wt eee. Dae Sa a eae ec aes Se ee ee aE ne gt b C4-Sunday News, May 18, 1980 ee eee ee ee FORT BRAGG, N.C. (UPD - In a single pass by five planes, 152 women soldiers performed what military authorities called histories first mass parachute jump by women. The jump Wednesday commemorated the 38th anniversary of the now- disbanded Women's Army Corps, and was executed by women from several units at Fort Bragg. mostly from the 82nd Airborne Division, which accepted its first women members in 1978. Accompanying the paratroopers on the flight was the Army’s_ highest ranking woman officer, Maj. Gen. Mary Clarke, com- mander of Fort McClellan, Ala. . “It took a long time to happen, but basic combat training, advanced = in- dividual training, military schools and even West Point are now integrated and open to women,” she told the paratroopers after the jump. “There are a lot of doors open for women in the US. Army. including the doors of a C-130, and I hope you take advantage of these benefits which women didn't have when the Women’s Army Corps first started ” The 152 women paratroopers gathered = at nearby Pope Air Force Base carly Wednesday morning. donned parachutes and all combat equipment exccpl SINGER MAUREEN FORRESTER receives the Diplome d’Honneur from Her Excellency Lilly Schreyer, wife of the Governor General of Canada at Government House. The annual award is presented to persons who have contributed outstanding service to the arts in Canada. Doors open for women weapons and boarded the C- 130 transport planes for the 45-minute trip to Fort Bragg. The jump over Fort Bragg’s Sicily Drop Zone was executed flawlessly in one pass. “As far as I know, there has never been a mass parachute jump by female soldiers in the United States or anywhere else in_ the world today,” said Lt. Gen. Thomas H. Tackaberry, commander of Fort Braggs. Tackaberry and Sgt. May. William P. Mixon were the only men who participated in the jump. Spec. 4 Robin Robinson, one of the first women ever assigned to the 82nd Air- borne Division, said she was honored to participate in the mass jump. “I felt proud when I was the third woman assigned to the 82nd Airborne and today I felt proud that I par- ticipated in the first-ever all- female parachute jump,” she said. GARBAGE DAY IS PAPER DAY In.The District Of North Vancouver Juee feocrt Hoey kate Pee yas Campaigns for herself NEW YORK (UPI) - Joan Kennedy says helping in her husband's presidential campaign is “wonderful for me, the best thing in the world, next to getting sober”. “Whether we win or lose, | win,” she said in an interview in the current’ McCall's magazine, where she talked frankly of her alcoholism and the pressures of being constantly in the public eye. Asked if she in part was campaigning for herself, she replied, “Well, yes, I guess so. | haven't had a drink in ages. I can never have a drink. The best answer | have to worry about my alcoholism is just to let people see me. To see how welll am.” Mrs. Kennedy said the presidential campaign also has been “terrific for our marriage”. “We're doing something together - even when he's campaigning in one part of the country and I'm in another.” She also countered critics who point at Kennedy's lack of affection in public as evidence of a _ failed mariage. Fiexalum... the versatile vertica BZ Le, » Y — Z AINA