Growing up in Arbor Hill, U.S. Army Capt. Marjana Mair Bidwell wrote an essay about World War I hero Henry Johnson of Albany. She had learned about Johnson's battlefield valor from her mentor, John Howe, an African-American Vietnam War veteran from Albany who became Johnson's tireless champion.
On Tuesday, Bidwell, 31, will become the first woman to take command of a company in the 200-year history of the Third U.S. Infantry Regiment, "The Old Guard." The storied unit oversees military burials at Arlington National Cemetery. It also serves as the Army's ceremonial unit and escort to the president.
Also on Tuesday, at a White House ceremony, President Obama will award the Medal of Honor posthumously to Johnson after more than 90 years of racial discrimination and snubs. It is a redemption story that Howe, who died in 2005, and other veterans helped to author.
"It's humbling and an honor to be the first woman. I wish John Howe was still alive to see both ceremonies," said Bidwell, a 2007 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an Army intelligence officer who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read More