Born in 1940 in Marksville, Louisiana, as a toddler Sherian Codoria was forced to help her mother pick cotton following the death of her father due to illness.

After graduating from Southern University in the early 1960's, she enlisted in the military. At that time, military careers for women were limited to administrative, clerical or nursing duties. The road for black advancement was still littered with obstacles.

For two years she endured the often blatant racist activities of the Ku Klux Klan around Ft. McClellan, Alabama where she was stationed.

She went on to become the first women to command an all male battalion and later held the post of director of manpower and personnel for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

She also served as an aide to President Gerald Ford.

When General Codoria retired in 1990 she was the highest ranking black woman in the armed services and one of only four female generals in the army.

When the general was asked about the key to her successful military career, she said, "I was brought up believing that if you're going to go into something, excel at it."