A Leader in Flight
by Camryn Dreyer
WAF Officer candidate salutes in front of US flag. Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. November 1952. Source: (U.S. Air Force photo)
Kristi Hutnek
June 23, 1954-December 6, 2004
Sergeant Kristi Hutnek is one of two female recipients of the Purple Heart buried in Fort Logan cemetery. She was born June 23rd, 1954 in San Francisco County to Bettie and Stephen Hutnek.[1] Her parents separated in 1973 when she was 19.[2] She grew up near San Mateo, California and graduated from Carlmont High School in 1972.[3] She chose to pursue a career in the US Air Force and completed Air Force basic training in Lackland, Texas. Afterwards, she continued her military education at the Technical Training Center at Keesler Air Force Base where she focused on administrative training.[4]
When Kristi joined the military, women had only been allowed to serve in the Air Force for about thirty years. They were first allowed to serve in 1948 as members of the WAF (Women’s Air Force).[5] When the WAF program ended in 1976 (during Hutnek’s time in the Air Force) the military decided that women would be accepted into the Air Force on equal terms as men.[6] Up until this date women had also been barred from attending military academies and it was during this time that the military removed policies that required immediate discharge of a women who became pregnant or adopted a child.[7] The Air Force’s treatment of women shifted greatly during Hutnek’s tenure there.
Hutnek served during both Vietnam and the Persian Gulf wars and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal. While in the service she achieved the rank of Senior Master Sergeant, a leadership position.[8] To attain such a rank an enlisted person must have a Bachelor’s degree and also a broad range of experience in technical fields. Presently, less than ten percent of service people eligible to become a Master Sergeant are appointed to the position.[9] Because Sergeant Hutnek was still in the midst of her training when the Vietnam War ended, it is most likely that her service in the Persian Gulf War is what earned her a Purple Heart. During the Vietnam War women in the Air Force (serving in the WAFs) completed support roles essential to the war effort, such as supply runs and evacuating wounded soldiers from the battlefields. In contrast to the Vietnam War, where roughly 7,000 women served, more than 40,000 servicewomen were called to action during the Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.[10] This was the largest number of American servicewomen ever deployed to a combat theatre, and though women were technically not yet allowed in combat roles, thirteen servicewomen gave their lives during the Persian Gulf War. Four of these women died from enemy fire.[11] Though the numbers of enlisted women increased from the Vietnam War, there were still barriers to women serving in the military. For instance, it was not until the end of the Persian Gulf War that Congress repealed the laws that banned women from flying in combat.[12] Throughout the decades since the formation of women’s units within the military, women have sought and found ways to serve their country as Kristi Hutnek did when she chose a career in the armed forces. Kristi Hutnek died in December of 2004 and was interred at Fort Logan National Cemetery.
Footnotes ↓
[1] California birth index 1905-1995. (Provo, Utah). https://search.anc estrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=kVh502&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&qh=FcB450ea7NfUChhVwlZdzA%3D%3D&gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Kristi%20A&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Hutnek&gsln_x=0&msypn__ftp=California,%20USA&msypn=7&msbdy=1954&catbucket=rstp&MSAV=0&uidh=md5&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=5579992&recoff=7%209&dbid=5247&indiv=1&ml_rpos=7
[2] California, Divorce Index, 1966-1984. (Provo, Utah). https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/interactive/1141/vdvusaca1966_0046_09_b-0122?pid=514506&backurl=https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DkVh489%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26qh%3DJupR70uXHAV3GQ8fkKwRjA%253D%253D%26gss%3Dangs-g%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26gsfn%3DBettie%26gsfn_x%3D0%26gsln%3DInskeep%26gsln_x%3D0%26msypn__ftp%3DCalifornia,%2520USA%26msypn%3D7%26catbucket%3Drstp%26MSAV%3D0%26uidh%3Dmd5%26pcat%3DROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3D514506%26recoff%3D26%252028%26dbid%3D1141%26indiv%3D1%26ml_rpos%3D2&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=kVh489&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true
[3] “Service News.” The Times (San Mateo, CA), May 3, 1974. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/39050800/
[4] “Service News.” The Times (San Mateo, CA), May 3, 1974. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/39050800/
[5] Eveleth, Rose. “Today in 1948, The U.S. Air Force Accepted its First Female Member.” Smithsonian Magazine, July 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/today-in-1948-the-us-air-force-accepted-its-first-female-member-7671291/
[6] Lockwood, Martha. “Women’s legacy parallels Air Force history” https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/497548/womens-legacy-parallels-air-force-history/
[7] Schloesser, Kelly. “The first women of West Point.” https://www.army.mil/article/47238/the_first_women_of_west_point
[8] US Veterans Gravesites, ca. 1775-2006, National Cemetery Administration. https://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=kVh503&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&qh=FcB450ea7NfUChhVwlZdzA%3D%3D&gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Kristi%20A&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Hutnek&gsln_x=0&msypn__ftp=California,%20USA&msypn=7&msbdy=1954&catbucket=rstp&MSAV=0&uidh=md5&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=4722653&recoff=19%2020%2021&dbid=8750&indiv=1&ml_rpos=11
[9] “E-8 Senior Master Sergeant.” https://www.military-ranks.org/air-force/senior-master-sergeant.
[10] Lockwood, Martha. “Women’s legacy parallels Air Force history.” https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/497548/womens-legacy-parallels-air-force-history/
[11] Jacinto, Leela. “The Cost of Women in Combat.” ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79646&page=1
[12] Lockwood, Martha. “Women’s legacy parallels Air Force history.” https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/497548/womens-legacy-parallels-air-force-history/
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