MONROE - The last thing Sgt. Jelayne Underwood wanted was to be married at 18 and a mother at 19 like most of her friends, so she joined the Army instead.
Underwood joined in 1978 and was active duty in 1979. She was a finance cashier, whose job involved figuring out travel pay, adjusting paychecks and counseling soldiers on their credit rating and checking accounts. She was also responsible for cashing checks and dealing with both foreign and American currency.
She spent time deployed in Germany at Flak-Kaserne Ludwigsburg, a barracks, and Stuttgart. While in Germany in 1980, Underwood crashed the practice car during a driver's education course. It was then she met her husband, Stephen Underwood, a mechanic in the military who fixed the car.
When she was first deployed, she found not knowing what to expect exciting and enjoyed the adventurous aspects of her job.
"It wasn't all work," Underwood said. "You could volunteer for fun things like blowing up Claymore mines and rappelling out of helicopters."
Rather than taking a class on how to apply makeup - which was offered to women in the military at the time - she opted to learn how to ski.
"I've always been adventurous," Underwood said.
Underwood took every opportunity to go through more training, which once involved her and some others being left in a remote area and having to fend for themselves for three days.
It wasn't until retiring a decade later that Underwood experienced different treatment because of her gender. Someone once implied she shouldn't wear her Army veteran shirt, assuming she was only wearing it because her husband was a veteran.
She reflects on her time in the military as the most adventurous years of her life.
"I think everyone should join the military for two years and have some adventure."
Underwood joined in 1978 and was active duty in 1979. She was a finance cashier, whose job involved figuring out travel pay, adjusting paychecks and counseling soldiers on their credit rating and checking accounts. She was also responsible for cashing checks and dealing with both foreign and American currency.
She spent time deployed in Germany at Flak-Kaserne Ludwigsburg, a barracks, and Stuttgart. While in Germany in 1980, Underwood crashed the practice car during a driver's education course. It was then she met her husband, Stephen Underwood, a mechanic in the military who fixed the car.
When she was first deployed, she found not knowing what to expect exciting and enjoyed the adventurous aspects of her job.
"It wasn't all work," Underwood said. "You could volunteer for fun things like blowing up Claymore mines and rappelling out of helicopters."
Rather than taking a class on how to apply makeup - which was offered to women in the military at the time - she opted to learn how to ski.
"I've always been adventurous," Underwood said.
Underwood took every opportunity to go through more training, which once involved her and some others being left in a remote area and having to fend for themselves for three days.
It wasn't until retiring a decade later that Underwood experienced different treatment because of her gender. Someone once implied she shouldn't wear her Army veteran shirt, assuming she was only wearing it because her husband was a veteran.
She reflects on her time in the military as the most adventurous years of her life.
"I think everyone should join the military for two years and have some adventure."