SSG Victoria Ryan, U.S. Army (1973-1988)

I never knew my natural father, although I learned that he had been in the Army. My stepfather was stationed in the Philippines during WWII; however, he never spoke of his time on active duty during the war.

Fast-forward to 1970, when my younger brother was 18 and Richard Nixon was the US President. The Vietnam War was in full force, and changes regarding military enlistment were afoot; a military draft lottery drawing had been instituted the prior year. My mother was terrified that my brother Bill would be drafted, sent to Vietnam, and killed. Rather than take his chances with becoming a draftee, Bill enlisted in the Army as a surveyor, went to Fort Sill, OK and on to Germany for his permanent duty station in 1971.

The following year, my sister Debi, who was the baby of the family, was despondent over the absence of our brother, and she followed suit by enlisting in the Army as well. She pursued military police training, which led to her initial duty assignment as the first female Military Police Officer assigned to the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, located about 20 miles from where my parents resided in Beacon, NY.

I, being the wayward, rebellious older sister, chose another path, which led me to Southern California and ensuing chaos in my life. In short order, my mother convinced me to abandon the chaos and pursue the well-traveled road of my brother and sister into the Army. I heeded her advice with never a regret to follow.

Basic training and AIT (advanced individual training) were eye-openers. But, my brother, far away in Germany, would send me cassette tapes with recordings of the Moody Blues music, knowing that I had followed his musical musings to become an overwhelming fan of their music. It soothed and sustained me, as it still does today.

While at my first duty station, Fort Dix, NJ, my sister became engaged and married at West Point. Being driving distance, I could participate in her wedding, although my brother was still stationed in Germany.

When I became reassigned to Hawaii in early 1974, my brother was discharged from the Army and I was able to attend his welcome-home party before driving to CA in order to ship my car to Hawaii. Bill subsequently enrolled at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to pursue a degree in architectural design.

When my assignment in Hawaii was drawing to a close, I decided to reenlist and chose West Point as my new duty station. It was close to home and my sister was stationed there. Many bittersweet memories remain from the times we shared from late 1975 through 1977, when she was reassigned for additional training at Fort McClellan, AL.

We took on-post college courses together; we joined an indoor tennis club and spent much time on the court and in the bar afterward, drinking beer. Debi lived in a one-bedroom apartment over a diner, just outside West Point in Fort Montgomery. I was renting an apartment in Newburgh then, but when Debi was reassigned, I took over the lease on her apartment. We shared many lunches at various cafes just outside the main gate and even attended a football game or two when the cadets had home games.

Debi and I once again found ourselves stationed in close proximity to one another from 1982 to 1985. She was in Wildflecken, Germany while I was stationed in Holland. We would often get together on holidays, and we attended Spandau Ballet and Julio Iglesias concerts in Germany; not to mention the numerous shopping trips to the Centrums in both countries.

The times I shared with my brother and sister, all three of us on active duty simultaneously, albeit often in separate locations, still brings a smile to my face, although they have both been long gone from this world.

Read the Military Memories of our Runner-Ups.