who had a particular issue with women and would
berate her loud enough for the whole office to hear. At the time she was leading a
team of thirty sailors, a team that went on to pass every inspection and earned Command of the Year. Rather than let the commander’s behavior define her leadership, she chose restraint, and years later, when he asked her to speak at his retirement, she did so with grace. She reflected that true leadership is not about titles or circumstances, it’s about leading from the front, maintaining your integrity, and setting an example no matter what the situation.
Adams speaks with deep respect for the generations of women who served before her, many who did so quietly and without recognition. She sees it as her responsibility to help preserve their stories for the generations to come.
Having earned the rank of Chief Yeoman, when her Navy career ended, she found the transition to civilian life brought its own kind of challenge. The structure and identity the military gave her had to be rebuilt. She found it in a career as an HR Director, where
she says the skills she developed while wearing the uniform translated directly into civilian leadership.Those skills included communication, adaptability and conflict resolution.
Her service didn’t stop there. Today, she works as a Veteran Service Officer for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. She helps veterans and their families navigate the often confusing process of claiming the benefits they’ve earned. She is especially drawn to helping other women veterans. Sadly, she has found that many of them don’t even think of themselves as “veterans” in the same way men do, or they assume someone else needs the help more than them. Her work is incredibly rewarding. She enjoys being able to educate them about the benefits they have not only earned, but also deserve because they answered the call to serve our country.
At one point during her speech she asked the veterans in the room to stand. First those
who served during wartime, then overseas, then those who raised children while serving. Looking around at the women on their feet, she stated, “This is what strength and resilience looks like. This is the legacy of women veterans.”
Adams advised the young women actively serving now to share their story, offer guidance, and never underestimate the difference they can make from leading by example.
In addition to Adams, there were more than a dozen women veterans in attendance,
including two who reside at the Veterans Home. There were door prizes, a potluck luncheon and a full sheet cake for all to enjoy. The event was sponsored by the Claremore VFW Post 2976 Auxiliary and the American Legion Unit 141 Auxiliary. • story
by Jill Stephenson, contributing writer

By Freddy Groves

I ran into a guy recently, a fellow veteran, who I hadn’t talked to in years. And he was limping, badly. When I asked, he said he needed knee surgery and couldn’t afford it.
I asked if he’d looked into VA health care, and he replied that he’d applied years ago and got nowhere with the VA, so he gave up.
Before we even left the store, I had my phone out and placed a call to the local VSO (veteran service officer).
I got the two of them hooked up with an appointment and the VSO is going to walk my friend through all the paperwork.
It should not be this hard for a veteran to get health care.
A big problem is that many veterans tried to deal with the VA years ago, became frustrated and gave up, not realizing that things have changed.
If you were turned down for VA health care, apply again. The PACT Act has changed many things, including expanded locations for exposure to Agent Orange and two dozen new presumptive conditions. If you got hung up trying to get Community Care, try again. The rules are different now.
Or if you never had VA health care, sign up now. Go to the website (www.va.gov) and search for VA Form 10-10EZ. Check whether you’re eligible for VA health care. Have your DD-214 handy and any other military paperwork you have. The online process takes about a half hour.
If you don’t think you can handle the online application process yourself, look for a local VSO. See www.va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative. Or call the MyVA411 information line at 800-698-2411. They’re open 24/7. You can also contact the American Legion near you or the DAV.
A VSO can do a lot of things for you: tell you about the benefits you’re supposed to get, assemble documents, help with appeals and so much more.
Or call the benefits hotline at 877-222-8387 to ask about enrolling in VA health care by phone.

At its July 6th meeting, the Oklahoma Veterans Council (OVC), representing 23 veterans service organizations across the state, discussed the proposed Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237) and its potential impact on Oklahoma’s veterans.
The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act is a comprehensive 554-page legislative package that combines more than 60 individual bills aimed at reforming and modernizing the delivery of health care and disability benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
While the legislation has been endorsed by a coalition of more than 20 national veterans organizations because it advances numerous long-standing initiatives in a single bill, it has also generated significant concern within the veterans community.
A primary concern is the legislation’s funding mechanism. Much of the projected cost savings comes from updating
the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities, including proposed changes to future disability ratings for conditions such as sleep apnea and tinnitus. Veterans who are currently receiving disability compensation for these conditions would generally not have their existing benefits reduced solely because of these rating changes. However, veterans whose disabilities are reevaluated under applicable VA rules could be affected depending on the outcome of those reviews.
Major veterans service organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), oppose the legislation because they believe it finances new veterans’ programs by reducing future disability compensation for other disabled veterans. According to a VA analysis, the proposed changes could reduce future disability compensation by an estimated $57 billion over the next 10 years, affecting as many as 1.5 million veterans.
Although the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act includes many positive provisions that would benefit veterans, the Oklahoma Veterans Council believes those improvements should not come at the expense of reducing future disability compensation for disabled veterans.
After discussion, the Oklahoma Veterans Council voted unanimously to oppose the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act (H.R. 9237) in its current form because of its potential impact on Oklahoma veterans. The Council respectfully urges Oklahoma’s congressional delegation to oppose any legislation that funds new veterans’ benefits by reducing disability compensation for other disabled veterans.