Vivian "Millie" Bailey Dies At Age 104 Leaving Behind Incredible Legacy Of Life

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Longtime resident Vivian “Millie” Bailey, who led an all-female detachment in World War II during segregation in the South, died Sunday in her Columbia home. She was 104. Bailey lived in Howard County and served the community loyally for more than 50 years after her service in the Army, according to an obituary on the funeral home’s website.

Born in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 3, 1918, Bailey was raised in Tulsa, Okla., where she graduated as the valedictorian of Booker T. Washington High School and worked for eight years in the Tulsa area as a stenographer and medical records clerk.

She entered the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, later known as the Women's Army Corps, in December 1942 and served until January 1946. She was stationed at Fort McClellan, Ala., and then Fort Benning, Ga., serving as the unit commander of the Women's Detachment #2. After being promoted to First Lieutenant, Bailey was nominated to attend the Adjutant General’s School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, her only non-segregated posting.

After serving, Bailey was honorably discharged and earned the Women's Army Corps Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and a Letter of Commendation. Following her service, Bailey moved to Chicago, Ill., where she worked for the Veterans Administration and later the Social Security Administration. In 1970, she and her husband William “Bill” Harrison Bailey moved to Maryland where she continued to work for the SSA and they both became active Howard County residents. She attended both DePaul University in Chicago and the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Retirement didn't slow Bailey down. She became the longest-serving member of the Howard County General Hospital Board of Trustees (23 years); the Howard County Police Department Citizens Advisory Council (26 years); and governor-appointed positions including a Judicial Nominating Commission for Howard County and the Maryland Health Resources Planning Commission.

She also enjoyed putting together care packages for deployed service members through a program she coined Bailey's Bundles. In 2021 alone, Bailey’s Bundles mailed an estimated 230 boxes weighing 1,900 pounds at a cost of $2,700. She supported the schools, her church and her community, and her dedication earned her Towson University’s “Distinguished Black Marylanders Award,” “Maryland's Top 100 Women,” Maryland State Governor’s Citations for her lifelong contributions, a Congressional Achievement for her many years of public service from the late Congressman Elijah Cummings and the President's Lifetime Achievement Award for her lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer service.

In keeping her legacy of service alive, an award given by the Howard County Police Department, presented on her 100th birthday, was renamed as the Vivian “Millie” Bailey Making a Difference Award; the dedication of the Vivian C. “Millie” Bailey Neighborhood Square at the site of the Howard County Veterans Monument was done; and her philanthropy enabled the dedication of the Vivian C.“Millie” and William Harrison Bailey cafeteria at Howard County General Hospital and the Howard Community College Food Pantry.

"To know Millie is to love, admire and respect her. She was a pioneer lighting the way for subsequent generations inspiring community leadership. Millie's simple challenge taught us to give back to our communities. As she said, 'even small contributions put together can make a big difference,'" her obituary read.

She is survived by her niece Mildred Gayle Blocker who has two daughters, cherished friends Liz Bobo and Lloyd Knowles, Rebecca Norlander, Kimberley and Kevin McGill and Captain Wanda Riddle USN (retired), as well as countless other friends. She is preceded in death by her husband, William Harrison Bailey, her mother Leona Belle Corbett and her sister Dr. Ione T. Corbett Morrison.

A funeral service will be held in Columbia and Bailey will be buried beside her husband, sister and mother in Tulsa, Okla.