Forklift Driver for Loretta Lynn

For Julie Hilden, serving in the Army meant becoming part of something larger than herself. 

“It was just… I felt like I was part of something” she said. 

That feeling carried her through three tours in Egypt, assigned to the Multinational Forces and Observers. The year was 1982, the Camp David Peace Accords, signed a few years before, provided for a full Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Her unit, the 82nd Airborne, was the first to deploy in the southeastern Sinai Peninsula, taking over the air base during the final Israeli withdrawal and transfer to Egyptian sovereignty. It was there she became the first female forklift operator in the Sinai Peninsula, operating a 10,000-pound forklift to load and unload military aircraft in temperatures that surpassed 100 degrees.  

“This heat that they’re talking about is nothing,” she laughed. “I’ll never complain about Minnesota summers ever again.”  

When she looks back at her military service, one memory stands out. Around Christmas in 1983, country music legend Loretta Lynn arrived to perform for deployed troops. As part of her duties, Hilden helped unload Lynn’s aircraft before the show. What stayed with her wasn’t the brush with fame, it was how Lynn treated the soldiers she had come to entertain. 

“That lady was really down to earth,” she said. “She was so human. When she came into our area, it made us feel like we were human beings.” For a young soldier serving thousands of miles from home, this encounter reinforced the pride she already felt in wearing the uniform. 

After returning home, that chapter of service gave way to another. As a Veteran, she has relied on the Minneapolis VA for her care over the years, beginning when the medical center was still located in its old facility. She remembers being selected to help cut the ribbon during a ceremony when the cafeteria opened in the ‘new building.’ 

Today, she receives most of her care at the Community Based Outpatient Clinic closer to home, but she has watched the Minneapolis VA continue to grow. As the hospital prepares to open its new Women's Clinic, that progress represents another milestone for the generations of women who have served. 

Long before dedicated clinics for women Veterans existed, women like Hilden were serving in the Sinai, enduring desert heat, and answering the same call to serve as their fellow soldiers. The new Women’s Clinic is another reminder that their service and their healthcare needs continue to be recognized.