Thiele recalls her service as woman in the Navy

As Veterans Day approaches, Lori (Lorraine) Thiele recalled her time serving with the U.S. Navy from 1957 to 1961.

In September, she became the first Steele County female to receive a Quilt of Valor from the Owatonna Exchange Club.

Thiele said she was born and raised in Bemidji and after high school enrolled at Bemidji State Teachers College. She soon realized that she did not really want to be a teacher. She would rather, she decided, become a stewardess. That didn’t work out because she wore glasses.

That is when the idea of joining the Navy came about and she ended up in boot camp at Bainbridge, Md., in 1957. From there she went to aviation school in Jacksonville, Fla. and finally to the Navy base at Corpus Christi, Texas.

In Corpus Christi, she was assigned to the Supply Department as an aviation storekeeper. One of three women in the department part of their job was to help with the ordering and delivering of parts for the planes as well as trucks, cars and jeeps.

There was one room, she said, that was full of nothing but bearings for the aircraft. To match the bearing with the right plane, she said, she would take the old number and match it with the new number. That was not a small task, she remembered because they did not have computers, but rather long counters filled with catalogues for the parts.

They also would prepare sea bags for sailors with whatever they would need including clothing.

Thiele also would drive the delivery truck because, she said, “I was the only one of the women who had a driver’s license for trucks.”

Although she described herself as a city girl when growing up, her grandfather owned a farm, and she was knowledgeable about things such as truck driving and deer hunting.

During her time in Corpus Christi, she said, she was also a member of the Women’s Rifle Team. It was on the rifle range that she met Vince Thiele, who was in charge of ordinance. The rifle team was a natural for her, she said, because growing up she went deer hunting and knew how to shoot a rifle.

She also knew that Thiele was from Minnesota because his car had Minnesota license plates. So, she introduced herself to him because he was a fellow Minnesotan.

They began seeing each other, she said, and they were married on Oct. 8, 1960. Then, she said, Vince was transferred to Sanford, Fla., and she was still assigned to Corpus Christi. With the help of one of her officers, she was able to get a transfer to Sanford where there were only three women on the base, Thiele and two officers. She said she was still working in supply, but it was more of an office job than in Corpus Christi.

She had been in Florida for six months when the Thiele’s learned they were expecting their first child. At the time, she said, women in the Navy could be married but not have children so her Navy career came to an end.

During her career she was awarded the Marksmanship Medal, Sharpshooter Medal and Good Conduct Medal First Award. She was an E4 at discharge, she said.

Vince’s next transfer, she said, was to Washington state and they made the trip by car when son Joel was 10 days old.

The young couple and their son lived in a small trailer in Washington, she said. Their daughter, Rel, she said, was born in October 1962. Vince was discharged from the Navy, and they returned to Minnesota where they lived on Vince’s family farm.

The family grew with five more children: Tebra, Robin, Lon, Kevin and Taresa.

“I’m proud of all of them,” she said.

Thiele said she sold Tupperware and worked for a cleaning company. Then she went to work part time at the Hope Post Office. Deb Krause was the postmaster when she started, she said. When Krause left, Thiele said she continued to work at the office, technically as the officer in charge, although it was still a part-time job with no benefits.

The Postal Service decided they were going to close the Post Office but eventually changed to having it open two hours a day. Thiele said she was not going to make a 16-mile round trip for a two-hour job, so she left the Post Office in May 2014 after 19 years.

Still, she said, “I loved every minute of it.”

Her sister, she said, does quilting and in 2015 they stopped by Country Goods in Owatonna. While talking to the people at the store she said she asked if they needed part-time help. The owner called her in January and asked if she was still interested in working there.

She said yes and continues to work part-time two days a week.

Thinking back on her time in the Navy, Thiele said she believes it would be beneficial for everyone to serve two years in military service. She also added that women in combat are fighting for their country “just as well as the guys.”