Amazing Grace; an inspiring story on Veterans Day

"Amazing Grace"

?An Inspiring #VeteransDay Story

Grace Murray Hopper, known as “Amazing Grace” by her peers in the U.S. Navy for her wit, perseverance, and contribution to our country.

So, in the spirit of honoring those who have served in the military, I’d like to shine a light on this woman — a prime example of loyalty and dedication to her cause.

Born in 1906, Grace lived in a world limited by her gender… but she never let that stop her.

You see, Grace was a brilliant mathematician.

She graduated from Vassar College in 1928 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics, and earned her master's degree at Yale University in 1930.

This was at a time when higher education, and especially the sciences, were only deemed acceptable for men to pursue.

But Grace didn’t let that hold her back.

She continued her education, and in 1934, she earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale — eventually becoming an associate professor of mathematics at Vassar College in 1941.

I can only imagine the iron will Grace must have had to stand in front of a room of men back then and teach them how to calculate equations. Talk about confidence!

But her determination didn’t stop there…

Even though Grace had a highly-esteemed professorship, when WWII broke out, she decided to enlist in the Navy (women were still not able to enlist in the Army).

However, she was rejected for being too small and too “old” at 34 years old. But once again, Grace didn’t let others define who she could or couldn’t be.

So, she volunteered to serve in WAVES instead, the women’s branch of the Navy Reserves.

And although she had to get an exemption to enlist (she still was considered underweight), she trained for the Navy — and graduated first in her class.

After graduation, Grace was assigned to the Bureau of Ships Computation Project at Harvard as a junior lieutenant.

It was this assignment that propelled her career in computer science and gave her the opportunity to work on some of the world’s earliest computers.

Working behind the scenes, Grace helped the Navy process sensitive information crucial to U.S. war efforts.

Thanks to her, the Navy’s information systems could advance — she even developed software that became standardized for the Navy’s operations.

But her vision was to use computers for more than just mathematics and computing data…

So, she did something nearly everyone believed to be a waste of time: she figured out how a computer could not only compute data…

But how it could process letters into code — so that you could type words on a keyboard instead of numbers!

And thanks largely to Grace’s efforts, it’s now possible for me to talk to YOU!

“They told me computers could only do arithmetic... It's much easier for most people to write an English statement than to use symbols. So I decided data processors ought to be able to write their programs in English, and the computers would translate them into machine code.”

— Grace Murray Hopper

Grace served in the Navy until her retirement in 1986 (she had to get an exemption to serve past the mandatory retirement age!). During that time she developed more advanced computer programs — directly influencing the world of computers as you and I know them today...

And undoubtedly contributing to the advancement of the U.S. military in more ways than one.

And although she never saw combat, her life-long dedication to the Navy is undeniable.

At time of retirement, she was the oldest active-duty commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy…

She reached the highest rank of Navy status, becoming Admiral Hopper…

And she’s even had a missile-destroyer ship named after her, the USS Hopper.

Grace broke so many barriers in her lifetime — all while serving her country.

But she is just one example of the millions of men and women who have dedicated their lives to serving in the military.

And today is all about honoring and appreciating them.

Source: Victoria Renee / City Beauty