LOS ANGELES -- The war veterans gathered amid the tranquil gardens and arched walkways of the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, Calif. In a circle, they sat together, more than 50 women in all.
Some laughed and chatted as they settled in chairs or propped themselves up on the floor of an adobe-walled hall. Others glanced around, uncertain what to expect from a weekend retreat.
Several commented that it was the first time they had been in a room with so many women.
"I feel like I'm in a Lamaze group," Kristine Wise, a 41-year-old former soldier from Oceanside, said with a chuckle.
For years, the women concealed their femininity beneath tough military garb. Feelings were often bottled up because they could be seen as signs of weakness.
Here, they were told, they could speak freely.
