“Both my mother and sisters were veterans,” said Holly Zenor–Lafond. “When the Women in Military Service to America Memorial was being created, my mother was very proud and did what she could to support the project. I was surprised by the passion she felt for her part in the war (she worked in an office) and in history. Since she died in 1997, I was unable to talk more with her, so I decided to find out what other women veterans had to say.” Holly did just that in the spring of 2006 for an Advanced Women’s History course at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, where she is completing a second bachelor’s degree in history. Born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, Holly received a B.A. in psychology from UNH, then worked for many years in the human services field. Holly knows why she is back in school: “The only thing I want to do with my degree is to tell the stories of common people from American history.”
Dr. Jack Resch is professor of history and humanities at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, where he has taught for thirty–five years. He specializes in researching and teaching the history of the American Revolution and the Early Republic as well as team–teaching humanities courses. His publications include Suffering Soldiers (1999) and War and Society in the American Revolution (2007). A frequent mentor of students, he says about working with Holly: “Mentoring Holly was very gratifying because we worked in a collegial relationship where I could share my experience in doing research and she shared her enthusiasm for discovery and moments of sheer delight in solving historical puzzles.”
Read Holly Zenor–Lafond’s research article Women and Combat: Why They Serve >>
