Denise Rohan: A glass ceiling breaking, trailblazing Army vet

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

In life, we don’t always choose what we become or do, but be it fate or happenstance, the choice is made for us. Sometimes, it’s a chance occurrence that causes a life-altering event, which takes you from being a small town girl to being a glass ceiling breaking, trailblazing inspiration for young women. 

This is the story of Denise Rohan, who went from a local girl living in a house on Brunson Street near Elkader’s Founders’ Park to becoming the first woman ever elected as the national commander of the American Legion. 

It all happened because a friend didn’t want to do something alone. 

That something, as it happened, was drive to Des Moines and take the physical exam to join the Army. So Denise and another friend, Diane, rode along for support, never thinking the decision would forever change her life. As Denise admitted, joining the military wasn’t even on her mind, and up until that point, she didn’t really know what she wanted to do. 

But as the tests came to an end, Denise passed—and so had Diane—while the friend who started it all did not. As the recruiter kept talking, Denise decided to join on a two-year enlistment and under the condition that she and Diane could go to basic combat training (BCT) together. The condition was made to ease Denise’s homesickness, which was a concern of her supportive parents. 

“Having Diane was like having a piece of home with me,” Denise said.  

The other concern was the Vietnam War. Despite being in its waning days, the conflict was perched in the background as a possibility. But after talking with the minister at Peace Church at the time, and being instilled with her parents’ “if you commit, then fully commit” motto, Denise proceeded.

In August 1974, she and Diane were sent to Fort McClellan, Ala. Though Denise still wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, only knowing she was good with numbers and liked accounting, so she thought she’d simply serve her two years and then head off to college for business or something similar. This mindset is why she decided on a supply position in the Army once training was complete. 

That training was memorable, as it is for anyone who experiences BCT. Despite the friendly video Denise watched prior to going, from the moment she stepped off the bus and the drill sergeants started screaming, she realized she wasn’t in Elkader anymore.  

“We were all scared to death, but I sucked it up,” Denise said. 

As BCT went on, Denise was challenged mentally and physically, often in a state of confusion, but so were her fellow recruits. They were all in the same place, fighting through the same things, and they were all homesick in some way. But around these struggles, they slowly formed a bond, becoming a “family” that depended on one another. 

Throughout BCT—through the marches, gas chamber, running and trying to avoid snakes—the bonds Denise formed made the hardest part of BCT when she had to say goodbye. An especially hard goodbye was with Diane, the friend and piece of home, who was being sent to Texas, while Denise was shipped to Fort Lee, Va., to specialize in electronic and communications repair. By Christmas 1974, her training was complete. 

During training, Denise was top of her class, received the “Outstanding Graduate” award and was asked by those in charge to stay on and be an instructor at Fort Lee. She completed instructor school in March 1975.

However, Denise wasn’t immediately sent to the classroom. Instead, the Army sent her to an office to record grades, and it was there she found a skill for efficiency, turning what used to take someone eight hours to do into just an hour of work. 

This led Denise to something that would eventually eliminate her job altogether, after making a suggestion and winning the Army’s “Suggestion Award” and $200. But Denise was bound for other things, especially since there was a colonel who wanted to see more women in leadership positions. Later in 1975, she was an instructor teaching other recruits inventory control. 

It was in August 1976 when life brought another chance meeting, this time with her future husband Mike. The two were an instant connection and soon they were married, but this decision impacted Denise’s career in the Army. Mike had orders for Korea, but if Denise re-enlisted, there was no guarantee she’d be stationed with him. When her original contract ended in August 1976, she left the Army, and by March 1977, she joined Mike in Korea. 

In 1978, Denise and Mike settled in Madison, Wis. Denise spent much of the 1980s raising a family, but she kept herself involved, especially through the American Legion. One of the ways was in the area of family readiness as troops were being deployed. She and others would look after families during deployments and accompany them as soldiers were being deployed. It was a way to let them know they were going to be looked after and someone cared. 

In 1993, she started working at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, managing student loans. She kept the job until 2012, when she officially retired. 

It was around this time when Denise’s involvement really took hold in the Legion, which she described as “a whole other family.” It was also the year Denise broke her first glass ceiling. 

During that year, Denise decided to run for state commander of the Wisconsin American Legion on the theme of “Knowledge is Power” and a platform about educating the members about the history of the Legion and how they could help others, especially as it pertains to veteran suicides, an issue that has remained at the forefront for Denise. 

The campaign was interesting because Denise was the first female to ever run for the post and during the campaign, she was told “not to feel bad when she lost the election because the state’s just not ready to have a woman.” 

However, Denise was never deterred. Once you commit, you have to fully commit, as her parents taught her. 

One thing Denise believes helped her candidacy was her willingness to say “hello to everyone,” and the simple fact that she spoke and mingled with everyone at Legion gatherings, rather than just with friends and social cliques.

“I was there to help everybody, not just the people I know,” Denise said.

The result was an overwhelming victory, as Denise was elected by the highest percentage in the history of Wisconsin. She became Wisconsin’s first female state commander, an achievement she called “amazing.” In all honesty, it was the fulfillment of a lifetime goal she never knew she wanted until she had it. 

But the glass ceilings weren’t done being shattered. During her reign as state commander, Denise traveled to the national headquarters in Indianapolis, where her leadership ability was recognized. A group of previous national commanders started suggesting she run for national commander.

Denise was reluctant at first. Part of that reluctance was the fact she had placed previous national commanders on a pedestal and there was a sort of imposter syndrome, of feeling unqualified. Plus, the campaign was a year long and traversed all 50 states, so the time commitment would mean lost time with family. Over the course of the entire campaign, Denise only spent 20 days at home. 

This time, Denise ran on a theme of “Family First,” creating a community and taking care of each other, in an effort to soften the loneliness of deployments and find ways to mitigate the crisis of veteran suicides. 

This effort included promoting awareness, forming relationships with soldiers and families before deployment through the readiness program and through something known as “buddy checks,” where veterans look in on other veterans who haven’t been seen at Legion posts in awhile. This system is something the Legion has lobbied Congress to do through the VA Hospitals as well. It’s all about listening, seeing the signs and doing something about it. 

When the campaign was over, Denise became the first female national commander of the American Legion, serving from August 2017 until her term ended in September 2018. During that time, she visited all 50 states, seven foreign countries and even met her idol, Elizabeth Dole. 

One thing Denise admits is, initially, being the first woman did not matter much. She did it all because she believed in the Legion and what it stands for, But then she met a 92-year-old woman who opened her eyes to the importance of breaking gender barriers. 

“I didn’t understand it at first, which may sound strange, but there was a 92-year-old woman I met in North Carolina who had her granddaughter drive her two hours to meet me, and she was in tears meeting me. She said, ‘I never thought I’d live to see the day that we would have a woman national commander.’ The realization was, ‘If it weren’t for her service, who helped lead the way herself, I wouldn’t be here either,’” Denise said.