The nation depends upon women, both military and civilian, at all levels of the Defense Department, from the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan to the upper echelons of military command, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during the celebration.
âFor over 230 years, American women have served with distinction on the battlefield, even when they have had to do so in secret,â he said.
In World War II, more than 300,000 women volunteered for service, and about 1,000 Women Airforce Service Pilots, known as WASPs, flew more than 60 million miles in nearly every type of aircraft and role, he said. These women, however, were denied benefits until 1977.
Earlier this month, WASPs were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their wartime service, a âbelated recognition of the debt that we owe these and many other patriotic women,â Gates said.
Speaking about the present, Gates talked about Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown, who in 2007 served as a medic in Afghanistan when her convoy was ambushed by insurgents. She braved mortar and small-arms fire to aid soldiers wounded by a homemade bomb. Brown is credited with saving the lives of five soldiers and she was later awarded the Silver Star, Gates said.
Gates also noted the contributions of women at the highest levels of military command, including the U.S. militaryâs first female four-star general, Army Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, who leads 66,000 men and women of Army Materiel Command.
Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, and Christine Fox, director of the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation Office were among civilian leaders Gates praised.
âAll of these women, and many here in this audience, have volunteered to serve our nation during times of great peril both past and present,â Gates said. âTheir example teaches us to persevere in the face of adversity and also to realize that all Americans willing to serve can make magnificent contributions.â
Following Gatesâ remarks, Air Force Lt. Col. Nicole M.E. Malachowski, the first female member of the Air Force Thunderbirds, spoke about her predecessors in military aviation.
âThese World War II vanguards moved everybody forward, unknowingly shaping the environment that I would inherit and generations of other women military aviators,â she said.
Among the 74000 Americans still missing from World War II are 27 American servicewomen, listed below. It is to America’s shame that the remains of these courageous women and of all the other American MIAs of World War II are still unrecovered after so many years, largely due to the grossly insufficient funds our Government allocates to our military’s remains recovery program. In honor of Women’s History Month (2011), please demand from our Congressional representatives that our Government start adequately funding this program.
WASP Gertrude V. Tompkins-Silver of Jersey City, New Jersey
2nd Lt. Eloise M. Richardson of Marseilles, Illinois
2nd Lt. Thelma M. LaFave of Elmwood, Michigan
PFC Alethia M. Fair of Los Angeles, California
Sgt. Helen G. Kent of Los Angeles, California
PFC Mary M. Landau of Brooklyn, New York
Sgt. Belle G. Naimer of New York, New York
TEC3 Marion W. McMonagle of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
S/Sgt. Laura E. Besley of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
PFC Rose Brohinsky of San Francisco, California
Sgt. Doris Cooper of Champaign, Illinois
PFC Flossie D. Flannery of Springport, Indiana
PFC Frieda C. Friend of New York, New York
PFC Mary M. Gollinger of Tacoma, Washington
CPL Velma E. Holden of Asheville, North Carolina
PFC Odessa Lou Hollingsworth of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
PFC Alice D. King of Oswego, Oregon
PFC Wilma E. Liles of Dallas, Texas
PFC Evelyn L. McBride of Inglewood, California
PFC Alice Pauline McKinney of Big Bay, Michigan
PFC Rose F. Puchalla of Minneapolis, Minnesota
PFC Mildred E. Rice of Kansas City, Kansas
PFC Pearl Roomsburg of Lomita, California
PFC Helen F. Rozzelle of Washington, D.C.
PFC Leona M. Seyfert of Chicago, Illinois
PFC Ruth E. Warlick of Goldthwaite, Texas
PFC Bonnie L. Williams of Glenda Springs, Kansas
Sources:
http://www.nooniefortin.com/earlierwars.htm
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=hollingsworth&GSfn=odessa+&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=56247750&df=all&
http://www.wwiimemorial.com/
http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/mia.html
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/wwii/reports/