EDITOR’S NOTE — Veteran Voices is an annual week-long series introducing WYDaily readers to some of our local veterans. Each story represents a different person in the Historic Triangle communities and shares their stories of service.
WILLIAMSBURG — Celia “Cecie” Adolphi was a small-town farm girl from Indiana. Growing up on a dairy farm, Adolphi was used to creating healthy food choices. When she entered college, she majored in nutrition and became a registered dietitian upon graduation.
Adolphi met her husband Ron on a blind date. Ron, who was stationed at Fort Benjamin Harrison, was an active duty member of the U.S. Army. Once the two were married, Ron was a Department of Defense Civilian and then transitioned from active duty to the Army Reserve. Wanting a second job to afford a home, Ron suggested that Celia join as well.
After graduating from basic training at age 34, Adolphi began her career in the Army Reserve as a clerk typist. She also began to work on her commissioning packet to be considered for an officer position. One year later, Adolphi earned the rank of captain.
A dual careerist, Adolphi accepted a position at Walter Reed Medical Center, where she used her college degree to teach second lieutenants how to be dietitians in a hospital setting.
Celia was one of the first females in the Army to do many things; she earned a promotion to colonel, was mobilized overseas, participated in a helicopter ride, and commanded a unit for the Army Reserve materiel management center.
“What was most important to me, in hindsight, is the fact that so many other women have been able to achieve great accomplishments and be promoted into significant positions. Whether it’s enlisted women become a sergeant major or women officers attaining the rank of colonel or brigadier general or major general, if I was able to pave the way for them, that’s the proudest part of my service,” Adolphi said.
When she earned the rank of quartermaster brigadier general, a one-star, she was the first female in the Army to do so. By the end of her military career, she had earned two stars, becoming the first female major general in the Army Reserve.
“Because I was older, I was only able to have one two-star assignment. I served on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon in the logistics department. I was basically a backup general, I was there to support the logistics director and the vice director’s requirements that needed an additional flag officer,” Adolphi said.
While serving in the Army, Adolphi also balanced being a civilian employee for the Department of Defense, working to develop and change the policy for the Army food service program. From making sure there were enough dining facilities and cooks to providing insight on healthier eating habits.
As busy as she was, when the call came from the Army that she was going to be deployed to Hungary and Bosnia to support 8,000 troops as part of Operation Joint Endeavor, she didn’t hesitate.
“When you are called to duty, you always say ‘yes, I will be there,'” Adolphi said.
Adolphi recalls a special ceremony that she had the opportunity to be a part of during her deployment.
“There were two enlisted soldiers who were not American citizens yet. They had their paperwork in the hopper to become citizens, but during the time that we were deployed, their citizenship papers were approved. We then had the ability to conduct a naturalization ceremony for them while they were deployed. To be a part of that with them was probably one of the proudest moments that I remember in my career,” Adolphi said.
Over the course of her service, Adolphi received the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster), the Meritorious Service Medal (with three oak leaf clusters), the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge.
Now retired from the Army, Adolphi serves as an advisor to the U.S. Army Quartermaster Foundation, and is a member of the Army Quartermaster Foundation Hall of Fame and the Defense Logistics Agency Hall of Fame.
