Women Marines still standing proud.

Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard

Karen Reeves laughed out loud about the trick that drill instructors played on her platoon, inviting the green recruits to a garden party, then handing them rakes, shovels and brooms with orders to clean up outside the barracks.

Maggie Wise shared a touching moment - the day she came home in her dress blues and made her dad so proud, it brought tears to his eyes.

Mary Alice Sidwell marveled at how tough basic training has gotten for women these days. "I couldn't pass what they do now," she said.

Sidwell and Wise are both pushing 80 and Reeves will never see 60 again. While they may not look the stereotypical part of gung-ho Marine Corps veterans, they earned their membership in the "always faithful" order.

Sidwell - somebody's grandma now - sports a "Semper fi" bumper sticker on her silver sedan. The Marine Corps anchor, globe and eagle emblem graces Reeves' black pickup truck. Wise still has a portrait of herself in uniform from all those years ago.

Members of the local chapter of the Women Marines Association, they'll be participating in Sunday's Veterans Day Parade. And like most vets, they've got a soft spot in their hearts for their own branch of the military.

Sidwell joined the Marines in 1944 during World War II when she was 20. "They had the highest standards," Sidwell said. "They were more disciplined."

Wise signed on at age 28 during the Korean War in 1953. A drill instructor asked platoon members why they had joined and she said: "I'm a snob, I guess. I always wanted the best, so I picked the best."

It wasn't just a slick line to impress the DI. Wise noticed how sharp Marines in uniform looked when she was a kid, growing up in Eugene. During World War II, she worked at the Hollywood Canteen in Los Angeles and the Marines who relaxed there impressed her once again.

When a girlfriend suggested that the two join the Navy, Wise told her: "Make it the Marines, and I'll go."

Though women in the Marines didn't get the cutesy monikers - WACS for women who served in the Air Force and WAVES for women in the Navy - they've been part of "the few, the proud" as far back as World War I.

During that war about 300 women served, primarily in clerical positions in Washington, D.C.

Then in 1942, the Women Marine Corps Reserve was formed by an act of Congress - the Marines were under pressure to double in size that year - and women were encouraged to join up so they could free men to fight.

During World War II, about 20,000 women served in the Marines. Besides office work, they rigged parachutes; drove cars, jeeps, trucks and buses; repaired vehicles and planes; trained soldiers how to shoot and worked in airport control towers.

Some were motivated by patriotism to join, especially during the war years. Some joined up to get away from home, when options for women were more limited.

Reeves joined at 17 because her family was moving from Pennsylvania to California and she didn't want to go. She wound up being assigned to Camp Pendleton in the Golden State anyway.

The 12 weeks of boot camp in those days weren't nearly the ordeal that they are today, but there was plenty of yelling at the young recruits, endless hours of marching, insistence on spotless barracks and bunks with blankets tucked so tightly a quarter would bounce on the bed, Reeves said.

And discipline. The inept marching of Reeves' platoon so annoyed a drill instructor that he left them standing in a field for a half-hour - "If you're going to act like cows, I'm going to treat you like cows," he told them.

Like many challenging experiences, once it's over, the hard times recede, leaving the glint of good memories.

Get Sidwell, Wise and Reeves talking with their women Marine compatriots and the laughter flows.

About the uniforms - made of seersucker that would wrinkle if you even thought about moving.

About the Marine bureaucracy's famous ability to ignore individual preferences - if you wanted to work in transportation, they'd stick you behind a typewriter. If you wanted to get sent to the West Coast, you'd better ask for the East Coast.

About that sister service - the Navy, taxi service for the Marines, they say.

Reminiscing aside, they're grateful to have been part of "the fewer, the prouder," as they like to call themselves.

"When I walked around in my dress blues, heads turned," Reeves said. "I couldn't stand any taller or I'd have been floating."

The Women Marines Association has chapters all over the country. In Eugene, they meet monthly at the Veterans' Memorial Building, and they'd like to see more members, Reeves said.

The group helps with the Marines' Toys for Tots drive at Christmas and raises money for scholarships for children of Marines. But the members - about 15 and living in communities from Florence to Blue River - are aging and could stand an infusion of younger blood.

"The good things that happened to me, I want to share that with the next group. And together, there's a lot that we can do," Reeves said.

VETERANS DAY PARADE

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

Route: From South Eugene High School north on Oak Street, west on 11th Avenue, south on Willamette Street to 19th Avenue

To participate: Combat veterans from any war who want to participate can call Mark English at 746-5571. Any vets can march with the Vietnam Veterans of America. Staging begins at 11 a.m. at South Eugene High School.

Women Marines Association: For more information, call [phone] or check the Web site: www.womenmarines.org

Parade route

Parade starts at

1 p.m. Sunday at Oak Street and 19th Avenue

VETERANS DAY EVENTS IN LANE COUNTY

In addition to Sunday's parade, other events will be held to honor veterans during the next week in Lane County.

Veterans, parents of veterans and community members are invited to attend the Elkton schools' fifth annual Veterans Day Parade on Monday. The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at the Elkton High School gymnasium. Call Patty Gray at 584-2228, Ext. 1, for more information.

The Lane County Veterans Network will sponsor a Veteran Appreciation Day at the National Guard Armory in Eugene on Friday. The event starts at 9 a.m. with the opening ceremony, which will honor all veterans, and ends at 3 p.m. Lunch and entertainment are scheduled, and veterans can receive information on a variety of topics, including benefits, health care, employment services and community assistance for the homeless. The National Guard Armory is located at 2515 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. For more information or to volunteer, call 345-5395.

CAPTION(S):

Maggie Wise, 79, holds a hand-colored photograph of herself in uniform as a young Marine. Wise signed on at age 28 during the Korean War in 1953. She is one of the members of the local chapter of the Women Marines Association who will suit up to ride in Sunday's Veterans Day Parade in Eugene.