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(countdown beeping)

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(Narrator) - Since the first women donned

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a Marine Corps uniform, female Marines have enriched

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our Corp history and enhanced our combat capability.

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As opportunities to serve have increased,

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each subsequent generation of females in the Corps

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has stepped up to the challenge,

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paving new roads for future generations to follow.

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One of these Marines who made history

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and stepped up to a new challenge,

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was Master Sergeant Barbara Dulinsky.

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After an 18-hour flight from the States,

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Dulinsky arrived in Vietnam March 18, 1967

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at Bien Hoa Air Force Base, about 30 miles from Saigon.

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When she stepped off the plane, she made history,

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becoming the first female Marine

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to serve in an active combat zone.

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Dulinsky originally enlisted in the Marines in 1951.

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She then worked as a Senior Drill Instructor

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for female Marines at

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Marine Corp Recruit Depot, Parris Island,

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before volunteering to deploy in Vietnam in 1967.

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She volunteered at a time when she

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did not think that she was going to get it.

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When the Corps began to reflect

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an evolving society in the 1960s,

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it became clearer than ever to Dulinsky

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that career opportunities were

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potentially opening up for women in the Corps,

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and that she even could attempt

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to request to be sent into a combat zone.

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When it was approved, she was shocked, to say the least,

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but ultimately enthusiastic for this opportunity

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to serve alongside her fellow Marines.

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Dulinsky would go on to spend a year deployed in Vietnam

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as an Administrative Chief with the

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Military Assistant Command in Vietnam.

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She was the first of 36 female Marines

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to serve in Vietnam between 1967 and 1973.

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She retired from the Marine Corps in 1974,

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and lived in Kent, Washington, until she passed away

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of natural causes in 1995 at the age of 66.

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Dulinsky's decision to volunteer to deploy

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to a combat zone helped to open the door

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for many female Marines at the time and in the future.

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Today, more than 13 thousand female Marines serve

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on active duty, and more than 5 thousand

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in the Marine Corps Reserves,

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fulfilling roles ranging from pilots,

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tank officers, and other combat roles.

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Semper Fidelis, Master Sergeant.