SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KRON) – As Veterans Day approaches, we are honoring those who served their country in military service at home and abroad.
In the spotlight is a veteran who served during the Vietnam War, one of the few women to have served in the Marine Corps.
Among those who deserve thanks for their service to our country is Kathleen Wright of Santa Clara, a former captain in the United States Marine Corps.
Captain Wright retired from the Marine Corps after serving from 1964 to 1976.
She was one of just 2,000 women to wear the uniform during the Vietnam War.
I rendezvoused with Kathleen recently at the Veterans Memorial in Santa Clara, which is graced by the names of Captain Wright and many other veterans.
She is honored, but it wasn’t always what way for the Vietnam-era veterans.
Times have changed for the better, but Wright says it was a different world for women in the military in those days.
Despite being held to a higher standard, Wright rose through the ranks from admin clerk to computer systems at the Pentagon that led to a long career later as an aerospace engineer back in the Bay Area.
Proudly wearing her Women Marines hat bearing the medals she earned, Kathleen says she never misses an opportunity to thank her fellow veterans for their service and is always touched when someone says that to her.