Veteran
can’t say
no...
...to serving her country and others
Ursula “Sue” Davis often helps her family and friends.
She also gives to strangers and to her state and country.
She gave more than seven years of service to the Indiana
National Guard Reserve.
When Mrs. Davis, 57, joined in 1980, there were few
positions open to women. Baby Boomer women were often
discouraged from joining the military. Today, women
comprise about 10 percent of the 12,000 Hoosiers who
serve in the Indiana National Guard.
Mrs. Davis went to military facilities at Ft. McCullough, Alabama and Ft. Hood, Texas, where she
studied nursing. The drills were her least favorite part of
training.
“I remember we had to run carrying M-16s,” she said.
It was during one of those runs just three weeks
before graduating from the nursing program that she
was inured. She recovered, but continued to have probj
lems. After rehabilitation at North Capitol Nursing and
Rehabilita ion, a senior health facility operated by Amerit
can Senior Communities, her condition is much improved.
To serve out the remainder of her commitment, Mrs.
Davis was assigned to the kitchen. “I was the only female
in the kitchen,” she recalled.
She loved her job because cooking was something she
enjoyed. It brought her peace and happiness. She started
cooking when she was eight years old, she said. Many
days, she was in the kitchen helping her grandmother
prepare meals and learning how to cook.
Growing up was hard, she said. As a child, she and
her brothers and sisters lived with relatives because their
mother was frequently in the hospital for tuberculosis.
She and her siblings attended eight different schools.
“The only time we could see her was through a window,” she said of her mother, Ursula Wallace.
On some Christmas mornings, nothing was under the
tree. A house fire took the life of one her brothers. At age
16, she got married, but the relationship was tumultuous
and the couple separated.
Having such a hard life taught her how to scuffle and
survive, she said.
She joined the National Guard Reserve, believing that
she could handle the rigors of military life.
After her discharge in 1987, Mrs. Davis returned to
Indianapolis. She remarried, but that relationship and a
third marriage didn’t work. Her solace was in helping her
family and friends.
“Once, I had six people staying in my house, while I
was trying to help them,” she said.
Giving back is something she’s always done, she said.
“I believe God wants us to serve people like we serve him.
Being of service to others is what we are supposed to do.
That’s why I don’t mind helping people,” she said.
As she talked about her life, a neighbor knocked on the
door of her apartment.
“You cooking chili today?” her neighbor asked.
“It’s like that all of the time,” she said. “I really can’t
say no to helping people. People have to help each other.”
By EUNICE TROTTER
American Senior Communities
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