Oral history interview with Francine Ann Fisher

Item description

Primarily documents Francine Fisher's childhood; her service with the United States National Guard, United States Army, and United States Army Reserve; and her life after service. Fisher discusses growing up in Washington D.C. and personally witnessing discrimination towards African-Americans. She also discusses having two pregnancies very early life, her desire to learn how to take care of people in order to take care of her own family, and her ultimate decision to join the U.S. National Guard in order to fulfill this desire. " Fisher describes joining the service at a time when the Women's Army Corps was ending and women were being integrated with the men; attending basic training in the South; and being in the best physical condition of her life. " Fisher also describes attending a joint military exercise in South Korea, where she saw a lot of people in the army dealing with drug and alcohol issues; the unfair treatment by the army in terms of pay, promotions, job opportunities, and assignments; and feeling that women should be able to do the same things as men as long as they are qualified. " Personal topics include being raped while in the service, and as a result suffering mentally from being a victim of military sexual trauma; feeling that African-American women in the military were not taken seriously by the men; leaving the army before she was ready; and missing the camaraderie and sense of family that the military provided.