WAC PFC Elizabeth "Lou" D. (Fisher) Creighton, circa March 1961. Photo courtesty of Lou Creighton.

The Spirit of the Women's Memorial at Work:
One Woman's 18-year Quest to Register Her WAC Sister

Do you know an eligible woman who has not yet registered with the Women’s Memorial despite your best recruiting efforts? Sometimes our best recruiting tool is simply being registered ourselves, as Women’s Memorial Charter Member Elizabeth “Lou” (Fisher) Creighton recently found out.

Eager to share her pride in being a member of the Women’s Memorial, Lou worked to recruit long-time friend and fellow WAC Judy (Buchanan) Grubb. Recruiting Judy would also help meet the Foundation’s registration goal for the 10th Anniversary Registration Challenge. Despite Lou’s best efforts during the 18 years since she became a member, Judy never filled out the registration materials given to her by her friend. For years, Lou tried to encourage her friend, but herhard work seemed to be in vain. But a determined Lou never gave up on Judy. She knew that one day her friend would come around. After many years of cajoling, Lou decided to try another tactic–to discontinue her “active” recruiting efforts, lead by example and just let the spirit of the Memorial seek her friend. It worked. Judy, who hails from Wisconsin, recently visited Lou and her family at their home in Maryland. While she was in town, Judy visited the Women’s Memorial for the first time.

“Much to my surprise, she not only visited our Memorial, but she registered!” Lou said. “I was thrilled. I’ve sent her information but she never did it. This trip, she pulled up my photo [in the Register] and was moved to register [herself],” Lou said.

Lou couldn’t be happier that she and Judy now share yet another special bond–membership in the Women’s Memorial. But sharing membership in the only national memorial that pays tribute to America’s servicewomen is just another chapter in a story that began nearly 50 years ago.

	(From left) WACs Judy Buchanan and Lou Fisher were on the WAC drill team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, April 1961. Photo courtesy of Lou Creighton.

A young 19-year old, Lou left her family home in Massillion, OH, to join the WAC in March 1960. After completing basic training and advanced individual training at Ft. McClellan, AL, Lou was assigned to Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. When she stepped off the train one weekend afternoon in late July, Lou was about to embark on a life changing adventure. With nearly everyone from the post enjoying a weekend pass, Lou found herself faced with the challenge of learning her way around all by herself.
“I didn’t even know where the mess hall was,” Lou recalls. “I got hungry enough to finally ask Judy Buchanan, of Lodi, WI. That was the beginning of a 47-year friendship between Judy and me.”

In addition to becoming fast friends at Aberdeen, Lou often calls Judy her “WAC Cupid” and credits Judy’s determination and persistence with bringing Lou and her husband Loy together all those years ago. The Monday following Lou and Judy’s first meeting and the trip to the mess hall, Lou reported to the Military Personnel Office to check in. It was there that she first met PFC Loy Creighton. Lou’s new-found friend Judy immediately thought that the pair belonged together. The persistent Judy was relentless despite Lou’s resistance to the match. She thought the tall private with the solid chin was nice, but probably a “stuffed shirt because his fatigues were so starched they could stand by themselves,” Lou recalls.

	WAC PFC Lou Fisher and Army PFC Loy Creighton wed May 27, 1961. Photo courtesy of Lou Creighton.

Judy’s vigorous campaign to bring Lou and Loy together continued. Finally by October, the same month that Lou pinned on PFC, she gave in and she said “yes” when Loy asked her out to the local A&W root beer stand. Judy’s intuition was right. Just seven months after their first date, the couple wed on May 27, 1961.

The next month, Lou was promoted to SP4 but her WAC career came to an end shortly after that. Aware of 1960s Army policy that mandated women could no longer serve if they became pregnant, yet eager to start a family, Lou was discharged in July 1961. Within a few months of her discharge, her dream of motherhood became a reality when she got pregnant with her and Loy’s first child. Ironically, Judy, who had married her hometown sweetheart in October 1960, also became pregnant around the same time as Lou and their children were born just days apart in May 1962. Judy was also discharged from the WAC in the spring of 1962.

What began as a chance encounter when a new WAC needed directions to the mess hall grew into a friendship spanning nearly a half century and now includes husbands, children, and grandchildren. And now these life-long friends share another special bond as members of the Women’s Memorial. If you have an old friend, comrade or shipmate who still hasn’t registered herself with the Memorial, why not bring her to the Memorial to visit and let the spirit of the Memorial seek her just as it did Judy (Buchanan) Grubb. Leading by example can be one of the most effective recruiting tools we have.

You may sponsor the registration of any eligible servicewoman simply by visiting our Web site and completing our online registration form. You may also honor any of the 90 fallen servicewomen who served in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom by making a donation in their memory. To honor a particular woman or to obtain a list of our fallen sisters for a Love Offering, please contact the Public Relations Department at hq@womensmemorial.org, 703-533-1155 or 800-222-2294.

View more pictures and memorabilia from Lou's WAC scrapbook.

 

(September 2007)

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