The Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery will conduct an Unaccompanied Veteran Burial for U.S. Air Force Maj. Johnnie Lee Pennington at 10 a.m. Sept. 8, and the Texas General Land Office is asking members of the Mission community to attend.
Pennington is not expected to have any next of kin present, according to the land office’s news release, which asked the public to help spread the word so the veteran is not buried alone. She will receive military honors, and if no next of kin is present, a Veterans Land Board representative will accept the United States flag on her behalf.
Born July 10, 1936, Pennington entered the Air Force as a commissioned officer on Nov. 10, 1965, and served until August 1985. She began as a second lieutenant in supply and logistics at a time when opportunities for women in the military remained severely limited and women still served under the separate Women in the Air Force structure, the release said.
She served in Vietnam in early 1968 and went on to hold posts including supply operations officer, director of logistics, and logistics plans and programs staff officer. She completed Squadron Officer School in 1973 and Air Command and Staff College in 1976. During one assignment, according to the land office, she performed duties normally entrusted to higher-ranking officers and played an instrumental role in converting a base to a computerized Standard Base Level Supply System involving more than $14 million in equipment and supplies.
Her 20-year career spanned a turning point for military women. The agency noted that she entered an Air Force in which women served under the separate Women in the Air Force structure and remained in uniform as those barriers came down, with the structure discontinued in 1976 as women were integrated into the regular Air Force.
Pennington’s decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with five oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze service stars, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, and Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor. The land office said the Texas Veterans Land Board works with local communities and veterans service organizations through its Unaccompanied Veterans Program to ensure no veteran is left behind.