By Brie Cohen, staff writer

I was kind of speechless for a change,&8221; Sandy Maiden said. So why was this talkative Albert Lean so quiet? Maiden was named the Albert Lea&8217;s American Legion Post 56 Legionnaire of the Year.

Maiden felt that so many people deserved the award that she could not believe it was given to her.

The award is given by a committee of three people, all of which are previous Legionnaire of the Year award winners.

One of those committee members was Bill Danielsen. Danielsen was impressed with all of the great things Maiden has done for the American Legion.

&8220;We felt that Sandy fit the bill this year,&8221; Danielsen said.

Danielsen cited the project she did as post commander from 1999 to 2000 as a great accomplishment.

Each year, the post commander must pick a project to work on. Maiden said she wanted to do something that not only benefited the Legion, but &8220;reached out to the community.&8221;

Maiden had found a stack of old World War I and World War II recruiting posters and decided to make them her project. Maiden had them refurbished and framed and put them on display at the Freeborn County Historical Museum. She said this way, when schoolchildren come to the museum, they can go see the posters and know what it was like during that time in history.

During that time in history, Maiden was one of the few women serving in the Army. Maiden served in the Army as a 91C medical specialist for three and one-half years during the time of the

Vietnam war. She was an assistant military ward master in a hospital where she ordered equipment, scheduled the staff and made sure the equipment was working properly. Eventually Maiden was promoted to ward master.

&8220;I&8217;ve always succeeded in the military aspect of my life,&8221; Maiden said.

Maiden said at that time there was a stigma about women serving in the military. She said that all women in the service were thought to be prostitutes or homosexual. But the president assured her parents, and parents of other women, that their moral values would be protected.

Maiden remembers that they were treated in this manner. The women were given curfews and had house mothers.

Maiden said things have changed and progressed greatly over the years. She said when she was serving, there was a &8220;good ol&8217; boy&8221; attitude and she stuck with the guys, even if they did not want here there. Now, Albert Lea&8217;s Legionnaire of the Year said women are in all areas of the service and are allowed to live their lives better.

Maiden saw this progression firsthand when she and 30,000 other women from around the county attended the dedication of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 18, 1997.

&8220;It was kind of a thrill of a lifetime,&8221; Maiden said.

Maiden said she still tears up when she watches the video of the event, especially when she sees the flags from all 50 states being carried down the aisle between the masses of women supporting the dedication.

Now that it has been a few days since Maiden has won the Legionnaire of the Year award, she has recovered from her moments of speechlessness and back to spreading her knowledge of being a woman in the military and reaching out to the community. Maiden is organizing this years American Legion Memorial Day festivities. She will also be happy to share the history of women in the military anytime, just stop on by for a chat.