LAKE WALES, Fla. — Though her active duty career may be over, a Lake Wales Marine is still doing all she can to fight for those who can't fight for themselves by providing a voice to speak to power on veterans issues.

Kathryn Gates-Skipper wasn’t born into a military family but got adopted into one. 

“I was born in Tripoli, Libya North Africa,” Gates-Skipper explained. “So you can say I am a true Marine, I was born in the shores of Tripoli, just like the Marine Corps hymn.” 

Seems it was destiny for her to wear the uniform. Gates-Skipper was the first enlisted woman Marine to be involved in combat operations, and she helped train women soldiers in Kuwait during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

“I don't care if you're a Democrat, Republican or Independent. Every American should honor our veterans. They should be glad that they're here, that what country we do have is still free,” she said. “They should be very blessed and glad and they need to thank a veteran for that.”

Gates-Skipper said one of the most rewarding tasks of her career involved take care of the belongings soldiers left behind after they went missing or were killed in action. Knowing she could give those service members' families something to remember their loved ones meant everything to her.

“It was our job to take any and everything-- personal belongings of that casualty and clean it up to the best possible condition to give back to their loved ones,” she said. “All the way down to a ball point pen.”

After a productive career in the Marines, Gates-Skipper started fighting for issues affecting the Veteran population. She saw it firsthand with her husband, a two-time Purple Heart recipient who was on a Veteran Affairs backlog for years.

Her efforts in part led the way for passage of the VA Accountability Act of 2014.

“The government promised, even today the government promised to take care of our veterans and unfortunately that hasn't happened,” Gates-Skipper said.

Her work on behalf of veterans has not stopped since then. Gates-Skipper wants to give a voice to veterans everywhere.

“Doing veterans advocacy which is what I love dearly," Gates-Skipper said. "Helping veterans, no matter where they're from, what race color or creed, it’s all about veterans, we need to take care of veterans.”

The Florida Governor will be inducting Gates-Skipper into the 2019 Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame later this year.