Vietnam: In Their Own Words

May 29, 2023
Vietnam: In Their Own Words
Story Telling at the Vietnam Women’s Memorial

Monday, May 29, 2023

Emcee – Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, PhD 

Time
 List of Presenters
10:00 a.m.

Park Ranger Teresa Taylor- National Park Service

 
11:00 a.m.

George Usinowicz

George was a Specialist 5 Combat Medic, (1969), who then went on to US Army Engineer Officer Candidate School, Fort Belvoir, VA where he earned an officer’s commission.  George served as a First Lieutenant Combat Engineer Platoon Leader leading 35 men supporting the 25th Infantry Division’s operations in Cu Chi and Camp Frenzell-Jones, Republic of Vietnam, (1970-71).  He returned to complete his college degree upon retiring from his military career at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado where he was the president of the College’s Veterans’ Club, and a Magna Cum Laude graduate. 
11:30 a.m.

Marilla Cushman– Military Women’s Memorial 

Marilla Giberson Cushman served in the US Army for nearly 25 years. A Maine native, she holds a BS in Education from the University of Maine at Presque Isle and attended graduate school at the University of Kansas.  LTC Cushman had a variety of assignments in the US and Germany. She served as a program manager for the Army’s very successful “Be All You Can Be” advertising campaign. Later, as a member of Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger’s staff, she served as the Executive Director of the highly visible Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. She was the chief of Media Inquiries for the Department of the Army and as such was the Army’s chief spokesperson and primary contact with national and international media. Her final assignment was as the Deputy Chief of Public Affairs for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Retiring from the Army in 1997, she joined the staff of the Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation as the Director of Public Relations and Development. Today, she serves as the Foundation’s Senior Advisor to the President.  The Memorial and its 33,000 sq. ft. education center at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery is the nation’s only major national memorial to tell the story of women’s service, beginning with the American Revolution.  
1:00 p.m.

Ceremony at The Wall

 

Story Telling at the Vietnam Women’s Memorial is an educational program presented by Eastern National and the National Park Service. We commemorate and honor those who served in the Vietnam War as well as in more recent conflicts.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance with sound provided by Ohm Productions.

In 2015 the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation joined Eastern National. We are dedicated to honoring women who served during the Vietnam era. For additional information on the Memorial or its products and projects, including other educational programs or research on women who served during the Vietnam era, you are invited to visit the Vietnam Women’s Memorial website at www.VietnamWomensMemorial.org. Donations to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial which support these and other programs are always appreciated. To donate to the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, please write to:

Vietnam Women’s Memorial Fund, c/o Eastern National

1301 Virginia Drive, Suite 425

Fort Washington, PA 19034

Or email: vietnamwomensmemorial@easternnational.org.

Our next program will be on Veterans Day, November 11th, 2025.  If you wish to participate contact Dave Hobbs at 202-559-8711 or DaveHobbs@easternnational.org

If you or someone you care for finds that they need help coping with the aftermath of Vietnam, you are invited to call the Veterans’ Administration at 1-800-273-8255. They will assist you, including connecting you to the counseling services offered by Vet Centers located throughout the United States.