Terry Hendrickson, also known as Tata, was born and raised in Winnsboro, Fairfield County, South Carolina, a very small town full of long backroads. Tata graduated from Winnsboro High School and attended various military training schools; she knew she wanted to enlist in the U.S. Navy the minute she saw her brother Timmy in uniform. Tata wasted no time working a part-time job or going to college; instead, she enlisted and became a U.S. Navy Cryptologic Technician with Special Intelligence at 17. She joined before she graduated high school through the Delayed Entry program with her parent's permission, and after graduation was sent to boot camp in Orlando, Florida.
Joining the Navy was all she ever wanted to do. Seeing her brother Timmy Marthers walk with pride in his uniform and seeing a purpose she had never seen in him before made her do a 180 between the ages of 12 and 17. The biggest event to impact Tata was 9/11. Although she wasn't serving at the time due to medical issues, it affected her because of how much the importance of America's military defense meant to her. She wanted to stand up and protect our country. Seeing her brother leave the house when she was 12 to keep America safe made her honor his service even more. Tata supports our country, and if she could get out and finish fighting for our country, I guarantee you she would.
Interviewed by: Dajia J. Green, USC Upstate
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