Date With History to host 'Lita & Jean: Two Generations of Military Women' Nov. 2
Cantigny
The First Division Museum at Cantigny continues its acclaimed Date with History lecture series on Thursday, Nov. 2.
The co-authors of "Lita & Jean: Memoirs of Two Generations of Military Women" will discuss their award-winning, tell-all book, published in 2022.
The free program will be at 7 p.m. (CT) at the Cantigny Visitors Center and online. Registration for both in-person and Zoom viewers is required at FDMuseum.org. For those attending in person, parking is free.
Lita V. Tomas and Jean Marie McNamara are an entertaining mother-daughter duo who cover a lot of ground. The pair speaks with unflinching candor about their darkest moments and matters of family, physical disabilities, military service, the Veterans Administration, and fighting bureaucracy. Their resilience and resolve inspire all who hear their heartfelt stories.
Lita Tomas enlisted with the U.S. Army in 1977, the first year that women could train as part of the regular army, serving as a tank mechanic turned global logistics officer. The retired major also served in the Illinois Army National Guard, Army Reserves, and Air Force Reserves. Tomas holds a master's degree in recreational therapy and has spent a lifetime fighting injustice. She lives in Downers Grove, cherishing family and producing her award-winning patient advocacy podcast, "PodcastDX," all while managing young-onset Alzheimer's disease.
Jean Marie McNamara, like her mother, has a passion for helping others. In the Army, the retired first lieutenant served as a medic; and a nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological officer. She was also deputy director of her local Emergency Services & Disaster Agency. After an injury, she retired to explore the challenges of recovery and endurance, working to claim new pathways of service and meaning. McNamara is a co-host on "PodcastDX" and loves researching content for the show.
The First Division Museum is open daily, except Mondays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closing time shifts to 4 p.m. in November and December. Admission is included with Cantigny's regular parking fee. Parking is free on Veterans Day. Visit FDMuseum.org for more details.
The First Division Museum, part of the Chicago-based Robert R. McCormick Foundation and located at Cantigny in Wheaton, Illinois, promotes public learning about America's military heritage and affairs through the history of the "Big Red One" - the famed 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. The museum's main exhibit hall, First in War, transports visitors to the trenches of World War I, the beaches of World War II, and the jungles of Vietnam. A second exhibit hall, Duty First, explores the 1ID's history in more recent times. The Robert R. McCormick Research Center, open to the public, houses the museum's library, archival and photo collections. Tanks from every era are outside the museum, along with artillery pieces and a personnel carrier. Memorial markers and commemorative statuary pay further tribute to those who served and sacrificed. For more information, visit FDMuseum.org.