Fifty years ago this summer, the first Air Force Academy women arrived for training — now female graduates are sharing their stories for permanent preservation at the Library of Congress. 

USAFA Women, an independent nonprofit, set out to collect oral histories through its HERitage Committee to preserve the legacy of the women who attended the academy, inspire future generations and memorialize triumphs by sharing stories of how the graduates overcame adversity, said Linda Garcia Cubero, a committee member and a 1980 graduate. The class of ‘80 was the first coed class, and the women in the class are known as the ‘80s ladies. 

When the Library of Congress heard about the work, the national institution asked to partner on the project, Garcia Cubero said.

So far, the committee of five has interviewed about 140 people for inclusion in the library’s Veterans History Project, far exceeding the goal of 100, set last fall.

While most of the interviewees are female graduates, the committee has included others as well who have good stories to tell. In one case, they talked with a woman who spent two years at the academy before leaving. 

“It’s such an honor and a humbling experience to interview these amazing women,” Garcia Cubero said. 

The HERitage Committee expects to present the interviews to the library during an event on Sept. 9 in Washington, D.C., that will also celebrate the book “Necessary Turbulence: Women Who Inspire a Nation.” The collective narrative highlights the experiences of 108 women who attended the academy since 1980. 

The recorded interviews spanned the decades as well. However, all participants had to be veterans who have separated or retired from the service and are not serving in the reserves or National Guard to abide by Library of Congress requirements, Garcia Cubero said. 

Kathy Campbell is among those who will have a story archived and shared about how she survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the utter chaos of the aftermath, Garcia Cubero said.  

When she left, Campbell had to walk 7 miles to her sons’ school, where the older one was scared for her life because she was so late picking them up and the younger one never questioned whether she would make it. 

In a tale of trailblazing, Peggy Bertaina, a 1980 graduate and female astronautical major, related how she was charged with giving astronaut Judy Resnik a tour of the academy, and it went so well that Resnik told her to call if there was anything she could do to help her. So Bertaina called a few days later and asked if she could intern with NASA, and after checking, Resnik called back and said yes, Garcia Cubero said.

When Bertaina told the head of her department, he was excited and instructed her to get permission from the officer overseeing her squadron, who told her she couldn’t go because she had bypassed her chain of command, Garcia Cubero said. The department head ended up stepping in to ensure Bertaina could participate, and she did so well, it opened up a pipeline to summer internships at NASA for cadets. 

A former emergency medicine doctor for the Air Force, Torree McGowan, who graduated in 2001, recounted how she had to deploy four months after giving birth via cesarean section, despite pain. 

“She wrote letters upon her return and single-handedly changed the Air Force deferment policy from four months to six months,”  Garcia Cubero said. 

Across the numerous interviews she completed, Garcia Cubero said she heard themes across diverse experiences, such as “don’t listen to naysayers,” “be your own advocate” and “don’t lose your sense of humor.”  

And, perhaps as the committee far exceeding its goals shows, “you can do more than you think you can.”