THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Major General Jeanne M. Holm
June 23, 1921 – February 15, 2010
“I worked to open doors for women in the Armed Forces and to keep the system honest.”
Champion of diversity and advocate for equal rights for women. First female two-star general in both the Air Force and Department of Defense. Credited as the single driving force in achieving equality for military women and making them a viable part of the mainstream military.
Photo. President Gerald Ford Meeting with Major General Jeanne Holm, Special Assistant for Women’s Affairs, in the Oval Office, March 1976.
Jeanne M. Holm is pinned with a single star as an Air Force brigadier general in 1971 by Air Force Secretary Robert Seamans (left) and Lt. Gen. R.J. Dixon, deputy chief of staff for personnel. (Associated Press).
More About Jeanne:
- Obituary, The New York Times
- General Holm remembered in ceremony at Arlington, March 2010
- Jeanne M. Holm Center, Air University
- Jeanne M. Holm Collection, Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
- Major General Jeanne M. Holm Interview, conducted by Jean Rainey, Penn State University
- Wikipedia
- Cited in Barbara Love’s book, Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975, page 220