Westmoreland Cultural Trust interim CEO shares stories of female Marines

Current Westmoreland Cultural Trust interim CEO and retired Marine Nancy P. Anderson will showcase her book, “The Very Few, The Proud Women in the Marine Corps, 1977-2001,” at 6:30 p.m. March 19 at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.

Her appearance in Village Hall is part of the campus’ Women’s History Month activities, according to the university.

This event is free and open to the public.

“Col. Anderson brings history alive, collectively sharing her personal experiences while highlighting the challenges and dedication of the women who have gone before and those currently serving in the military,” says Lisa Reffner, retired Air Force veteran and Pitt-Greensburg’s certifying official for veterans educational benefits.

Anderson examines both the expanding opportunities for women in the Marine Corps and the fading cultural gender distinctions in the last quarter of the 20th century, and notes women choose to be Marines for the same reasons as men: duty to country, opportunity, adventure, escaping hardship or to grow as a person.

Her background includes her own history making when, in 1977, as a first lieutenant, Anderson becomes the first female platoon commander after the Marine Corps’ Officer Candidates School at Quantico is gender-integrated. She goes on to lead the first three gender-integrated OCS companies, the book relates, and her career encompasses the time period between dissolution of the separate Women Marines and the 2001 terrorist attacks.

She is a graduate, with highest distinction, of the Naval War College non-resident program, and a graduate of the National War College.

Retired from the U.S. Marine Corps since 2002, Anderson has volunteered with several nonprofit organizations at the local, state and national level.