THIS PAGE IN OUR SITE SALUTES THE WOMEN WHO SERVE OUR COUNTRY.......
In Honor of Women killed in Vietnam:
Lt.
Col. Annie Ruth Graham
While serving as the Chief Nurse at the 91st Evacuation Hospital, Tuy Hoa, Lt.
Col. Graham, from Efland, NC, suffered a stroke in August 1969 and was evacuated
to Japan where she died four days later. She was also a veteran of World War II and Korea.
She was 52 at her untimely death.
The
following American women are listed as POW/MIA.
Betty Ann Olsen
She was captured during a raid on the leprosarium in Ban Me Thuot during Tet
1968. She died in 1968 and was
buried somewhere along the Ho Chi Minh Trail by fellow POW, Michael Benge.
Her remains have not been recovered.
Eleanor
Ardel Vietti
Captured at the leprosarium in Ban Me Thuot, May
30, 1962. Whereabouts unknown, she is still listed as a POW/MIA.
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Woman Soldier Receives Silver Star for Valor in Iraq
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 16, 2005 – For the first time since World War II, a woman soldier was awarded the Silver Star
Medal today in Iraq.
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, vehicle commander, 617th Military Police Company, Richmond, Ky., stands at attention before receiving the Silver Star at an awards ceremony at Camp Liberty, Iraq, June 16. Hester is the first woman soldier since World War II to receive the Silver
Star. (Photo by Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp, USA)
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester of the 617th Military Police Company, a National Guard unit out of Richmond, Ky., received the
Silver Star, along with two other members of her unit, Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein and Spc. Jason Mike, for their actions during
an enemy ambush on their convoy. Other members of the unit also received awards.
Hester's squad was shadowing a supply convoy March 20 when anti-Iraqi fighters ambushed the convoy. The squad moved
to the side of the road, flanking the insurgents and cutting off their escape route. Hester led her team through the "kill zone"
and into a flanking position, where she assaulted a trench line with grenades and M203 grenade-launcher rounds. She and
Nein, her squad leader, then cleared two trenches, at which time she killed three insurgents with her rifle.
When the fight was over, 27 insurgents were dead, six were wounded, and one was captured.
Hester, 23, who was born in Bowling Green, Ky., and later moved to Nashville, Tenn., said she was surprised when she
heard she was being considered for the Silver Star.
"I'm honored to even be considered, much less awarded, the medal," she said.
Being the first woman soldier since World War II to receive the medal is significant to Hester. But, she said, she doesn't
dwell on the fact. "It really doesn't have anything to do with being a female," she said. "It's about the duties I performed that
day as a soldier."
Hester, who has been in the National Guard since April 2001, said she didn't have time to be scared when the fight started,
and she didn't realize the impact of what had happened until much later.
"Your training kicks in and the soldier kicks in," she said. "It's your life or theirs. ... You've got a job to do -- protecting
yourself and your fellow comrades."
Nein, who is on his second deployment to Iraq, praised Hester and his other soldiers for their actions that day. "It's due to
their dedication and their ability to stay there and back me up that we were able to do what we did that day," he said.
Hester and her fellow soldiers were awarded their medals at Camp Liberty, Iraq, by Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines,
Multinational Corps Iraq commanding general. In his speech, Vines commended the soldiers for their bravery and their
contribution to the international war on terror.
"My heroes don't play in the (National Basketball Association) and don't play in the U.S. Open (golf tournament) at
Pinehurst," Vines said. "They're standing in front of me today. These are American heroes."
Three soldiers of the 617th were wounded in the ambush. Hester said she and the other squad members are thinking about
them, and she is very thankful to have made it through unscathed. The firefight, along with the entire deployment, has had a
lasting effect on her, Hester said.
"I think about it every day, and probably will for the rest of my life," she said.
(6/17/05)
Command Sergeant Major Praises Women's Service
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
ARLINGTON, Va. , Nov. 12, 2005 – Women -- daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts, wives, friends and even grandmothers
-- are serving in every state, U. S. territory and in more than 100 countries worldwide, the Army Reserve's first woman
command sergeant major told the audience at a special Veterans Day observance at the Women in Military Service for
America Memorial Nov. 11.
Command Sgt. Maj. Michele S. Jones, the first woman command sergeant major of the Army Reserve, praised women's service in the armed forces during a Veterans Day observance of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Nov. 11.
However, Army Command Sgt. Maj. Michele S. Jones paid particular tribute to those currently serving in Southwest Asia.
"I would like to take a moment to highlight women serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait," she said. "As I travel through
the theater, I see them leading and participating in the full spectrum of military operations. They're commanding units,
conducting convoy missions, delivering supplies, leading civil affairs missions, performing life-saving surgeries, gathering
intelligence, organizing air operations, directing vehicle maintenance, piloting aircraft to postal management and delivery. "
Jones said each woman serving today carries on the legacy given to them by women veterans that she described as the "four
Ls. " That includes loyalty, leadership, liberty and life, she said.
Loyalty means putting the nation's needs before their own, Jones said. Leadership involves leading what she called the
nation's greatest asset, its service members, as they bring liberty to others and ensure that the American way of life is never
compromised.
"As leaders, we have a responsibility to take care of soldiers," the command sergeant major said. "We have responsibility to
protect their interest as well as the interest of the nation. We're charged to use our rank and position to ensure that our
systems operate within the parameter of regulations, policies, directives and the law. "
Women in uniform are ambassadors, whether officially or unofficially and whether or not they recognize it, Jones said. "We
directly or indirectly influence how women are viewed with the military, the private sector, the media and around the world,"
she said.
Pointing out that nearly 2 million women have served in the armed forces, Jones emphasized that every woman who has
worn a military uniform volunteered. "The military has always been voluntary for women," she noted. "Words can't express
my depth of gratitude for the women that have served before me. "
Jones spoke to an overflow crowd in the memorial's theater, including representatives of the Blue Stars Mother and Gold
Star Wives.
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen Wilma L. Vaught, Women's Memorial Foundation president, welcomed the audience to the
Veterans Day observance.
Military District of Washington's Joint Service Color Guard presented the colors and Chief Master Sgt. Paul Eschlilman of
the Air Force Band sang the national anthem. Army Reserve Capt. Rose Lopez-Keravuori, the first military women to be
selected as Mrs. Virginia-American, said the pledge of alliance and Air Force Chaplain (Capt. ) Christine Blice-Baum
offered the invocation and benediction. (11/13/05)
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Women Vets Tell What Veterans Day Means
To Them
By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service
ARLINGTON, Va. , Nov. 12, 2005 – Five women, one from each service, including the Coast Guard, told an overflow
audience here at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial's theater what being a veteran means to them during a
special Veterans Day observance.
"Being in the military is an honor," said Maj. Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth of the Illinois Army National Guard, who lost her leg when an insurgent's rocket-propelled grenade slammed into her Black Hawk helicopter.
"Being in the military is an honor," said Maj. Ladda "Tammy" Duckworth of the Illinois Army National Guard, who lost her leg when an insurgent's rocket-propelled grenade slammed into her Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq. Doctors managed to save part of her right leg.
When soldiers say, "I am an American soldier and I serve the people of the United States," it captures the spirit of what it
means to be a veteran and what an honor it is to wear a military uniform, Duckworth said.
"So many have come before me who gave in their own way, whether it was being injured or the ultimate sacrifice," she said.
"Whether you gave your son, your husband or your daughter, or whether you gave of yourself, it's always an honor to serve
the United States. "
Duckworth said the country is better when everyone pulls together and serves in whatever way they can. "Not everybody
can put on the uniform. Not everybody has the capability or is afforded the opportunity to do so," she said. "What's
important is that each one of us gives something back for all of the gifts we have for being Americans. "
She received a standing ovation when she said she wouldn't hesitate to strap on her new, titanium legs and return to Iraq. "I,
along with the rest of the soldiers at Walter Reed (Army Medical Center) would strap on our new limbs, pick up our
weapons and go right back, if we could," she said.
To those who say today's military members aren't on par with those from past generations, Marine Corps Master Gunnery
Sgt. Rosemarie Weber had an impassioned response.
"They're wrong! Young men and women today are just as willing to serve as any ever were," she said. "And they're doing a
fine job of it, all day, every day, right this very second in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places too numerous to mention. "
Veterans Day isn't all about pride and honor, she said. "It's also about giving thanks--thanking a military veteran for what
they've done and what they're doing and for what they will do in the days to come," she said.
Ensign Vanessa L. Franada, a member of the U. S. Navy Reserve Nurse Corps for the past year and a half, said she's
quickly come to appreciate what it means to be a veteran.
"In that brief time, I've gained the experiences of being away from home, serving my country and humanity, enduring a
deployment and regretfully, the loss of a friend and fellow shipmate," said Franada. She was deployed in the hospital ship,
USNS Comfort, providing relief following Hurricane Katrina.
Franada said walking the halls at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. , in the course of her duty reinforces
the pride she feels in her military service. That comes through whether she is serving long-retired veterans of past wars, or
new veterans just returned from Iraq, she said.
Today's newest veterans defy the misconception that veterans are all "elderly, gray and male," she said. "Both men and
women are serving with honor all across the battlefield, in all parts of the world," she said.
"Veteran's Day has always been a special day to me, because it's also my birthday," said Col. Linda McHale of the U. S. Air
Force Reserve.
She said only after deploying to Iraq last year did she come to fully appreciate what it's like to serve in a war zone and the
sacrifices veterans make.
Lt. Cmdr. Holly Harrison, the first Coast Guard women to be awarded the Bronze Star, said that less then three years ago,
she didn't know what it meant to risk her life against an enemy in defense of the nation.
"But that all changed as my shipmates and I steamed up the Khawar Abd Allah River into Iraq," Harrison said. "I now know
what it means to be a veteran and with the insights I've gained, I've developed a much deeper, much more personal respect
for those who've served. "
Harrison said she's gained particular respect for her family members who served before her. Both of her grandfathers and
father were in the military, but never talked much about their wartime experiences, she said. Now Harrison said she
understands why.
"When I got back from Iraq, all my friends and family wanted to hear stories about what it was like over there, but I wasn't in the mood to tell stories," she told the audience. "I figured it was because I was burned out, yet even now I still hesitate to tell stories about what happened in Iraq.
"To talk about some of the things that happened. . . I simply can't do them justice," she said. "I can't explain in words what it
was like and to try to do so cheapens it somehow. "
Now, Harrison said she and her father share a common understanding and she has a deeper respect and admiration for him
and other family members who have served before her.
Harrison said she also feels a special bond with her shipmates who served with her in Iraq, experiencing "great highs and
terrible lows" together.
It's given her a new appreciation of Veterans Day and what it means to be a veteran, she said.
"Yes, Veteran's Day may be a day off from work, but what's changed for me is that I get it now," she said. "I understand. I
respect, admire and I'm humbled by the dignity and courage my veterans shipments and family members and thousands of
other veterans out there. . . displayed in the face of tremendous adversity. "
Harrison calls Veterans Day "a day for me to honor and cherish their sacrifices and hope that I can live up to the incredibly
high standards they set. . . as veterans. " (11/13/05)
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Women-in-combat review will not make deadline
By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 14, 2006
The Pentagon will miss Congress' March 31 deadline for certifying that the Army's reorganization of war-fighting brigades is
abiding by its rule that women not serve in direct land combat or in support units that embed in those units, according to an
internal memo.
Congress last year heard reports from some soldiers and from the Center for Military Readiness that mixed-sex Forward
Support Companies (FSCs) were positioned within combat units.
They said the arrangement violated a 1994 Pentagon policy that had expressly banned such "collocation." The Army denied
breaking the rule, but many Republicans were skeptical.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, California Republican, won passage of an amendment to this
year's defense bill. It required Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to review how the Army is deploying women amid an
ongoing Army transformation that is creating "modular" brigade combat teams with mix-and-match support units.
According to an internal Pentagon memo, the review has been assigned to the Rand Corp., a research organization
frequently tapped by the military to study specific issues. The memo says Rand will need until Dec. 31, a nine-month extension.
A House Armed Services Committee aide, who asked not to be named, said staff has heard "informally" that the Pentagon
wants an extension.
"From our standpoint, the committee would like to receive some information by March 31," the aide said.
The aide said Mr. Hunter would like investigators to be able to visit Iraq to see how female soldiers are used.
Meanwhile, Elaine Donnelly, who runs the Center for Military Readiness, issued her own assessment last week under the
headline "Army Still Violating Policy and Law on Women in Land Combat."
"They are violating the collocation rule right now. They think they can redefine it at will," Mrs. Donnelly said.
In the past, Army officials have said that a battlefield such as Iraq, where the front and rear lines are blurred by
counterinsurgency operations, demands flexibility in how female soldiers are assigned within existing rules.
A spokeswoman reiterated that the Army is not violating the collocation rule.
"These are not new policies, and the Army is in compliance," the spokeswoman said.
A Pentagon spokesman would say only that the congressionally required report would be completed "in all due diligence."
In an Oval Office interview a year ago with editors and reporters of The Washington Times, President Bush made it clear his
administration does not want women in land combat.
"There's no change of policy as far as I'm concerned. No women in combat," he said. "Having said that, let me explain,
we've got to make sure we define combat properly: We've got women flying choppers and women flying fighters, which I'm
perfectly content with."
Mrs. Donnelly first raised questions about the makeup and roles of FSCs in the new Army. Internal Army documents in
2005 revealed a debate about whether the FSCs should be all-male. One memo said that if they were, there would not be
sufficient soldiers to fill them.
Mrs. Donnelly's Feb. 6 paper says the 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, is assigning female soldiers to
FSCs under the title of "searchers."
"The FSC searchers do not have a specific [job title], but they are arbitrarily assigned to an infantry and armor company for
missions in which it is likely that the combat soldiers will encounter female civilians and will need to search them," she said.
"This could include offensive operations under fire."
Mrs. Donnelly said she also has learned that mixed-sex FSCs are being trained at Fort Riley, Kan., to embed with another
type of combat unit called Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Target Acquisition (RSTA).
"Female soldiers have been told that according to Pentagon authorities, it is legal to position them with the RSTA, because
when the time comes to deploy, they will be placed back to the brigade level, which is open to women," Mrs. Donnelly said.
"It does not make sense to train female soldiers for important combat-collocated RSTA duties, only to pull them out when
forward-support-company soldiers are needed most."
The Army once envisioned RSTAs as mixed-sex units, but Mrs. Donnelly lobbied Mr. Rumsfeld's staff to intervene. A 2002
memo designated RSTA as all-male.
"Effective immediately no additional women may be assigned to the squadron," the memo ordered. "Those women currently
assigned will be reassigned as soon as possible."
(02/18/06)
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