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‘She loves America and what it stands for’ · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  She loves America and what it stands for. Written by Tom Collins.
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  This article is being read by an automated voice brought to you
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  by Everlet. He needed just one more sign-up. The U.S. Navy recruiter
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  was inches from retirement and required one last youth to sign with
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  Uncle Sam. And then in walked Charlotte McGrath Seeger.
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  The Vietnam veteran and Ottawa resident was a pretty easy sell. Back
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  in 1965, the native of the Finger Lakes region of upstate New
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  York was unsatisfied with junior college. She needed a challenge.
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  After a short time thinking about what to do next, I decided
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  maybe military life might be to my liking, Seeger said. You know,
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  travel and see the world.
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  Besides, I liked the Navy’s uniform.
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  Both the U.S. Navy and the uniform proved to be a terrific
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  fit. Seeger served from March 12, 1965, to Nov. 22, 1966
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  she was a seaman at discharge and today she speaks enthusiastically to
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  any young person contemplating military service.
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  I have done a few speaking engagements since returning from my Honor
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  Flight I took in October 2021, Seeger said. I think the most
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  important key point has been: you learn discipline, which has continued to
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  be a personal asset throughout my entire life.
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  Military service perks stay with you for a lifetime. I have access
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  to medical care, had educational benefits for schooling and had the opportunity
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  to take the Honor Flight 2021, she said, and I’ve made many
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  friends throughout my adult life.
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  That’s not to say service was always fun. Boot camp lasted eight
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  weeks and there were times when she wondered if she had made
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  the right decision.
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  When you are 19 years old, she recalled, why care if a
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  penny doesn’t bounce off your bedspread or your clothes aren’t folded in
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  your locker exactly in thirds?
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  Soon, however, she rose to Assistant Mustering Officer, which buoyed her spirits
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  and made her laser-focused on graduating. She finished boot camp in Bainbridge,
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  Maryland, and remained there serving on the Officers Fitness Board.
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  My specialty was as a general office clerk focused on paperwork and
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  after basic training, she said. What we did there was keep track
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  of officers fitness reports and getting them ready for promotions.
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  She then was transferred to Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. She
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  might have stayed on but she had married a fellow Navy man,
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  became pregnant, and was honorably discharged in late 1966.
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  In those days, they didn’t have maternity uniforms, she laughed.
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  That union, however, didn’t work out. She moved to Illinois and married
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  her second husband, James H. McGrath, in 1979. Jim died 40 years
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  later. In 2023, she married Lt. Col. Roger L. Seeger, retired from
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  the U.S. Army National Guard.
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  Even in civilian life, Seeger retained the organizational skills she honed while
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  working for Uncle Sam, as friend Amy Gillespie would later testify.
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  Gillespie is the admissions director at the La Salle County Nursing Home,
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  where Jim McGrath spent his final years. Gillespie recalled that Seeger cut
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  an impressive figure when she walked in the door to inquire about
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  Jim’s care.
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  I just don’t meet many female veterans as I do males, so
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  that No. 1 was impressive, Gillespie recalled.
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  Seeger also had thoughtful and penetrating questions about long-term care, well beyond
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  the queries that Gillespie usually fields.
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  Nobody wants to think about this kind of stuff, Gillespie said. Charlotte
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  is a keen observer of any situation she’s in and she’s extremely
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  organized.
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  What impressed Gillespie most was how congenial Seeger was with staff and
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  other residents.
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  She’s just an effusively warm person who connects with people.
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  Not long after Jim’s passing, Charlotte was at home watching TV when
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  a segment about Honor Flight grabbed her attention. She applied in February
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  2020 and was selected to take part in Honor Flight Chicago’s first
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  women-only flight, Operation Her Story.
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  I immediately flew right to my computer because Honor Flight is something
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  I always wanted to do, Seeger said then.
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  The original flight was scheduled for October 2020, but with the pandemic
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  roaring, the flight was pushed back to Oct. 6, 2021.
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  She reveled in the experience. Seeger was paired with a young woman
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  from Puerto Rico who had recently enlisted in the Navy. They bonded
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  quickly. There also were two veterans of World War II one was
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  99 years old, the other turned 103 the day of the flight
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  and the tour included the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.
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  She particularly enjoyed the Korean War Memorial Jim had served during that
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  era but one of the greatest thrills was the reception on the
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  ground, both in Washington, D.C, and in Chicago.
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  Oh my gosh, it was just unreal. I bet there were probably
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  400 or 500 people welcoming us back, Seeger said. I knew it
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  was going to be big, but the day was way beyond my
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  imagination. All of the Honor Flight Volunteers were so warm, friendly and
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  caring.
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  It also made her reevaluate the importance of her own military service.
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  Walking with these incredible 93 women veterans, learning about their stories and
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  their service, I realized, Yes, I did contribute with my commitment to
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  the Navy. I really did make a difference.
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  And that realization was huge for me. It really gave me a
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  whole new perspective on my life and contributions to our country.
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  It also brought about love. Charlotte appealed to other veterans to avail
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  themselves of Honor Flight and Roger Seeger was among those impressed with
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  her pitch. Roger and Charlotte went out for coffee while friend Linda
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  DeRosa delighted in watching the relationship blossom.
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  Seeger, she said, is a loving wife, a talented artist, and not
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  least a patriotic American.
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  She loves America and what it stands for, DeRosa said. She’s kind
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  of our hero.