Brigitte Marker

Brigitte Marker knew she wanted to serve her country much like her father. However, unlike her father she didn’t want to join the Army, so she opted for the Coast Guard to save lives. She completed basic training in Cape May, NJ. Her first duty station was in Oregon, where she immediately felt the sting of harassment of being a woman. Brigitte was severely injured during a training exercise when their ship crashed twice by 35 feet swells. When her command didn’t believe she was injured, they began making her enlistment a nightmare which only added to her difficult recovery. Because of her experience, she was inspired to help other veterans. Brigitte has been volunteering with the DAV now for years.