10 Years Ago

Herald of Nov. 5 2009

When D. Merl Tipton Post 43, Veterans of Foreign Wars, prepares a Veterans Day banquet for its members and guests, Sandra Showalter will have a finger in the pot.

The McKee single mother of two has more than just military kitchen experience. For the first time in its 74-year history, the Martinsburg post has elected a female commander. Showalter is part of a select group. Of the 514 VFW posts in Pennsylvania, only six, including Martinsburg have women at the helm.

Sandy Showalter was a senior airman with the U.S. Air Force when she was honorably discharged in 1994. She be...