European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 8, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 letters the stars and stripes officers wives reply Don t categorize us i be had it Wilh these snide letters about officers wives if we arc All separated siamese twins. I believe officers wives As a group gel a lot of undeserved criticism and i m sick of it 1 refer to the letter from inc woman who is tired of being categorized by her husband s rank and then so on la bad Mouth Cli Quish officer wives. She was reportedly snubbed by an in resumed smile of greeting. I la not take he fide of the one who did not smile but i will Lake Issue with the grouping of All officers wives together after just condemning this very prac Tice of generalization. My husband is an Armor company makes me the wife of an officer and i make no excuses. I am proud of him for his Success. I am also proud of my pan. For t know that i have helped make both our lives successful the writer claimed to be proud to be an enlisted member s wife and she should be proud. My feeling however is that the writer does nol fee Good about herself and is looking for some shoulders on which to Lay the blame. If you truly feel thai you Are a Good person Why Lei one snob or someone with bad eyesight or someone in deep thought or even some one in a Bod mood gel you Down is it possible that she is asocial Wilh officers wives As Well if this woman feels Superior maybe it is because she has a master s degree or is slender Andic Althy or holds a High paying Job or who knows whal. It May have nothing to do with her husband rank and we May nol be impressed by these things Al All. Nol All women define themselves in terms of their husbands. I am nol however defending this woman s Altitude toward you. Don l Lei others actions affect you so much. Keep a Good Altitude by trying 10 be Friendly Wilh everyone and if he Friendship is not returned count it m heir lots and go on with your life. Don t waste precious time and Energy worrying Over bad experiences. You can t usually change them anyway. Look for the positive. Think about All of the goo folks you know. Don t while away your life Wilh bad feelings. Why spend your Short time on Earth con stantly angry 1 can Only speak for myself but i feet that to ignore a potential Friend because of her husband s position Ould make my Fife Lerr Jbf narrow and uninteresting. I have friends from All walks of life of All Ages and of All colors. Who would want otherwise variety is the spice of life they say. 1 agree. Becky Miller Tutson Soehnel Furt Germany my husband goes to the Field just us often As yours does pulls duty just As often goes to work just As Early or earlier and comes Home just As late or later. But t Don l complain because 1 understand the importance of his Mission and 1 support him All the Way. My husband is an o-2 with just under three years in the army we be been in Germany for 15 month Sand arc still waiting for quarters. We pay rent utilities Cor payment insurance groceries sound a Milord we arc also paying Back a student loan my aggie ready to Muster form clix Ahti Glt Matt unix Tufty Wim Ilia Meta m time Rtuh april 21 at pm annul to it aft Muil a. The Muster ctr Witt Whf Avent 7 pin. My vat or a out an flu a to ngg Mulli a Diu Buh to the my Mboi ind he to a Hokd ennui by Cui Zwil. By Mim no about 300 Tail Muo Wii . For Cetti Scon of Dan Multi chair Man it attn Ceaud cd cams Apo w7s7-w01 if pwn et5 to Ami or husband took out to pay his Way through , ends meet with Money to spare but we Are tar from Rich Liuni Gnu Schweyn fort Germany i m a reasonable person i Cross streets at Cross walks 1 Don t pull the wings off butterflies and 1 can take u lot of trash from people before i get angry. A acc Cal letter however a just the impetus i need Edlo gel angry enough to write. 1 am an officer s wife the abominable subhuman creature to whom the writer referred. I too am proud of my husband and the Job heroes. And like her i feel it is unfair for the wives of servicemen to be put into categories. Bui let s take a look at who is Al least in Par responsible for categorizing us. This writer leaves no doubt As to who she feels is at fault for the division itis the cold insincere self aggrandizing officer s wife. Most officers wives As most wives of enlisted men Are just Plain people. Granted there Are some officers wives who arc certifiable snobs but then i be met some no and enlisted wives who have their noses in the Clouds Loo. Virtually every officer wife i be Ever known myself included has had the experience of being snubbed by an enlisted or no wife simply because her husband was an officer Mosi of us Are Quile reluctant to Tell people our Hus bands Are officers for fear of being labelled snobs before we even gel the Chance to prove ourselves As As for the assertion that she is a Friend to everyone regardless of her husband s rank i think she d better Lake a look Al her own letter again. 1 May not be a Whiz kid but i believe i selected a Nolc of unfriendliness toward any officer s wife who crosses her path. What is needed is a Bil of give and take on the part of All army wives regardless of their husbands ranks. Donna a. Germany i started out Reading his letter in total agreement. 1, Loo Don t Tike being put into a category unfairly any More than you to. We arc indeed All human beings none belter than the Oiler and no one should be treated differently just because of her his husband a wife s place rank in society. Then 1 slopped in Surprise when inc writer decided to place not Only me but herself into unfair categories officers wives and enlisted members wives. Yes i am the wife of an officer and i am proud to be an officer s wife. Before this i was proud to be a struggling student s wife and before thai i was proud to be an enlisted member s wife whom i had met and married while serving my country As an enlisted member. Try walking in my moccasins for a Momeni. In the Little Over two years that my husband has been an officer have found it very hard to get to know the wives who Are married to enlisted members not be cause i feel i am belter than them but because i have had labels unfairly placed on me As a human being because my husband happens to be an officer. Before you Mart placing me and other wives into categories with All the labels attached remember we arc human beings Loo. If we Don l smile at you some daddy deserves a off my name is Marlene Dawn Sims. My daddy is the Best Man in the whole world bul nol when he s gone. It s not fair that some Gil get off and inc others have to work. I want everyone to gel a Day off every week. By the Way i am in the fifth Grade and 10 years old. Mirlene Dawn Slat Halm a Germany limes when you smile Al a. Maybe it is because we arc preoccupied and did t Sec you. If we do smile Alyou in return and it seems insincere maybe in s be cause we Are nol perfect and we have our bad Days As Well. So remember nol to others and the won t pc judge you. Win Oil Nancy Vigil Erluin Fjon. Germany a great Many people both enlisted and office spouses Are Kepi from associating with each other because of the fraternization policy in inc Mhilary. Although ibis is supposed to affect Only the service member it very often carries Over to the unit is a very Small one. You would think that being stationed overseas in a country whose Lan Guage most of us Don l speak Wilh a Dollar that does t go far and husbands who have a commitment that often lakes them away would serve to bring All of us closer. Instead Here is always a separation Between some of us More often than not placed there by the spouses themselves it would seem that the lady has a problem Wilh particular person nol All officers wives in general if that s the Case and she has honestly tried to be Friend then she should not Lei one person s Altitude affect her Outlook on others Cathy Reynold bad Kmin Uch German my husband is just a lieutenant so t am fairly new to the whole business wife i Loo hate being put into categories because of his rank i sincerely sympathize with you if you have encountered someone who was rude to you but believe me All officers wives Are nol As you per Cicic them. Military wives spent a lot of hours alone without their husbands and i feel that we should unite As women with common interests despite our husbands rank. Yes joined the officers wives club Here in fir masons. But i did so because i was bored and wanted to meet new people. Thai in no Way Mokes me a mrs. Officer s wife that makes me human. I too am proud to say that when i go oui i can return � smile and be a Friend to anyone i meet regardless four husbands ranks Martin a Germany you re right it s not fair thai wives Are automatically an enlisted or an officer s wife bul we knew this when we said i i m still wondering Why behave 10 assume our husband s domicile. Someone gave me some insight a Long Lime ago. When you look at someone just picture thai they put their pants on one leg at a time like you. You would be surprised How quickly your attitude will change. Here s one out of the Mouth of babes. My kids hink a sergeant outranks a lieutenant colonel. They also Don t want their father to be a general because they be heard hey Are poor and can i afford to Send their kids to College. Give us officers wives a break after All we do put our pants on one leg Al a time. Jul tact Germany Imelda Marcos free to go this letter is in reference to the recent article tilled "1 mild Al Marcos pleads for daughter s medical if mrs. Marcos truly believes she is above our Laws while in our country then say we should Send her and her whole family Back to the philippine. I m sure their courts would love to gel their hands on them As would their violent opponents. If she dislikes inc United states so much there Ore other countries in the world. How about Russia mrs Marcos?a.1.c, Jurat a Wood Canute in a centum pen pals Plum Pul my Naira in Lotf pin put urn. I if 32 jrr4�t q-3 with to my Gar my Topton lab new m my no Tinli in in Happing. Rate tag. It neg to and pitying b4�kt�il Bawd a on Van e cos a fun Avn heal. Feuchtaafbuzrawny.n.y.mgm-k16 i to 71 and worm Pofi my my Hoo Pik arc Danang. Paying to Gutter. I Jung mount car flip Boft i. La lab Tow til Tymiec rid my would Mia la w Kvam Chiril. I would us to Ruhr my Nirum Praml you pan pal Olumn i my in Mil of i to pop a c4umn. A or ii cab i. U Obs i he 21 vow of Frith Ari. I would i to fan put from Strw Courton. In Hep. Vinci. Mic and my Pula dbl. I m kims Ntina Hoda Kinle it Mih
