OWENSBORO, Ky. — Tamarack Elementary School students stood in the gymnasium, belting out “You’re a Grand Old Flag” while waving small American flags. Among the veterans being honored were women who had just days earlier ridden at the head of Owensboro’s annual Veterans Day parade.

Carlotta Richey and Melody Wallace were both grand marshals, and both are determined to change how the public sees women in uniform.

Richey, who served five years as military police in the U.S. Army after graduating high school, called the student performance “amazing.”

“The kids were fantastic,” she said. “The children’s poems were awesome, and they were all very respectful.”

Wallace, a former Navy hospital corpsman, was equally moved.

“Every student was standing, singing,” she said. “That was pretty spe

See Full Page