Mary Galster Layton Starkey Collection

Mary Galster Layton Starkey
Mary Galster Layton Starkey at Fort Bragg ROTC, North Carolina, 1980]
Mary Galster Layton Starkey in her cook's uniform
Mary Galster Layton Starkey dressed in her cook's uniform on Christmas Day at Camp Irwin, South Korea, 1978. Caption on rear reads: Me & My Cake.
Mary Galster Layton Starkey with a friend
Mary Galster Layton Starkey, on left, with a friend from the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.
Mary Galster Layton Starkey with her ex-husband Larry Layton
Mary Galster Layton Starkey with her ex-husband Larry Layton, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Oral history interview with Mary Galster Layton Starkey
Primarily documents the life of Mary Galster Layton Starkey and her service with the Women's Army Corps and United States Army. Starkey recalls her desire to prove herself to her family by completing U.S. Army Airborne School, and the discrimination she faced from males who did not want her in their units. She also recalls the need to set boundaries with male soldiers, and the disappointment she felt when she could no longer parachute due to a broken leg.
Specialist 5 Mary Galster Layton Starkey with a friend
Mary Galster Layton Starkey, on right, with Second Lieutenant Polly Holms, Korea, 1979.
Specialist 5 Mary Layton re-enlistment
Specialist 5 Mary Galster Layton Starkey re-enlists in the United States Army, 24 March 1978.