Nancy Bird

Nancy Bird has served in the United States Army and achieved the rank of Colonel.

Ms. Bird served our great Nation from 1961 to 2001. Throughout her 40-year career with the Army, Ms. Bird has been a trailblazer for women serving in the Armed Forces. Although she is very modest about the pioneering work she has done, her list of accomplishments is remarkable.

During the summer between her junior and senior year at the College at Brockport, Ms. Bird attended the Women’s Army Corps Center for training, which led to her commission after graduation in 1961. Since that time, she has served in numerous capacities, including Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Instructor, Administrator, Service Coordinator, and Recruiter.

Ms. Bird played an important role in getting the Army equipped to accept women into the ROTC program, as well as for special assignments at the Pentagon. She was stationed across the United States from Boston, Massachusetts to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and has made it all the way to Camp Zama, Japan.

Since her retirement from the Army in 2001, Ms. Bird has continued to serve others. She has spent countless hours at MEPS administering the oath of enlistment to new recruits, as well as taking the time to talk with them and their families to offer advice from her years of experience.

Ms. Bird volunteers every other Friday night at the Blue Star Mother's Coffee House, where she is the first to ask the attendees how they are doing and the last one to eat. That’s who she is – compassionate, driven, and supportive of everyone around her.

Ms. Bird has taken many fellow women veterans under her caring wing, reaching out if they are ever in need, and is a true friend to all. She once said, “In my era, there was little to no recognition or even a question about military service as a woman.” Ms. Bird worked to change that, and she is to be celebrated and applauded for her service to our country and the female veteran community at large.