#730 Karen Oakes Marine Veteran; 1 Sep 2026

🎙️ EPISODE #730 — KAREN OAKES | U.S. MARINE CORPS VETERAN

In this episode of The Lost Art Project: Veterans’ Voices, host Andrew “AJ” Cox sits down with Marine Corps Veteran Karen Oakes for a candid story about service, perseverance, difficult chapters after the uniform, and the lasting impact of becoming a Marine.

Karen was born in San Diego and later grew up in the small community of Anacortes, Washington. With a father who had served as a Marine, she ultimately chose the Marine Corps herself and enlisted in 1986. Six months after first approaching her recruiter—after recovering from ankle surgery—she shipped off to recruit training at Parris Island.

After earning the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, Karen entered the communications field and trained at Twenty-Nine Palms before receiving orders to Okinawa. Her service came during a period when women in the Marine Corps were continuing to break barriers and establish themselves in traditionally male-dominated environments.

Karen speaks openly about some of the treatment she experienced as a female Marine, the challenges she encountered overseas and later at MCAS El Toro, and the toll those experiences took on her. Eventually she was moved to the squadron headquarters, where she worked directly in support of the command.

By the end of her active-duty service, the Marine Corps was trying hard to keep her. Opportunities including embassy duty and Marine One were discussed, but Karen ultimately chose to leave active duty and return to Washington.

Her story did not become easier after taking off the uniform.

Karen continued serving through the Reserve and National Guard while building a civilian life and raising a family. She shares an extremely personal account of spending seventeen years in an abusive and controlling marriage, eventually reaching the point where law enforcement became involved and she fought her way through divorce and a new beginning.

Years later, Karen reconnected with her high school sweetheart—a Navy Veteran—and today they have been married for more than eleven years.

Karen now owns Peninsula Signatures, a mobile notary business serving her Western Washington community. She also continues the Veteran-helping-Veteran mentality: if a Veteran in her area needs something notarized, she offers to do it free of charge.

When asked about her proudest military accomplishment, Karen’s answer was simple:

🇺🇸 Earning her Eagle, Globe and Anchor.