Vivian Corbett, a Black girl growing up in the early 1920s, never imagined the world was her oyster.
“As a little girl in Oklahoma, I never imagined I would be able to do anything of any real significance,” she said.
Former Army 1st Lt. Vivian “Millie” Bailey will tell you that there hasn’t been anything that hasn’t been noteworthy in the last century. During WWII, she commanded a segregated all-female unit and has been assisting service members ever since. She is still living life to the fullest at the age of 102. She even went skydiving for the first time near her home in Columbia, Maryland, last month.
“When the senior [President] George Bush did it, that made me realize that people who were not young could do it,” Bailey said during a phone interview. “It was just something I always thought I would like to do.”
Her can-do attitude has served her well throughout her life.
In the early days of World War II, Bailey enlisted in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (later renamed the Women’s Army Corps), where she was commissioned as a first lieutenant and served as the commander of an all-female detachment before being selected to attend the Adjutant General School Officers’ Administration Course. She graduated with honors as one of only two Black women in the class and went on to serve in an unsegregated unit for the first time.
Bailey was released after the war, yet she never stopped serving in some ways. She and a group of friends put prepared care packages for deployed service members during the Vietnam War. During Desert Storm, she performed it again for the troops. She’s been preparing boxes, seeking finances, and calling elected leaders for donations since 2004, as part of a campaign that has resulted in the delivery of hundreds of comfort packages around the world.
According to her, the service men who receive the boxes are rather vocal about what they want to see inside.
“We used to send quite a few personal hygiene things, but it became quite clear that the main things that the soldiers wanted [were] snacks,” Bailey said.
She claimed she wouldn’t know what advice to give contemporary female service members because so much has changed since her time in the military. She did, however, provide one piece of advice that may have contributed to her longevity: don’t sweat the small stuff.
“I religiously try not to worry about anything I can’t do anything about,” she said. “If I can’t do anything about it, why fret over it?”
Bailey has received numerous awards over her career, including those from President Donald J. Trump and other leaders. Howard County, Maryland, recently dedicated a park to her. She attended the dedication of the new Vivian C. Millie Bailey Neighborhood Square with officials.
“It made me feel very, very honored,” she said. “I’ve received a number of honors, but I never expected to have anything quite that prestigious.”
Bailey said she has a couple more things she’d like to do, but she still has one item on her bucket list.
“Meet Michelle Obama,” she said, referring to the former First Lady. “President Obama received me at the White House in 2015, but Mrs. Obama was not there.”
Bailey said she’s received two letters from Michelle Obama over the years, so hopefully she’ll be able to cross it off her bucket list as well!
