This Veteran Went Viral For Pointing Out That Not Everybody Who Serves Our Country Is A Man
A woman on TikTok under the username @nataliesnana13 created a viral video to remind us that “Not all GI’s are Joes.”
Nana opens her video by asking, “Did you know that women are veterans too?”
Nana is a retired United States Marine Corps colonel. In her video, she talks about the multiple incidents where she has not been respected as a veteran on a daily basis.
One example was when she parked in a “Veteran’s Only” spot in a Lowe’s parking lot. Multiple men then rushed over to her car to tell her, “It’s not for you. It’s for your husband.”
Then, Nana mentions that her husband is not a veteran. He is just a civilian.
There have been many instances where people automatically assume that the veteran in Nana’s family is her husband and not her.
Even when she’s wearing a “USMC (United States Marine Corps) Retired” teeshirt, people will still come up to her and ask if her husband was a Marine.
Just recently, Nana received a phone call from her local Veterans Affairs department. The VA department provides healthcare to veterans, and they were calling about a surgery she was signed up for.
TikTok; pictured above is Colonel Hayes, also known as Nana
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“The nurse that called asked to speak to Mr. Hayes,” says Nana.
Nana then answered, “Well this is Mrs. Hayes. Can I help you?”
The woman on the phone then gave Nana an attitude, telling her that she still needed to speak to Mr. Hayes.
To which Nana replied, “Would you like to speak with Mr. Hayes or the veteran?”
That put the rude caller in her place. Thankfully Nana laughs about it and explains how she reminded the person on the phone that “women are veterans too.”
One of the more horrendous interactions that Nana describes is when she was accused of not being a veteran when she was literally wearing her uniform.
Nana was in line at the Marine’s base exchange store wearing her camouflage uniform and two Marines eagle pins on her collar.
A man that she describes as an “old retired dude” was standing in front of her. He turned around and asked her, “What do you do in the Marines Corp?”
After Nana explained her title to him, he had the audacity to ask her, “Honey, do you even know which side of the gun the bullet comes out of?”
Even picturing that scenario is just baffling. Nana’s son ended up getting in a tussle with the man – he got what was coming to him!
Nana ends the video by showing off her coffee cup that she takes on the go with her regularly. On the front is the USMC symbol, and on the back, it has one of her favorite quotes. “Not all GIs are Joes.”
Thank you for your service, Colonel Hayes!
To view the original TikTok video, visit the link here.
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