Mary Claire Caine is an Air Force veteran. So when she went shopping last Friday near her home in Wilmington, North Carolina, she gladly assumed the ?Reserved Veteran Parking? spot at a local grocery.
When she and her two children returned to the vehicle, though, Caine found an angry note taped to the passenger window, WECT reports.
?Maybe [you] can’t read the sign you parked in front of. This space is reserved for those who fought for America?not you. Thanks, Wounded Vet.?
The author of the note apparently saw Caine when she first parked in the veteran’s spot, and assumed she could not be a veteran simply because she’s female. Caine waited near her car, hoping ?Wounded Vet? would wander over so she could tell him of her service in Kuwait and on the F-117 Nighthawk, but gave up after a few minutes. She told WECT:
“I think they took one look at me when I got out of my car and saw that I was a woman and assumed I wasn’t a veteran and assumed I hadn’t served my country. They have this image of what today’s American veteran is and honestly if you’ve served in the United States military, you know that veterans come in all shapes and sizes. I question whether the person who left the note was fully aware of that.?
Caine’s not taking it lightly, either, as indicated by the message she sent to ?Wounded Vet? through WECT:
??I want them to know they owe me, and every other female service member who’s fighting now and who’s fought in the past, an apology for jumping to conclusions.?
Women have served in U.S. military since 1775, according to the U.S. Army. Approximately 200,000 females are currently serving, making up approximately 14 percent of all active-duty military.
