Life-Altering Moments: Experiencing War: Veterans History Project (Library of Congress)

Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project

War can change everything in a person's life, whether in a split-second as a bullet whizzes by, or over a long campaign as a young soldier comes to a fuller understanding of himself or herself. No other experience can have this kind of transforming power, the ability to bring life into sharper focus and help us appreciate it in all its dark complexity and its simple beauty.

"When I look back on it, I realize we knew we were breaking ground..."

Answering the call to duty during wartime is one thing, but making a thirty-three year career out of the military was not something Jeanne Holm planned on. Thanks to World War II, Holm got in on the ground floor for women in uniform and rose through the officer ranks to become the first woman Major General in the Armed Forces. Along the way she fought many battles--not in combat, but against outdated barriers to women's full participation in national defense.