US Air Force General, Pioneering Female Military Officer. She attended Lewis and Clark College and worked as a silversmith before enlisting in the Army for World War II, receiving her commission in the Women's Army Corps after completion of Officer Candidate School in 1943. She commanded a WAC basic training company and later a basic training regiment at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, afterwards remaining on active duty as commander of a WAC company at Newton D. Baker Hospital in West Virginia. After returning to Lewis and Clark College to complete her degree, Holm rejoined the military in 1948, serving as a company commander at Fort Lee, Virginia. The next year she transferred to the newly formed Air Force and served in assignments of increasing rank and responsibility in the US and Europe. In 1965 she was appointed Director of Women in the Air Force. She was promoted to Brigadier General in 1971, the first female to attain general officer rank in the Air Force. In 1973 she was appointed Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council and advanced to Major General, the first woman in any branch of the US military to attain two-star rank. She retired in 1975, afterwards serving as a Special Assistant on Women for President Gerald Ford and as a policy consultant for the Carter administration. She also authored two books, 1986's "Women in the Military, An Unfinished Revolution," and 1998's "In Defense of a Nation: Servicewomen in World War II." General Holm's awards included the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.
US Air Force General, Pioneering Female Military Officer. She attended Lewis and Clark College and worked as a silversmith before enlisting in the Army for World War II, receiving her commission in the Women's Army Corps after completion of Officer Candidate School in 1943. She commanded a WAC basic training company and later a basic training regiment at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, afterwards remaining on active duty as commander of a WAC company at Newton D. Baker Hospital in West Virginia. After returning to Lewis and Clark College to complete her degree, Holm rejoined the military in 1948, serving as a company commander at Fort Lee, Virginia. The next year she transferred to the newly formed Air Force and served in assignments of increasing rank and responsibility in the US and Europe. In 1965 she was appointed Director of Women in the Air Force. She was promoted to Brigadier General in 1971, the first female to attain general officer rank in the Air Force. In 1973 she was appointed Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council and advanced to Major General, the first woman in any branch of the US military to attain two-star rank. She retired in 1975, afterwards serving as a Special Assistant on Women for President Gerald Ford and as a policy consultant for the Carter administration. She also authored two books, 1986's "Women in the Military, An Unfinished Revolution," and 1998's "In Defense of a Nation: Servicewomen in World War II." General Holm's awards included the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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