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Description
Oral history interview of Melissa Pena. Interview conducted by Jessica Oldham via Zoom in Orlando, FL on October 5th, 2021.
Log
:38 Early life and family; 3:00 Family members in the service; 3:30 Jobs prior to enlisting in the Army; 4:05 Enlisting in the Army; 4:15 Becoming a Sergeant; 6:30 Basic Training; 9:47 AIT Training; 12:14 Acclimating to Military life; 13:14 Experience being stationed in Germany; 14:42 Duties and responsibilities while in Germany; 17:05 Traveling while stationed in Germany; 17:36 Experience being pregnant while on Active Duty; 19:00 Standout memories from time in Germany; 20:17 Experience being stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; 23:14 Duties and responsibilities at Fort Campbell; 24:30 Standout memories from time at Fort Campbell; 25:38 Experience being stationed at Fort Drum; 27:50 Experience being pregnant at Fort Drum; 28:25 Duties and responsibilities at Fort Drum; 29:37 Favorite and least favorite jobs; 31:27 Standout memories from time at Fort Drum; 32:17 Service related injuries; 33:30 Experience being a female in a combat unit; 35:10 Most memorable station; 35:40 Awards and commendations; 37:10 Returning to school and professional careers in civilian life; 38:20 Re-acclimating to civilian life; 39:17 Experience with Daughters of the American Revolution; 40:15 Contact with fellow service members; 40:35 Applying military training in civilian life; 41:00 Advice to future Army members
Date of Birth
1979-08-18
Place of Birth
Germany
Gender
Female
Home State
Heidelberg
Status
Veteran
Begin/End date of Service - 1st
2006
Begin/End date of Service - 1st
2014
Type
Video; MovingImage
Entrance into Service
Enlisted
Branch of Service
U.S. Army
Unit of Service
3-75 Cav; 63rd Chem, CBRN
Location of Service
Graffenwohr, Germany; Fort Campbell, KY; Fort Drum, NY
Prisoner of War
No
Service Related Injury
Yes
Achievements
This veteran was one of the first female SGT's to be assigned to a combat unit.
City of Birth
Heidelberg
Country of Birth
Germany
Interviewer
Jessica Oldham
Interview Date
10-5-2021
Location of Interview
Virtual using Zoom
Subjects
Pena, Melissa. Personal Narratives. United States Army.
Contributor Affiliation / Organization
RICHES University of Central Florida
Contributors
Jessica Oldham.
Length of Interview
41:45:00
Accessibility Status
Closed captioning is available for the embedded video.
Publisher
Department of History, University of Central Florida
Type
Video; MovingImage
Rights
All rights are held by the respective holding institution. This material is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. For permission to reproduce and/or for copyright information contact Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, (407) 823-2576. http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/
Repository
University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives
Contributing Project
UCF Community Veterans History Project
Document Type
Interview
Recommended Citation
Central Florida, RICHES of, "Melissa Pena interview" (2021). Veterans Oral Histories. 710.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/710
Transcript - M. Pena