World War II veteran has new outlook on her service after response to letter

All around her apartment at the Garlands of Barrington, Veronica Potter has her life on display. Photographs of her 17 grandchildren share wall space with the paintings, collages and other works the former Harper College art teacher has created over the years.

But until now, one part of Potter's life that she hadn't been able to show off is her U.S. Marine service during World War II.

So, one day last month she sat down in her bedroom/art studio and wrote a letter to the Daily Herald.

“I know that the service of women in our current history is applauded,” her letter reads. “Because their service is indeed equal to that of men. But, in World War II? There were many women involved in serving their country, but as a whole nothing is ever mentioned.”

Potter, who was a member of the Marine Corps Women reservists from 1944 to 1946, wrote about the lack of recognition she's received compared to male veterans.

When she took an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., most people assumed she was there as a caretaker for a male veteran. When people see the Marine Corps bumper sticker on her car, they ask if it is for her son or her husband.

“When I say that I am the veteran, it is not believed,” reads her letter, which now hangs framed on a wall next to her paintings.

Potter didn't expect anything to come from her letter. But not long after it was published, the phone calls and letters of thanks started to arrive.

“The response surprised me,” Potter said. “I didn't even think that people read those letters!”

Along with the kind messages from readers, she also received something she asked for in her letter: memorabilia specifically designed for women Marine veterans. Among the items that arrived were two bumper stickers and a custom-made baseball cap.

The cap came courtesy of Gene Smalley, a veteran Marine from Schaumburg. He said he sent Potter the hat because he could tell from her letter that she had good spirit and it would mean something to her.

“There's kind of a thread between Marines,” Smalley said. “There's no secret handshakes or anything, but it is nice to recognize each other because we've been there, too.” He ordered the hat from a mail-order Marine memorabilia company out of California, which didn't charge him.

Potter joined the Marines in 1944, right out of high school.

“We were having a big party for a girl who signed up for the Navy,” she says wryly. “Well, I wanted a big party, so I signed up.”

Potter had never been away from Pittsburgh before heading off to basic training. When she returned home for a visit, she noticed that among her 11 brothers and sisters, many of whom were older, her status had risen.

“My mother thought I looked so grown up in my uniform,” Potter said. “And my sister took me to a bar and introduced me to my first drink. I felt so grown up.”

The Women's Reserve was created in 1942 when the strain of a two-front war caused shortages in military personnel. After basic training, Potter was deployed to the Marine base in Parris Island, South Carolina, where she spent the next two years doing office work by day and performing in shows at night.

For a young woman in the 1940s, her new life was a real eye-opener. During the war years, the Marines trained more than 204,000 recruits there.

“I had never been around so many (men),” Potter said, estimating the male-to-female ratio at around 1,000 to 1. “I really grew up in a hurry.”

The Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944 struck Parris Island a glancing blow.

“I remember us going to the mess hall holding on to a rope, while windows were breaking and glass was flying around,” Potter said. “And we would be laughing! I was never frightened, it was just another new experience.”

Remembering the news of the Japanese surrender, made public on Aug. 14, 1945, still brings tears to her eyes.

Those memories haven't soured, despite the lack of recognition in the 69 years since she received her honorable discharge.

Since the unexpected response to her letter, Potter said she's more at peace with her status as a veteran.

Now she has taken to writing about her life, mostly as a way to reflect on all that she's done, including her lifelong love of art and dance, raising her big family and her time serving her country.

“I've had a very lovely life,” she said.