thedrifter
02-27-07, 06:33 AM
Massaro: For her, once Marine, always Marine
February 27, 2007
Rocky Mountain News, CO
AURORA - One tour of duty with the Marines wasn't enough for Paula Sarlls. She's serving again - 35 years after her first hitch.
But this time she gets to wear business suits instead of fatigues.
Sarlls, 57, is president of the national Women Marines Association, which was founded in Denver in 1960.
The group just hosted a celebration of the formation of the Women Marine Reserves, which was founded Feb. 13, 1943.
Sarlls was unaware of the association until a few years ago, however.
"I wanted a bumper sticker to differentiate my license plates from my husband's," she said.
So she was doing a computer search and came across the name of the organization she now heads.
Sarlls grew up in southwest Denver. She was going to Abraham Lincoln High School and working part time at a K-mart in Littleton. One of her part-time co-workers was also a Marine recruiter. She said she wanted to go to college, but couldn't afford it.
"My family wasn't very wealthy at all," she said. "There were six kids."
The recruiter persuaded her to enlist, saying she could get an education.
"I got an education, in more ways than one," she said. "It wasn't a good time for women to be in the Marine Corps. At the time, women were burning their bras in the streets, pushing for their rights."
She served as an air-traffic controller in Virginia.
In the Corps, she met her future husband, Tony.
"We knew each other two weeks before he went off to do two tours in Vietnam and I went off to air control school," she said. "The next time we saw each other was the day before we got married. We got married in March 1969."
Which day?
"We got married by a preacher on March 16," she said. "On March 17, we went and got our marriage license at city hall. The preacher signed it on the 17th."
Sarlls and her husband moved to Colorado from Houston in 1988, settling in Aurora.
She worked for the federal government for 34 years, including Veterans Affairs and the Internal Revenue Service before joining the U.S. Customs Service.
"I helped design and build the new office at DIA," she said. "I worked with the construction manager to make sure it was built the way we wanted it built."
She is busy with the Women Marines Division, which has an exhibit at the Castle Rock Historical Society's museum.
She became a quick study in the history of women in the Marines. They first were called on to serve in World War I, and were known as the Marinettes. After the war, the organization was disbanded. It reformed again during World War II as the reserves.
"They freed up enough men to form a regiment," Sarlls said.
And despite her hard times dealing with women-haters in the Corps, Sarlls is pleased to be part of the national organization.
"The association brought back good memories of why I wanted to be a Marine," she said. "And they do a lot of good things to help veterans."
massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271
Ellie
February 27, 2007
Rocky Mountain News, CO
AURORA - One tour of duty with the Marines wasn't enough for Paula Sarlls. She's serving again - 35 years after her first hitch.
But this time she gets to wear business suits instead of fatigues.
Sarlls, 57, is president of the national Women Marines Association, which was founded in Denver in 1960.
The group just hosted a celebration of the formation of the Women Marine Reserves, which was founded Feb. 13, 1943.
Sarlls was unaware of the association until a few years ago, however.
"I wanted a bumper sticker to differentiate my license plates from my husband's," she said.
So she was doing a computer search and came across the name of the organization she now heads.
Sarlls grew up in southwest Denver. She was going to Abraham Lincoln High School and working part time at a K-mart in Littleton. One of her part-time co-workers was also a Marine recruiter. She said she wanted to go to college, but couldn't afford it.
"My family wasn't very wealthy at all," she said. "There were six kids."
The recruiter persuaded her to enlist, saying she could get an education.
"I got an education, in more ways than one," she said. "It wasn't a good time for women to be in the Marine Corps. At the time, women were burning their bras in the streets, pushing for their rights."
She served as an air-traffic controller in Virginia.
In the Corps, she met her future husband, Tony.
"We knew each other two weeks before he went off to do two tours in Vietnam and I went off to air control school," she said. "The next time we saw each other was the day before we got married. We got married in March 1969."
Which day?
"We got married by a preacher on March 16," she said. "On March 17, we went and got our marriage license at city hall. The preacher signed it on the 17th."
Sarlls and her husband moved to Colorado from Houston in 1988, settling in Aurora.
She worked for the federal government for 34 years, including Veterans Affairs and the Internal Revenue Service before joining the U.S. Customs Service.
"I helped design and build the new office at DIA," she said. "I worked with the construction manager to make sure it was built the way we wanted it built."
She is busy with the Women Marines Division, which has an exhibit at the Castle Rock Historical Society's museum.
She became a quick study in the history of women in the Marines. They first were called on to serve in World War I, and were known as the Marinettes. After the war, the organization was disbanded. It reformed again during World War II as the reserves.
"They freed up enough men to form a regiment," Sarlls said.
And despite her hard times dealing with women-haters in the Corps, Sarlls is pleased to be part of the national organization.
"The association brought back good memories of why I wanted to be a Marine," she said. "And they do a lot of good things to help veterans."
massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271
Ellie