I joined the Army 6/19/74, Looking for any women who served with me in Guam April, 1975. I am a female veteran who was stationed at Tripler Army Medical Center (Oahu, Hawaii) and subsequently deployed TDY to Guam for Operation New Life, at the fall of Saigon. During this operation, I was part of the historic contingent of approximately 100 Women’s Army Corps (WAC) personnel attached directly to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.

This assignment marked the first deployment of its kind in U.S. Army history. Breaking the Infantry Barrier: Prior to this specific 1975 mission, the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) operated as a entirely separate branch. We were strictly banned from combat arms units—meaning a woman could not legally be assigned or attached to an active Infantry Battalion.The Pioneer 100: When the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (“The Bobcats”) was tasked with executing the massive humanitarian and logistical layout of Operation New Life, the Army shattered this tradition. By attaching a contingent of 100 WAC personnel directly to a frontline infantry battalion, the military ran its very first large-scale operational test of integrated field deployment. Paving the Way for 1978: The incredible success of my group on Guam directly proved that the Army did not need a separate “Women’s Corps.” The performance of the 100 women attached to the 1-5 Infantry became a primary case study that led Congress to permanently disestablish the WAC in 1978 and fully integrate women into regular Army lines. My problem now is that I have terminal small cell lung cancer and cannot find any record of my being in Guam!

We were supposed to receive a Humanitarian Service Medal but I never got one. It would certainly help if I can get it, in order to receive my medical benefits under the PACT ACT, for exposure to Agent Orange. I am currently under a Priority Higher Review and am looking for any proof that I was TDY’d to Guam in 1975, Operation New Life. Thank you.