Sharon Fry

Sgt. Sharon B Fry, a unit supply specialist and squad leader with the 12th Aviation Battalion, the U.S. Army Aviation Brigade, U.S. Army Military District of Washington, is a second-generation American born to Mexican parents.

Her grandparents originally came to the U.S. from Mexico in the 1960s. They settled in Chicago and worked in factories to support their family.

Fry, the second oldest of three daughters born to Sergio Martinez and JoAnn Villa, was raised in El Paso, Texas, in a predominantly Mexican community.

"The Mexican culture was very rich there," said Fry. "I didn't even realize I was a minority growing up with my tight-knit family in that community. It wasn't something that we ever had to think about.
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 It was very difficult for me when I went to basic training," Fry said. "It wasn't the physical demands that I struggled with. I had a hard time adjusting to people with different backgrounds and experiences."

She was the only Hispanic trainee in her platoon and for the first time in her life she felt out of place, she recalled. 

Marital Status ( Divorced).