Fellow warrants, I'm sad to report that CWO4 Betty Splaine passed away
yesterday. In 1958 Betty became the first woman to ever be promoted to the rank
of warrant officer in the Coast Guard. Betty enlisted as a SPAR in 1943 and
following the demobilization after WWII she was the first SPAR to reenlist . A
few months ago I had the privilege of presenting Betty with her 50th year
certificate as a member of the CWOA. Ed Swift and I had lunch with her she had
me laughing out loud at her humorous recollections of notable Coast Guard
personnel like Bud Sparks. From stories of the hurdles she faced as a woman in
WWII era Coast Guard, numerous examples of how she set junior officers straight
and even hilarious stories of shooting rats in the basement of Coast Guard
Headquarters as a member of the pistol team. I consider it an honor to have had
the privilege to meet Betty and spend an afternoon getting to know her.
Listed below is her the dates and times of her service. I know we all have busy
schedules but I hope that all of you in the DC area can attend if possible.
Service Monday, 2 Nov 2009, 1030, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 310 S. Royal St.
Alexandria, VA
Interment Arlington national Cemetery, 13 Jan 2010 at 1500
Brent Light
President, CWOA