Taking Care Of The War At Home: An Army Spouse And DODEA Educator Reflects On Serving Army Families

Dr. Beverly Knox-Pipes grew up in an Army family, and states, “It was a privilege to be raised in the military.” Her father, William E. Knox, the youngest of ten children, was a career soldier who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam (three tours). He was assigned to the provost marshal’s headquarters in Japan while her mother, who was Mexican, worked as a clerk in GEN Douglas MacArthur’s office. Her wedding dress was made of parachute material. Beverly’s sister was born in Japan, and her father had to escort her mother back to the States while she was pregnant with Beverly. She recalls her father, who received a commission via OCS in Texas, hosting junior officers in their quarters. Although the family considered Fort Bliss their “home base,” they lived all over the world, and Beverly was a student at a DoD school in Schweinfurt, Germany, when she decided she wanted to become a DoDEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) teacher. She attended the University of Texas-El Paso while her parents were stationed in Germany (her father was still on active duty and her mother was in civil service). She taught in Austin, Texas, for three years before obtaining a DoDEA position in Germany in 1974. She was involved in the education of military children for 50 years, noting that “Army kids are adaptable” and the lifestyle “exposes the kids to culture.” Beverly travelled extensively, seeing the pyramids in Egypt, visiting Israel, spending Christmas in Bethlehem, and working as a tour guide in France and Italy. She met Don on a Friday night at the Patch Barracks officers’ club in March 1980. They were married in a formal Catholic ceremony in El Paso on August 15, 1981, and they honeymooned at Disney World. Their daughter was born at Fort Carson in 1984. Beverly’s mother had been very involved in wives’ groups and the Red Cross, and, after Don left active duty in 1990 and assumed leadership roles in the Michigan National Guard, she found that Guard units “knew nothing about FRGs” (Family Readiness Groups). Guard soldiers came from towns scattered throughout the state, and there was no support mechanism for their families. Beverly created a model program that provided assistance with wills, medical and dental care, and efficient communications through a phone tree, describing the experience as “very fulfilling.” She obtained a master’s degree in technology and school administration at Fort Carson and later earned a doctorate in technology and distance learning, enabling her to conduct a remote JROTC course at an inner-city school utilizing fiber-optic networks. In 2007, Beverly became concerned about Don’s panic attacks and frequent references to his combat experiences in Vietnam. Realizing that he needed to “stop living in the past,” she convinced him to seek help at the VA for post-traumatic stress, and he eventually was able to verbalize and process his thoughts and feelings more constructively. Regarding her service as an educator and Army spouse, Beverly says it “made me who I am today.” She adds, “Moving to a new place was exciting,” and she considers herself “optimistic,” “adaptable,” and “not afraid to jump into things.” She concludes by stating, “We have to take care of the war at home so they can fight the war overseas.”