The Few, the Proud – the Women Marines

Answering the call to serve ones country requires sacrifice, dedication and commitment. It is only fitting that during the month when Veterans Day is celebrated, that all veterans – both male and female, from all branches of the military -- are remembered.

Many times, service in the military becomes a life-changing experience. That is very true for a former Randolph resident. From Marine Corp service, teaching and traveling, Adriana Willis has lived a full and rewarding life – she has made the most out her 85 years, and sees no reason to slow down.

Born in Friesland during the Depression, Adriana grew up as one of 11 children in the Braaksma family. World War II was in full swing in 1942 when Adriana graduated from high school. Her parents had moved to Denver, Colo. while she was a junior in school and after graduating, Adriana and her sister joined their parents out west.

"I stayed about six months, the war was on and I really didn't know what to do," she said. "I went back to Randolph and ended up going to Madison with a friend. She had gotten a job as an usherette and she introduced me to a Marine recruiter."

Adriana explained that he was the first Marine she had ever met -- everyone that she knew had joined either the Army or Navy. Her first impression of the Marines was quite a positive one, especially the incentive of the G.I Bill. Adriana loved school and wanted to go on to college.

"I was 19 years old and needed to be 20 to join the Women Marines," she said. "In the meantime I had to get my birth certificate, three letters of recommendation, pass a physical and school records. So by the time I got all that together I was 20 years old. I called up the recruiter and on September 9, 1943, I became a Woman Marine."

Adriana said at that time, and even today, people did not know what a woman in the Marine Corps is called. Their official name is Women Marine (WM) or Women Reserves (WR).

The first official start to women serving in the Marine Corps came in1918 during World War I when the Secretary of Navy allowed women to enlist for clerical duty. The United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve (USMCWR) was established in February of 1943. The goal was to make women available for duty in the Marine Corps to take over stateside jobs so men could be released for overseas combat duty. On June 12, 1948, Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act and made women a permanent part of the regular Marine Corps.

Sent to the Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Adriana began six weeks of boot camp. Most of the women were from the eastern states such as New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The average age of the recruits was 25 years old; many had come from careers as bookkeepers, stenographers and other positions in the business field.

"Boot camp was absolutely nothing like you've seen or hear about now," she said. "When I think back to that, it was just like going to college, except for the fact we had uniforms. I loved marching, learned about the Marine Corps and just loved everything about it – I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

After her training was complete, Adriana was sent to the Marine Corps Base Quantico where she spent the next two and one-half years. Always ready for an adventure, when they read her name off as one going to Quantico, she thought that was in Florida. Her next goal was to go overseas, but the job of the Women Marines was to relieve the male Marines working in the U.S. Towards the end of World War II, some Women Marines were sent to Hawaii, but Adriana stayed at Quantico, which she quickly found out was in Virginia.

"I thought all of it was a wonderful experience," she said. "Quantico was just beautiful. I guess there had never been any women there and they treated us so nice. They had a women's area and you couldn't get in there unless you were a woman, there were always Marines there to check everyone in and out. We had bed check at 11 p.m. I made many permanent friends there."

She was assigned the job of quartermaster, where she was in charge of shipped in items and supplies on base. In her first job as charge-out clerk, Adriana had to type inventories of all the items that came in or went out of the base. She also worked at the commissary. On her own and far away from home, Adriana had many adventures while in the Marine Corps.

"I couldn't go home to Wisconsin with a weekend pass, but my friend was from Brooklyn, so I went all over New York City with her," Adriana said. "We hardly had to pay any money, the civilians would pick up the costs. We went to nightclubs, the Statue of Liberty, I was there on V-E Day, and I was in D.C. on V - J Day."

Adriana has a picture of herself and a friend with band leader Guy Lombardo and his brother. They met this pair in 1945 when Lombardo and his band were playing for Franklin D. Roosevelt's inauguration. Adriana said she and her friend "crashed the inauguration and just walked in."

Dressed in uniform in the big city, Adriana and her friend would be questioned about what branch of the military they were serving.

"We were waiting outside this big nightclub one time and someone said to me, 'What are you girls? Canadian WACSs or Red Cross workers?'" Adriana said. "I said, 'No, we are Women Marines.' Then I would get teased about being from Wisconsin. It was a big experience."

On December 7, 1945, Adriana was discharged from the Women Marines after serving her appointed time and earning the required points. Her next step was college and she decided to head for California to look for a university. Adriana and a friend arrived in Los Angeles in January of 1946. She started taking classes at the University of Southern California, first majoring in journalism, changing her major to social work and finally settling on teaching.

"That's where I stayed, that was my calling card," she said. "I loved teaching; to me it was more like a hobby, not a job."

Adriana met her husband, John Willis, in Long Beach. He caught her eye wearing his Marine dress blues. They were married in 1948. John was a career military man who had joined the Marine Corps in 1942. He was with the 4th Marine Division in the South Pacific and received two Purple Hearts during his military service. John retired in 1975 from the Marine Corps as a captain.

They settled in Oceanside, Calif., and raised three children. Adriana retired from teaching in 1985. The couple was married 57 years, and John passed away in 2006 at the age of 82. The military service turned out to be a family tradition for the Willis'. Her daughter, Stephanie, served in the Air Force and is now an attorney in Washington D.C. Son, Jeff, spent 23 years in the Navy, and her youngest son, John Jr. is an athletic director at a school in California.

"When I was going to the university, I would come back to Wisconsin every summer," she said. "After I was married, John and I came back a few times. I still keep in touch with friends. I write to a lot of people, especially when you get in your 80s, you don't have much to do. Around here I'm the oldest one on the block."

In good health at 85 years old, Adriana said she thinks they made a mistake in her age. She still lives on her own – in fact she was climbing a ladder to trim some trees this fall – and enjoys her home and the short walk to the ocean.

"My kids don't think I'm as old as I am," she said. "In fact, I drive a 280ZX with a stick shift. I don't know how else I could have done any better in 85 years."

The military life was a good one for Adriana and her family, and serving her country as a Women Marine was a very positive experience. It was an adventure she would willingly do over again – and with her energy and determination, it's very likely she would succeed.