They said she couldn’t fly in a jet because her "female parts would be damaged."
“It was quite a thrill breaking the sound barrier at 100 feet, climbing straight up, and doing rolls and loops above the clouds.”
They said she couldn't complete the same basic training.
They said she couldn’t work on the operations staff.
They said she couldn't work in Intelligence.
They said she couldn’t work overseas.

They said many things.

She proved them wrong.
On one course, an instructor threatened to resign rather than accept a woman in his classroom.

When she finished first in class, he had the staff review all the results. When they found no cheating or academic misconduct, he accepted her. Only then.

And then he apologized.
They said she couldn’t work overseas because as a single woman, she would be vulnerable to blackmail by the Soviets.

Naturally, she went to Germany to be the Chief Intelligence Analyst during the Gulf War.
The Cold War.
The Gulf War.

She served at NORAD during 9/11.

Leader. Trailblazer.
She overcame discrimination, sexual harassment, physical assault, ignorance, prejudice, and chauvinism to fight for Canada.

She fought to fight for Canada.

Lieutenant-Colonel Susan Beharriell proved them wrong.
Lieutenant-Colonel Susan Beharriell proved them wrong.

The men who said she couldn't, she shouldn't, she wouldn't?

The men who stood in her way, confronted her, assaulted her, harrassed her?

The men who should've defended her?
 
They were Us, too.
 
Never forget.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Canadian Forces in 🇺🇸

Canadian Forces in 🇺🇸 Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @CAFinUS

7 Feb
They doubted her.
They restricted her.
They confronted her.

But Major Charity Adams didn’t stop.

Does she look like she’d stop?

#BlackHistoryMonth
Major Charity Adams and the Six Triple Eight were the only all-Black battalion of women in Europe during the Second World War.
A visiting General: “I’m going to send a white first lieutenant down here to show you how to run this unit.”

Major Adams: “Over my dead body, sir.”
nytimes.com/2020/06/17/mag…
Read 6 tweets
18 Jan
When a U.S. Navy ship runs aground in Newfoundland, sailors scramble to abandon ship. But this man hesitates.

For a moment, he thinks he’s better off dying in the frigid Atlantic Ocean.

Why?
It's February, 1942. Nazis U-Boats patrol the Atlantic.

USS Truxtun and USS Wilkes are escorting USS Pollux through a treacherous winter storm and "Torpedo Alley."

When Truxtun slams into the rocks, Lanier Phillips thinks it’s an iceberg or a torpedo.
He scrambles to the upper deck.

"All I could see was snow and ice, the cliffs.”

He was told he’d be lynched by the locals if he made it ashore, that he should stay with the ship.

Fearing extreme racism on land, his Black and Filipino shipmates choose to stay.
Read 17 tweets
13 Dec 20
A boy, a girl, and a soldier.

Three statues holding hands in Gander, Newfoundland.
They're facing Kentucky.

Why Kentucky?
1985. It’s 12 days before Christmas Eve.

American soldiers in Egypt finish their tour.
A plane is waiting to carry some of them home.

Some soldiers give their tickets to those with spouses and children to get them home early.
They board the plane. Most are from @101stAASLTDIV, the Screaming Eagles.

After six-months on a peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula, they are eager for home as they cross the Atlantic.
Read 17 tweets
11 Dec 20
It’s Hanukkah 1944.

There’s a war. Your family is torn apart.
You don’t know where they are. Will you see them again?

But for a moment, there's a light. Image
It's December.

You're a Jewish child hiding from the Nazis with a Christian family.

You haven't seen your mother and father for months, maybe years.
A year earlier, Jews huddled around this menorah in Westerbork transit camp.

From July 1942 to September 1944, the Nazis deported some 100,000 Jews from Westerbork. Anne Frank was among them.

They were your mothers and fathers.
Your brothers and sisters.

Gone. Image
Read 16 tweets
29 Nov 20
This tree from Nova Scotia is now in Boston Common.

The Nova Scotians send one every year.

Why? Image
It's December, 1917.

Canada has been at war for more than three years.

But children in Halifax are excited because it's almost Christmas.
On December 6, two ships collide in Halifax Harbour.
Sparks. Fire. Black smoke.

People watch from windows.
Children walking to school run to the shoreline.

One ship is carrying relief supplies for war-torn Belgium.
The other is laden with 2.9 kilotons of explosives.
Read 20 tweets
4 Oct 20
🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈 #ProudBoys
If you wear our uniform, know what it means.

If you’re thinking about wearing our uniform, know what it means.

Love is love.
Know what we mean? 🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈
They were silent.
They were shunned.
They weren’t always welcomed.

This is about us, then, now.
This is for them.

They are Us. 🏳️‍🌈
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!