With Veterans Day coming up Thursday, two veterans were recently honored at the biannual Honor a Living Veteran ceremony in Albany.
The ceremony Thursday at Crossgates Mall included a crowd of veterans, friends and family members who came to recognize Penny Lee Deere and Hartley “Willie” Williams.
Deere is a 65-year-old veteran who enlisted in the Army at the age of 19, and served in the Gulf War. After her active duty, she founded Mindbodysoulpenny, Support Our Troops/Art4Vets, and Listening Library, all of which are programs to help veterans after service.
Williams, 87, enlisted in the Air Force at 19, and served in the Korean War. Known as “Willie,” he participated in Airborne Electronics Navigation Equipment Repair during his service, and moved to Antigua where he was the Rotary President. He returned to Albany County to retire with his wife.
The ceremony hosted by Albany County included a flag ceremony, when a color guard raises and lowers the flags before and after the event. Elected officials thanked the two honorees for their service.
When Deere first enlisted, she was in the Women’s Army Corps before it was integrated into the Army in 1978:
“It was from 1975 to 1995 I was in Desert Storm, Desert Shield. But also, I am kind of like a living fossil, in that I went through all the Cold War, watching Soviet Union dissolve, and making sure that that's all. And then we went on to Desert Storm and they changed the enemy on me,” she said.
She first started in the Army’s post office before transferring into intelligence work. She was stationed in Arizona.
“They needed intelligence and so I reclassified to – order of battle, it was called back then - intelligence analysts and that's a collaborative of bringing all the different intelligences together,” Deere said. “It might be imagery, humans, where we're actually talking to people, listening to people command and control. My job was to take all that information, put the puzzle together and tell the commander, in this case, it was Seventh Corps Commander General Franks, what he can expect on his battlefield.”
Even after leaving the military, servicemembers remained on her mind. She founded several organizations to help veterans acclimate to civilian life:
“So many of our returning veterans have trouble reintegrating into our community and I believe it's because they don't have a mission, they don't have a reason for being. I know that with Support our Troops Committee Arts4Vets - that is my mission, I start at 5 o'clock in the morning and I tell them that ‘this is what we're going to do today,’ or ‘this is what we're going to do in six months, we have to prepare for this,” she said. “I have a reason for being and, by me doing that, they now have their own tribe, they now they have their own collective and they have a reason for being, too.”
Democratic Albany County Executive McCoy says he got the idea for honoring living veterans after attending so many ceremonies recognizing veterans posthumously. The Democrat and veteran says one of the hardest things he had to do when first elected was speak at such events.
“But when I started talking to men and women in the audience, and I'm like, ‘Oh, how do you know the person?’ and they're like, ‘They helped, they did something for me.’ And I'm like, ‘I would have been nice if they're alive to hear that, you know, to know that people appreciate the influence they had on their life, or helped them in the right direction.’ So after like, the first two years, I'm like, ‘I’ve got to change this,” McCoy explained.
At the first in-person ceremony since COVID-19 took hold, Deere added it was an honor to be recognized.
“I am overwhelmed. I asked for the chair because my poor legs are (shaking) I actually was supposed to be recognized two years ago and then right before the pandemic, it was all closed down,” she said.
After being recognized at the biannual Honor a Living Veteran ceremony in Albany last week, 65 year-old veteran Penny Lee Deere spoke to WAMC about her service.
What was it like being a woman in the military back in the 1970s?
“Hi, my name is Penny Lee Deere, I was in the Women's Army Corps. What that means in today's world, it was a type of auxiliary. We were completely segregated from the men - we were actually young ladies. We were actually taught to dress. We did not go around half-naked. And then, in 1978, so that we all became equal, we all became members of the United States Army. And that meant I had to sign a new contract, because I'm no longer with the Women's Army Corps, I'm with the US Army. As we mentioned, I knew that I'd be gone for 20 years, it's just that they switched the branches on me and so it was from 1975 to 1995 I was in Desert Storm, Desert Shield. But also, I am kind of like a living fossil, in that I went through all the Cold War, watching Soviet Union dissolve, and making sure that that's all. And then we went on to Desert Storm and they changed the enemy on me.”
What would you tell young women now who want to join the military?
“I would definitely encourage women and men to join the service. The only thing that I like to say is, it's imperative that you have a buddy system, you know, nobody goes out and walks the street alone. So, by all means, somebody is going to have to have your back and we want to keep everybody safe. If we're not at war, right? I definitely encourage women, we need more, I think we're 13 percent of the population in the service and that's phenomenal. Now, remember, when I joined in 1975 - and we're on the battlefield, right? So, we've come a long way, baby. And I was one of those trailblazers.”
What type of work did you do in the service?
“So, when I first joined, I was in the post office. I did that for the first 10 years. I can run every aspect of a post office just like you would do out here in civilian life. The only difference is, when you're overseas, the Army runs the post office and when we went to Desert Storm, Desert Shield, it's free. When we were in war, all the mail was free sending our packages back-and-forth. The only reason I switched was I was having trouble getting promoted and you get stuck. And then really, in that day, if you didn't get promoted, it's kind of frowned upon. Anyway, they offered me a reclassification into military intelligence. I chose that field for a couple of reasons. I happened to be stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and that's where the intelligence school is. I was doing the promotion packets (at the post office) for all these folks that were much younger than me. And I said, ‘something's wrong.’ It's supply and demand. It wasn't that I wasn't a good soldier. They didn't need admin folks. They needed intelligence and so I reclassified to – order of battle, it was called back then - intelligence analysts and that's a collaborative of bringing all the different intelligences together. It might be imagery, humans, where we're actually talking to people, listening to people command and control. My job was to take all that information, put the puzzle together and tell the commander, in this case, it was Seventh Corps Commander General Franks what he can expect on his battlefield. So, he knew what it was out in front of him so that he takes - for instance, if there was an armor tank out in front of you, then you want to take either more tanks or Apache helicopters. Soldiers aren't going to kill a tank, that kind of thing. That was my job. So, I reclassified in ’86 and then I went to war in ‘89. We’d practice war games constantly and it kind of got to be mundane, but then it all made sense when it was important.”
How did you like serving veterans afterwards when there were such issues like the Gulf War Syndrome?
“So, this is my take on it. So many of our returning veterans have trouble reintegrating into our community and I believe it's because they don't have a mission, they don't have a reason for being. I know that with Support our Troops Committee Arts4Vets - that is my mission, I start at five o'clock in the morning and I tell them that ‘this is what we're going to do today,’ or ‘this is what we're going to do in six months, we have to prepare for this.’ I have a reason for being and, by me doing that, they now have their own tribe, they now they have their own collective and they have a reason for being, too. As we mentioned, our art (program) is (from) Washington, DC. The organization uniting us actually came and got our art from our veterans, family members and their and other members. So, there was 30 of us that sent our art - over 100 pieces of art – that is still traveling. It was in the Women's Memorial all through the summer. Now, it's a Walter Reed Army Medical Center. And there's three or four different other locations, if you want those locations I can let you know. But, we are in awe that we are nationally recognized. And, so, that's a good thing.”
As a veteran, what would you like to see the federal government do better to support vets?
“One of the things I was just talking to folks about is: be familiar with the alternatives that are available. Not only art - we do paddling, horseback riding or horse therapy, art therapy, music therapy, all these different alternatives. One of the things we mentioned was, I went to massage school, and I learned so much about the mind-body-soul-connection. I would like the VA, and anybody else who has anything to say about how we're serving our veterans, is - pills aren't the answer. That just masks the issues. I am a firm believer in giving back and paying it forward. We snip about what this what we're going to call that. It doesn't matter what you call it, just do it - doesn't matter.
How does it feel to be recognized?
I am overwhelmed. I asked for the chair because my poor legs are (shaking) I actually was supposed to be recognized two years ago and then right before the pandemic, it was all closed down. So it's kind of in like on a on a waiting thing, but I am, and I'm not blowing smoke here, I am honored and I can tell you that I'm ready to really retire. I'm going to step back let other folks do the Arts4Vets program. I'll still go and I'll be there for them, but I think it's time for somebody else to take the reins.”
