First Division Museum's 'Veteran Voices' program on Feb. 17 to highlight two women from the 1st Infantry Division

On Thursday, Feb. 17, the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton is hosting a special edition of its Veteran Voices series featuring two women who served in the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division. They will share their service experiences and answer questions via Zoom starting at 7 p.m. CST.

The event is free but requires advance registration at FDMuseum.org.

Joining "Veteran Voices: Women in Service" will be:

• Retired Lt. Colonel Nancy Morales is a career Army officer who served in the U.S. Army for 21 years. She was commissioned as a 2LT through the ROTC program at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., in 1976.

Her military service included assignments in the Panama Canal Zone, Korea and Germany. She served as an instructor at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School, and at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

Morales was based at Fort Riley, Kan., 1st Infantry Division headquarters, during Operation Desert Watch and Desert Storm.

In her post-military career, she worked as a defense contractor primarily supporting the National Reconnaissance Office.

• Retired Chief Warrant Officer 3 Phyllis A. Fitzgerald is a career Army officer who served in the U.S. Army for over 21 years as an intelligence analyst.

She volunteered to serve and entered the military at age 17 with her parents' signature. As a Private she was in the last class of the Women's Army Corps.

After basic training in 1978, Fitzgerald reported to Fort Huachuca (Arizona) for training as an intelligence analyst.

She served in the 1st Infantry Division from 1989-1993 and deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm as an All-Source Intelligence Technician.

Her post-military career has been devoted to the community of Junction City, Kan., home of Fort Riley, including a term as the city's mayor. She is currently the executive director of the Society of the First Infantry Division.

The First Division Museum is open weekends in February, Friday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is free with paid parking ($5). Full-time operations (Tuesday-Sunday) resume in March. Visit FDMuseum.org for additional details.

The First Division Museum, part of the Robert R. McCormick Foundations, 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 1st Infantry Division'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. Outside, tanks from every era are interpreted, along with artillery pieces and a personnel carrier. Solemn memorial markers and commemorative statuary also command visitors' attention.

This fall, the museum's "Footsteps of the First" travel program, in partnership with Academic Travel Abroad, will explore Normandy and other key sites in Western Europe, Oct. 6-15. Full details, including the itinerary and registration, are on the museum website.