Faces of the Fort: Focus on FLW veterans, part III -- a WAC graduate

By Mrs. Melissa Buckley (Leonard Wood)November 6, 2014

Faces of the Fort: Focus on FLW veterans, part III — a WAC graduate
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Since Vietnam, Lou Cruz has been serving her country, and she's not about to stop.

"I had some hard experiences with the military, but I am proud to have earned the title of Army veteran," she said.

Cruz is currently a Family Advocacy instructor for Army Community Service. A native of Guam, she said she joined the Army in 1973 to make a better life for her mother.

"I supported my mother, who needed medical attention. I did not make enough as an operating room instrument nurse, working for the Government of Guam at the time. They wouldn't allow me to carry my mother on my medical insurance, and I was told to put her on welfare. I refused to put my mother on welfare after all her hard work raising 10 of us by herself," Cruz said.

Cruz is a proud graduate of the Women's Army Corps. Members of the WAC were the first women, other than nurses, to serve in the United States Army.

"My class was the last one to graduate from the Women's Army Corps. I feel like I'm a part of history," she said.

She said her favorite Army memories are from basic training.

"I was lost and couldn't understand why they had to yell. The part that got me the most was that we were always running or rushing just to sit and wait," Cruz said. "To this day, I can still see my drill sergeant at the time who was so tiny but loud."

"I'm laughing now, but back then I kept the 'yes drill sergeant' straight face," she added.

Cruz was an administrative specialist until 1993, when she retired.

However, it was during the Vietnam era when she saw the tragedies of war first hand.

"We were part of Operation Baby Lift at the Presidio of San Francisco from 1974 to 1975. We were evacuating the children from Vietnam," Cruz said.

During the final days of the Vietnam War, the U.S. government brought more than 3,300 children out of Vietnam for adoption by American, Canadian, European and Australian families.

During Desert Storm and Desert Shield in the early 1990s, Cruz was deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of the VII Corps with the 51st Signal Command.

Cruz said even though being deployed is hard work, she has some fun memories.

"While we were getting things ready to deploy to Saudi Arabia, a colonel was yelling at me to give him those 'cable dogs.' I thought to myself, what is a cable dog? I don't see anything that looks like a cable or even a dog? After awhile, he yells again 'Sergeant Cruz, I need those two Soldiers,' so I learned that signal Soldiers are also known as 'cable dogs,'" Cruz said.

After retirement, she went to work as a teacher.

"That was not what I really wanted to do. I had to go back and work for the Soldiers. I wanted to help them out and share some of the experiences I had as a Soldier," Cruz said.

Cruz said she is excited to work for ACS.

"I not only get to train Soldiers and civilians, but also the Marines, Sailors, Airmen and their Families stationed here at Fort Leonard Wood," Cruz said.

"Who can provide more than someone who has put on that uniform and boots? I feel like I need to give something back to my country. The best way I know is to serve the troops," she added.

Cruz teaches domestic violence awareness, anger management and parenting from the heart classes, just to name a few.

For Veterans Day, Cruz wants to spend some quality time with her grandkids. She said the best way to celebrate veterans is to thank them for their service.

"When you see one, thank them for serving and mean it from your heart," Cruz said. "I just like to let all the armed forces know I think of them, especially those in harm's way. My prayers go out to all of them. Be safe and come home soon."

Related Links:

Fort Leonard Wood GUIDON Newspaper

Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood