BiographyVirginiaHale

Hood County Texas Genealogical Society

VIRGINIA HALE

Virginia Hale's promotion to Specialist 5 by her Commanding Officer in 1976

My name is Virginia Hale of Lake Jackson, Texas. Generations of my family have lived in Hood County and have proudly served in the military of the United States of America.

I grew up in neighboring Palo Pinto County and knew at an early age that being patriotic was important. In the 1950's and 1960's we prayed and said the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school.

Communities had honor and respect for all active duty personnel and veterans. Military service was the most honorable sacrifice a person could make. This was my experience.

My father, Captain Thomas Right Hale, died while on active duty with the U.S. Air Force. In 1959, when I was five years old, I went to live with my grandmother in Mineral Wells, Texas from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where I was born.

My grandmother, Virginia Rosalind Taylor, was born in 1897 and grew up at the Richard and Jessie Doyle Taylor homestead on the present Bosley Cemetery Road in the extreme southeastern portion of Palo Pinto County, between Santo and Lipan.

My grandfather, Thomas C. Hale, was born in 1891, and grew up in Lipan on the 124-acre homestead of Madison Right and America Iles Hale where the present-day Lipan High School stands.

We were somehow related to everyone from Santo to Natty Flat to Lipan, and I was always curious about this and asking questions. It was always complicated though and hard to sort in my young mind. Sometimes Granny had a hard time in determining just exactly how some people were related to us, so she would simply reply to me, "Oh, they're our 42^nd cousins."

I graduated from Weatherford High School in 1970 and attended Oklahoma Christian College in Oklahoma City.

In 1973, during the Vietnam War, I enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Army Security Agency until 1977. I attained the rank of Specialist 5 and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and National Defense Service Medal.

Military service took me to Alabama, California, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, and temporary duty assignments in the Orient.

I lived in Hawaii for five years, working at the local ABC television affiliate and later working for the federal government at Pearl Harbor.

In 1981 I moved to Lake Jackson, Texas where I live with my 17-year old son, Joseph. I work for the U.S. Department of Energy's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We store the nation's emergency oil supply.

My personal interests are computer technology, genealogy, writing, and being a best buddy to Joseph. I am a proud member of the 7th Bombardment Group (H) Historical Foundation and the Hood County Texas Genealogical Society.

Presently I am writing a book on the specialized historical topic of the military veterans of Hood County, Texas. Hood County has given deeply to the nation, particularly in times of war. The many heroes and generations of patriotic families will be documented and honored.

If you have family information you would like to provide for inclusion to the documentation of Hood County military veterans, please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to interview, compile, and write a testament for your family's heritage.

Return to Military Veterans Home Page