A Journey Through Time: A Show Not to be Missed

One of the things we learned after talking with Kristin Henderson about her book, is that our generation of milspouses owe a lot to those who came before us. Specifically, the Vietnam-era wives. Many procedures, such as casualty notification, were revamped thanks to input from the past generation, who had to endure some rather harsh conditions.

The military is constantly changing. Constantly. I am convinced that our generation has it so much better than previous generations, thanks to a variety of factors, including the wives themselves. We play the hand that we are dealt, but that doesn't mean lessons can't be learned from each generation of milspouses.

Tomorrow evening on SBTR, we're going to have a great show. We'll take a journey through time, which will begin with a conversation with Elaine, a Vietnam-era spouse. I've already had the benefit of listening, with great awe, to some of Elaine's stories. Trust me, you'll want to listen to them, too. We'll compare and contrast our experiences from Vietnam to Desert Storm to the current Global War on Terror. Stephanie, a relatively new milspouse, will join us to discuss what it's like to marry into the military during wartime.

Tomorrow night is sure to be a fascinating look how military life has changed, and how it's stayed the same, over the past 40+ years. Join us at 9:00 p.m. EST. As always, we'll be in the chat room, too.

Comments

[HH7]

Sounds very interesting, right up my alley. I love to hear the stories my grandmother and mother have. Neither of them were "war brides" (grandfather joined AF right after WWII ended and father was active duty btwn Vietnam and Desert Storm) but my how things have changed.

After dh left for his 1st tour in Iraq I found a book at an antique store called "So Your Husband's Gone To War" It was written for military wives in the WWII era. I haven't had a chance to read it yet but I may curl up and finish it after tomorrow's show.

[Vypergirl]

I remember talking to a lovely lady a few years ago in an airport who is a widow of a Vietnam soldier. It was very sad to hear her speak about the way they were treated. Someone even broke into her house and vandalized it after her husband was killed!! Just because he was a soldier in the war. It was very hard to hear her talk about it.

I am glad that it isn't anywhere near that bad now. I will be looking forward to the show!!

[Marine Wife]

We knew a great couple in 29 Palms. He had served in WWII (he was actually at Tarawa), Korea AND Vietnam. His stories were fascinating and very motivating, especially to the young Marines. But I found his wife's quiet stories of what it was like for her at home with the children equally fascinating. And you're right, Andi, they had it much harder than we do. Whenever I think of prior generations of mil-spouses, but especially those I've actually spoken to, I think how lucky I am and how much easier I have it. That's usually when I think, "Okay, stop whining and suck it up!"