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Evelyn Patricia Foote Collection

Evelyn "Pat" Foote (b. 1930) of Durham, North Carolina, served as an officer in the United States Army from 1959 to 1989, rising to the rank of brigadier general in 1986. She retired as the first female commander of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and became a prominent speaker about issues concerning women in the military. In 1998 Foote became the president of the Alliance for National Defense. She continued to hold that role as of 2007.

Evelyn Pat Foote with four WACs
Lieutenant Colonel Evelyn "Pat" Foote speaks with four fellow servicewomen, circa 1976. She wears the army green service uniform with US Army, Vietnam shoulder sleeve insignia and Army General Service Identification Badge.
Evelyn Patricia Foote
Evelyn "Pat" Foote speaks while seated on a couch, circa 1976. She wears the army green pantsuit uniform with the general staff branch insignia on her lapel and the U.S. Army Command shoulder sleeve patch. Another woman in uniform can be seen in the background, also seated.
Evelyn Patricia Foote
Evelyn "Pat" Foote, circa 1976, in the army green pantsuit uniform. She wears the general staff branch insignia on her lapel and the U.S. Army Command shoulder sleeve patch.
Evelyn Patricia Foote
Portrait of Evelyn Patricia Foote.
Evelyn Patricia Foote and Melodie Esposito
Major Evelyn "Pat" Foote (left) shakes hands with Drill Sergeant Melodie Esposito in front of an American flag, circa 1971. Both women wear olive green fatigues; Foote wears the Vietnam patch on her sleeve. The "Oath of Enlistment" is tucked under one of her arms, and she holds what appears to be a microphone.
Evelyn Patricia Foote and unidentified women, circa 1975
Evelyn Patricia Foote (second from right) poses with three unidentified women, circa 1975. She wears olive green fatigues and a camouflage helmet.
Evelyn Patricia Foote cutting a cake
Evelyn "Pat" Foote cuts a cake that reads "Women's Army Corps," with Sergeant First Class Sue Horne, circa 1978. Horne (left) wears the army green cord uniform. Foote (right) wears the army green service uniform with the ribbon for the meritorious unit commendation award , the Republic of Vietnam meritorious unit citation with palm, and the U.S. Army Command shoulder sleeve insignia.
Evelyn Patricia Foote receives award
Lieutenant Colonel Evelyn "Pat" Foote is handed an award, possibly an oak leaf cluster for her Army Commendation Medal, by Major General Cal Benedict, circa 1976. Foote wears the army green service uniform with lieutenant colonel insignia and U.S. Army Command shoulder sleeve insignia; the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster is pinned above her ribbon bars. The ribbons she wears include (top to bottom, left to right): bronze star medal ribbon bar; meritorious service ribbon bar with oak leaf cluster; army commendation medal ribbon bar; national defense service medal ribbon bar; Vietnam service medal ribbon bar; armed forces reserve medal ribbon bar; and Vietnam service medal ribbon bar.
Evelyn Patricia Foote receives award, circa 1976
Lieutenant Colonel Evelyn Patricia Foote is handed an award, possibly an oak leaf cluster for her Army Commendation Medal, by Major General Cal Benedict, circa 1976. Foote wears the army green service uniform with lieutenant colonel insignia and U.S. Army Command shoulder sleeve insignia; the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster is pinned above her ribbon bars. The ribbons she wears include (top to bottom, left to right): bronze star medal ribbon bar; meritorious service ribbon bar with oak leaf cluster; army commendation medal ribbon bar; national defense service medal ribbon bar; Vietnam service medal ribbon bar; armed forces reserve medal ribbon bar; and Vietnam service medal ribbon bar. An inscription on the photo reads, "Thanks, Pat, for all of your excellent work. I wish you the best of everything in the year ahead. Cal Benedict, M.G. USA."
Jimmy Carter with WAC personnel
Four female army personnel, (l to r) Lieutenant Colonel Evelyn Patricia Foote, Staff Sergeant Hammack, WAC director Brigadier General Mildred Inez Bailey, 2nd Lieutenant Grisdale, and Specialist White, stand around President Jimmy Carter's desk as he signs a document, possibly the bill the abolish the Women's Army Corps as a separate corps, circa 1978. All five women wear the army green service uniform; Foote and Bailey wear berets and both have the Army General Service Identification Badge pinned at their waists.
Oral history interview with Pat Foote
Primarily documents Brig. Gen. Evelyn "Pat" Foote's background; her service with the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1989; her involvement with organizations and committees related to veterans and women in the military in the 1990s; and her work as president of the Alliance for National Defense beginning in 1998. Foote also comments on many issues and challenges related to women in the army. Foote provides a brief overview of her family background and youth in Durham, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C.; working her way through Wake Forest College in Wake Forest, North Carolina, in the early 1950s; and working for a newspaper and insurance company before joining the army. " Foote explains how she learned about the Women's Army Corps (WAC); her decision to join the army; the reaction of her family and friends; and general attitudes about women in the military in the late 1950s. Foote describes her six-month training at the WAC Officer Training Detachment at Fort McClellan, Alabama, in 1960, including why several women did not graduate, and the classwork and types of training she received. She relates her experience with current issues related to women in combat, the war in Iraq, and positions that are still closed to them. " Foote describes her first assignment as a platoon officer; including her lack of experience; training new recruits; the women that she trained; having to judge those that could succeed; and why she enjoined it. She also discusses her recruiting tour in Portland, Oregon, from 1961 to 1964. Topics include recruiting women for commission; the College Junior Program; and doing public relations work for recruitment. Foote briefly describes her assignment as commander of a WAC garrison company at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, in 1964. She talks about teaching ethics, morality, and current events and comments on the difficulties in the WAC at that time. " Foote also speaks about her one-year tour in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1967. She describes volunteering for overseas duty and being turned down twice; being assigned to public information after being promoted to major; the information environment in Vietnam and the number of personnel devoted to it; traveling across the country; constant sense of danger; and tracking North Vietnamese regulars prior to the Tet Offensive. She also comments on how the war was fought, compares Vietnam to the war in Iraq, and notes the disillusionment in the country after the war. " Foote discusses the state of the WAC during the late sixties and early seventies, including the impact of the end of conscription; the drive to increase the number of women in the army; poor planning for integrating women into male units; and various issues and related to integrating women, particularly in living arrangements and supplies. She notes that more doors began to open for women in the late 1960s and 1970s, but that steps backward were taken in the 1980s by re-segregating basic training. " Foote talks about becoming an MP in the late seventies and becoming the commander of the integrated 42nd Military Police Group in Mannheim, Germany, from 1983 to 1985. Foote describes her finding out about promotion to brigadier general; becoming deputy inspector general; and her work doing inspections of army bases worldwide from 1986 to 1988. Foote speaks about becoming the first female deputy commanding general of the Military District of Washington (MDW) stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; changes at Fort Belvoir; working with civilians; and her command style. She also discusses many other prominent women in the army, including Brigadier General Rebecca Halstead and Brigadier General Anne MacDonald. " Foote describes her public speaking engagements and her involvement in various organizations and commissions after she retired from the army in 1989, including the Clinton-Gore National Veterans Task Force; the Atlantic Council; the American Battle Monuments Commission and her trip to Normandy to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of D-Day; and being selected for the World War II Memorial Committee. Foote explains her eight-year involvement in the plan and design of the World War II Memorial; opposition to the proposed site from the National Coalition to Save Our Mall; the design competition; and fighting to keep a quote from a woman as part of the inscriptions. " Foote comments on being recalled to active duty in 1996 and serving for one year as the vice chairman of the Secretary of the Army's Senior Review Panel on Sexual Harassment. She describes the panel's procedures; conducting a survey concerning issues related to sexual harassment and discrimination; the findings of the study; and related leadership problems. Foote also comments on contemporary sexual discrimination in the army and why she believes it is still a problem. " Foote also talks about her ongoing work with the Alliance for National Defense. She explains how the organization started in 1998; how it represents women in the armed forces; being in opposition with Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness; and her work with other veterans organizations.
Portrait of Evelyn Patricia Foote
Portrait of Lieutenant Colonel Evelyn "Pat" Foote, circa 1977. She wears the army green service uniform with lieutenant colonel oak leaf pin on the shoulder boards, military police lapel pin, and Vietnam shoulder sleeve patch. On her right jacket breast Foote wears the meritorious unit commendation award, and on her left (top to bottom, left to right) the bronze star medal ribbon bar; meritorious service ribbon bar with oak leaf cluster; army commendation medal ribbon bar with oak leaf cluster; national defense service medal ribbon bar; Vietnam service medal ribbon bar; armed forces reserve medal ribbon bar; and Vietnam service medal ribbon bar.

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