O'Leary Show Segment

Bonnie O'Leary, Retired Major in the Air Force

Representative for WIMSA at AARP Biennial Convention - Denver, Colorado 1996

Q: Would you tell us how you got involved in the Air Force.

A: Well I grew up in the military. My father was a Marine officer for 32 years so I always loved the military and grew up in it and Daddy was always saying, "Why don't you look into the military." and when I tried, they said, "Finish college." and then by the time I finished college, the war was over. So then I worked in radio and television in New York and in Hollywood in films, and I heard that they were having a TV unit in the Air Force so I applied and was given a direct commission as a First Lieutenant as a Television Director.

Q: What kinds of things were you directing?

A: Well, the unit was mobile, it was in three buses and we traveled around and we would make training films. They didn't really, they hadn't perfected tape in '52, so they, we had what was called a hot process kinescope recording. It was put on film from the big TV cameras. So we did training films. Unfortunately we could make training films for 100 dollars a minute and we were under the motion picture people who were paying 1000 dollars a minute. Our product wasn't quite as slick so they managed to get the TV squadron killed. There was another woman in the squadron, there were 100 men and two women in the video squadron.

Q: So when the squad was gone, what did you do then?

A: Well then I, I decided I'd get into Armed Forces Radio TV and to do that, I had to be an Information Officer. They now call it Public Affairs. So I went overseas as a Program Director for the Air Force stations in Europe and the Middle East.

Q: How did you find the treatment of yourself as a woman? Is it any different?

A: Well in 1952 when I would wear the uniform in public, I was taken as a flight attendant. No one seemed to know that women were in the military and had been in since 1775.

Q: But was your treatment overseas any differently when you were wearing the uniform?

A: No, in Germany I was Frau Houtman. They, they seemed to realize better over there that women were in the military. Actually, I think the only problem I had was just with one or two of my fellow officers. One of them said to me one day, "You've done network television, I'm jealous." So there was that aspect of it. But the airmen were wonderful. Never had any problem with them. One problem, they'd call me by my first name. I remember one day I had directed a television show and this airman said, "Oh, Bonnie, that was great." and I took him aside and said, "Look, I'm Lieutenant O'Leary. I don't care what you call me but if a Colonel happens to hear you call me Bonnie, it might be a problem." But they were great.

Q: Do you think the fact that it's taken so long for this type of a memorial, is it based on the fact that generally men write the histories and so.....

A: I think that's it. The whole, our whole American history has been written by men and as Kay Keating says, women were not educated and didn't keep diaries, but I have, I happen to have a slide show on the whole history of women in the military and we go back to the Crusades.

Q: To the Crusades?

A: And a lot of the Queens, what interests me is. Cleopatra was a brilliant military strategist. She came up with a monetary system and a way to tell time. But all you hear about Cleopatra now is what a sex pot she was.

Q: Or Anthony.

A: Yeah, that's all you hear of historical Catherine the Great had many lovers but she led her troops into battle.

Q: So, with this memorial are we hoping to not only put this history in front of the world but also to rewrite the history that's been taught for the past years?

A: Yeah, bring it back out like Dr. Mary Walker won the Medal of Honor in the Civil War and they're digging up women's bodies on Civil War battlefields. May women posed as men and fought in the Revolutionary War and in, in the Civil War.

Q: Now when we talk about the memorial, you're talking about women who might have served at any time so if they have relatives alive....

A: That's it. Anyone who has, I had a letter recently from a woman who had an ancestor who was in the Revolutionary War.

Q: And so they're interested in making sure this information is now part of..

.. A: We want anyone who knows a woman who served in 1775 to call 1-800-I-Salute or the numeral for it.

Q: And what kind of, tell us a little bit about what this is all going to look like. How it's going to work.

A: Well there's an old hemicycle that was built at the entrance to Arlington about 63 years ago and it has fallen into disrepair. It's quite a beautiful curved structure but it's in terrible shape. The salts have come through the marble and it really, I was shocked, I was at the groundbreaking in June of 1995 and it's shocking what's happened to it. But they gave it to us. We had to find quite a few million dollars but construction has begun and there will be a dedication hopefully in the Fall of 1997. It's going to have about a 200 seat theater where there will be a multimedia production on women in the military. It'll have the most exciting thing in the center, a computer room where you can go and get Great Grandma Suzy and there will be a computer printout with her picture and her history. It's one of the largest genealogical efforts ever been made in the country. But the main thing is to find the women. The press hasn't helped us much. I've been involved with a lot of that because I wound up as an Information Officer in the Air Force and the press, unless it's rape or tail hook, or sexual harassment, press generally doesn't seem to want to help us. If Oprah would do one TV show, we'd find a million women.

Q: Probably.

A: We found about 150 thousand out of 1.8 million.

Q: So you have a way to go.

A: But some of the people, if they would just do a program on it, I got a card back from Donahue 8 years ago, not interested.

Q: That seems a shame because it's as if they want the continuation of not knowing the true history of what's happened or who helped to protect or defend or do the various jobs. I mean, when the women came in and during World War II, they were never supposed to be part of combat or that sort of thing right?

A: They were in World War I. We had a gal who just died last Fall, she was 106 years old, had been a Marine in World War I and I try to interest the local press. In fact, a reporter called me said, "Women were not really part of the Marine Corps." and I said, "Who told you that?" and he said, "Marine Corps." Turned out to be a recruiter. So he called me, he said, "Miss O'Leary, I understand you're saying that women were part of the Marine Corps." It was on my message machine. I called back and said, "Sergeant, this is Major O'Leary." His tone changed somewhat but I pointed out that they were a part of the Marine Corps and the Navy.

Q: Do you think that the military will change in its attitude towards women. I mean.....

. A: Oh I think it has immeasurably since I was in from '52 to '72 and it's, it's changed greatly.

Q: So what should all those people out there do if they have a loved one or......

A: Well the main thing is to call 1-800-I-Salute.

Q: And we'll see them...

A: Whether she's living or dead, you can give her immortality.

Q: One thing, is there a cost for this besides giving the information?

A: Well they had the original plan with 1.8 women veterans they needed about 25 million for the whole thing and they thought, "Well if we can find a million of the women at 25 dollars each. Also corporations can donate. We've had several very large ones. But everything is tax deductible, any contribution. But they would like 25 dollars. If a poor old lady is in a nursing home, there have been people who've given money. But anyway, we need to still raise a couple of million to furnish it. We found the 15 we needed to start construction.

Q: So, I, from what I hear, you need more women telling their story so that more of the world can understand that they just didn't sit behind a desk or do nothing.

A: Well you think of the women in the pioneer days, they were right in there. Louis and Clark couldn't have made their trip without Sacejewia. She led the way.

Q: But she's considered to be special as opposed to possibly being part of the regular way women were.

A: Yeah, well, I think things are changing.

Q: Good. Thank you very much.

A: Thank you.