BOONE—A veteran’s commitment to serve doesn’t stop when he or she leaves the military. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Vickie Hughes, now associate professor in the Department of Nursing faculty at Appalachian State University, illustrated that point with a story she told during a Veterans Day ceremony on campus.

Hughes, who retired from the Air Force with 27 years of service, most recently served as commander of the 15th Medical Group at Hickam Air Force Base, chief nurse at Scott Air Force Base and commander of the 383rd Training Squadron at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.

Hughes spoke of one of her heroes – Stephanie Brassell who volunteered in 1942 to serve in Europe as a nurse in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) to support men serving overseas during World War II.

“She received less pay than her male counterparts, did not have the same legal protection oversees and if injured did not have the same benefits when she returned to the U.S.,” Hughes said.

“She did not go for the pay and the benefits; she went to serve because our nation needed her,” Hughes said. When she returned to the U.S., she was one of the first Army Air Corps nurses to begin the flight nursing program and helped establish the foundation for what became the military’s air evacuation system.

After leaving the WAAC to get married and start a family, Brassell served for another 30 years as a civil service nurse at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida caring for members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Army, Marines and Air Force and their families. Until the 1970s, if a woman became pregnant while serving within the United States Military, she would be involuntarily separated.

“After 30 years you would think it was a job well done, but this is where her story really begins,” Hughes said. Even though she was partially paralyzed following a severe stroke, Brassell continued to serve her community by baking and giving away cakes as encouragement to families in need. Brassell told Hughes that she still had more to give in terms of her service to others.

“Mrs. Brassell to me represents all of our veterans. They serve overseas, they serve on the homeland and then they serve our communities, because you don’t stop being who you are when you come out of the military,” Hughes said. “You bring those same values and commitment to our communities. So I thank you for your service of yesterday, I thank you for your service for today, and I thank you for your commitment to our future. Our communities are richer because our veterans are a vital part of them.”

An oral history about Brassell’s time in the WAAC is online at http://ohp.fsu.edu/webpdf/1617_Brassell.pdf.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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