cleckley, united states army, retired. i did 28 years of service in the military.my corps. i was a weekend warrior, part-time soldier, and i was active duty. and i am proud to be a 28-year veteran serving this country. i was raised in the south. i was raised since i was born in the south. my mother rais my father abandoned us. she struggled to keep us fed and trained us well. and i know that i got my strength and my perseverance from watching my mother. with my dreams, i knew i wanted to graduate from high school. i wanted to go to college. i couldn't go to college, 'cause we didn't have the funds. so i had to find that vehicle to go to college. and, so, it ended up being the vehicle to go to college was the military. once i went in, i set my goal to get to the highest rank i could possibly get to. i worked hard at every job, but i never lost that sight of that dream to get a college degree. >> general cleckley's success has come with its share of heartache. her husband, gus, died suddenly, at age 41, leaving julia a single mom. >> and he was a medic and he was wou

cleckley, united states army, retired. i did 28 years of service in the military.ekend warrior, part-time soldier, and i was active duty. and i am proud to be a 28-year veteran serving this country. i was raised in the south. i was raised since i was born in the south. my mother raised five of us. my father abandoned us. she struggled to keep us fed and trained us well. and i know that i got my strength and my perseverance from watching my mother. with my dreams, i knew i wanted to graduate from high school. i wanted to go to college. i couldn't go to college, 'cause we didn't have the funds. go to college. and, so, it ended up being the vehicle to go to college was the military. once i went in, i set my goal to get to the highest rank i could possibly get to. i worked hard at every job, but i never lost that sight of that dream to get a college degree. >> general cleckley's success has come with its share of heartache. her husband, gus, died suddenly, at age 41, leaving julia a single mom. >> and he was a medic and he was wounded in vietnam. he stepped on a mine.