Denise Baken (DB), Richard Yingling (RY), and Christian Yingling (CY):

DB: As a black man in the military in the 40s and 50s, my dad had suffered such abuse. And one time he was called the n-word, and he got so mad at this officer, he slugged him. And he was the one brought up on charges, and he was reduced in rank. But he stayed in. Because he loved the military. And it was because of him that I loved the military. 

RY: Did you experience similar sorts of, um…

DB: I did, but from the standpoint of being a woman. The guys loved watching women walk away from them. And they would make their comments. So I made sure I wore a foundation garment so nothing moved. It was just the way we women handled it then. I tried to be for some of my young people coming up, their person that they could look to to see someone who led with integrity. But I just felt the weight of the difficulties, just over a long period. And — and I remember I was walking across a hall, and one woman came up on me and she said, ’You’re stooping. Don’t ever do that. We’re very proud of you.’ And that startled me, and I stood up straight and kept walking. 

RY: Can you talk about why you turned down the assignment that would have given you General? 

DB: I don’t know that any assignment would have done that. All I know is, if I was beginning to stoop, somehow maybe they were winning and I didn’t realize. And doggone it, no! I just didn’t wanna do it anymore. I wanted out.