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Veterans Day: Sgt. Anne
posted at 2009-11-11 09:26 | Last modified 2010-02-15 11:21
One of the best things about my job is that, every so often, I get to sit down with someone who has a great story to tell. Today, it was this year's Veterans' Day Parade Grand Marshall, 90-year-old Staff Sgt. Anne Perry Capucille.
Capucille was one of the first - maybe the first - female drill sergeant in the US Army. And boy, does she have some great stories about the early days of what was then the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, or WAAC.
My story from this morning is here, if you missed it. But I couldn't fit all the good stuff into 7 minutes, so here are some of my favorite outtakes from our interview.
Capucille explains how she ended up NOT becoming an MP. (This is hilarious.)
Listen Now!
Capucille remembers her friendship with a bereaved mother in Daytona Beach in 1942.
Listen Now!
Capucille explains how early WAACs did their best to circumvent khaki Army underwear.
Listen Now!
For more, check out Capucille's 2004 video interview for the Veterans History Project. It's online here at the Library of Congress.
Interested in learning more about WAAC?
- - The US Army has an official history of the group.
- - The Women's Army Corps Veterans' Association offers more details.
- - And the Metropolitan State College of Denver (the site of one of the WAAC training camps) has a nice multimedia site.
Comments? Drop me a line.
