WHY DO WE NEED WOMEN VETERANS DAY?

I will begin with a question and statement I often hear (sometimes not so nicely):

Why do we need Women Veterans Day?

We should celebrate ALL veterans.

From my military experience, life as woman, and work as a women Veteran’s advocate, I assure you that honoring women Veterans is not superfluous. June 12th is the anniversary of Congress passing the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act (which I will refer to as the Act) in 1948. After serving officially and unofficially in the military since 1773, women were finally given permanent military status. Sixty years later, the State of New York became the first state to officially celebrate the day as Women Veterans. Today, twenty-one states and the Virgin Islands commemorate the day as well.

As was shared, I served in the United States Army. I am a Veteran and a proud woman Veteran. Some consider this distinction divisive. I may have thought so too during my service. Ignoring subtle slights like our Drill Sergeants calling the women “Female,” but the male recruits by their last names. Withstanding the scrutiny of becoming pregnant during my service along with speculation about who my baby’s father was. Accepting a sergeant’s apology for his disrespect as he explained he was not used to a woman telling him what to do. I understand now I was not only ignorant of the microaggressions, but I kept quiet because I did not want to be seen as divisive.

“Will there be ads for men’s history month?”

“Shattering boundaries… While our families suffer”

“Such a beautiful woman thank you for your service.”

“Shouldn’t she be in the kitchen making her man a ham sammich and putting a load of laundry in the washer?”

“It's almost like there's no men in the military anymore.”

These comments were in reaction to several recent social media posts highlighting women servicemembers. While hidden behind the shield of a computer screen and keyboard, they signal a continued gender stereotype and destructive ideology surrounding women and women in the military; women are not equal to men. When Women Veterans Day is celebrated, what is not usually mentioned is the two-year debate within Congress and the nation that passing the ACT would disrupt society’s gender-dictated roles. The Act was a victory for women, but it came with numerous restrictions including disallowing them to command men, limiting promotion to the grade of colonel, forbidding assignments to combat missions, and capping each branch to no more than 2 percent of women. You get a seat at the table ladies, but do not confuse it with having a voice.

However, after the Act’s passing, women were not heading to the nearest recruiting station en masse. At the time, society’s rules over a woman’s appropriate behavior, including sexual, provoked fears over her independence and supposed increased promiscuity should she join the military. Despite possessing data that proved the opposite, the War Department did little to denounce the slander campaigns against female recruitment. Unlike male Veterans, women were not informed of their Veteran status nor applauded for their military service. Thus, women were not likely to identify as Veterans and were uninformed of the benefits they earned. This continues today.

Over time, many of the Act’s restrictions were lifted but with extensive caution as the Armed Services continued to fight to hold them in place resulting in stagnant and sometimes decreasing number of women in the services. The Veterans Administration fundamentally did not treat women as Veterans, rather, the Veteran’s wife and referred to the small population of women Veterans as an argument against reforming its medical system. Additionally, the United States Census did not ask women their Veteran status until 1980.

In a college class in Afghanistan, after watching a General’s patriotic speech, I expressed my disappointment in the lack of the representation of women servicemembers in the accompanying video. We were walking distance away from the wire, an ideal target for a mortar round, and the professor responded, “Women do not serve in combat. Get over it!” Years later, in El Paso after a Purple Heart Day ceremony, a maquette of a future Gold Star Memorial was on display. The model had beautiful, detailed etchings of various heart aching scenarios Gold Star families endure. I noticed that out of eight servicemembers, only two were women and they were in their dress uniform, not utility, signifying they held an administrative role. I mentioned the need for more women servicemembers and was told, “More men die and usually are the first to die.” El Paso is the home of Fort Bliss, where Specialist Lori Piestewa, one of the first servicemembers and the first woman to be killed in the Iraq war, was assigned.

“There are more men in the military than women.”

I have demonstrated how the patriarchal structure of society, and the military is a cause for the smaller women Veteran’s population. To use the above statement is not an excuse to not do better to represent women Veterans. Repeatedly, our country has called on women to join the armed services because of a realization that they could not become the world’s greatest force by relying on men alone.

Captain Diane Carlson Evans served as a nurse during the Vietnam War. When she saw a photo of a statue of three male servicemembers that would be added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. She said, "If they're going to have a statue to the men, there has to be one to the women, or they'll never know we were there." Diane and her supporters fought for 10 years against fierce opposition, for a memorial dedicated to the courage, compassion, and strength of the women who volunteered to serve along enemy lines. Many of these women were nurses and the last person a Soldier saw before they died.

Statues, print and social media, movies, television, and so on all show the stereotypical male warrior archetype. How often have you seen a memorial for women servicemembers? How many movies or shows have you seen where the woman Veterans experience is shared? Who knows many women have been awarded the Medal of Honor? Did you know twenty-five women service members have been Missing in Action since WWII? And yet, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to use the term “Missing Man Table.”

The Disabled American Veterans published a Women Veterans Study in February revealing that underrepresented medical attention and using men as the baseline model for identifying suicide risk in women Veterans continues. The study concludes by pointing at the lack of representation as a cause of women Veterans reporting feelings of isolation. Unacknowledging the service of women is a barrier to them knowing about earned benefits and attaining them. Texas Veterans Commission Women Veterans Program has reported many women do not identify as a Veteran for a range of reasons including being told they are not a Veteran, and having been made to feel their service did not matter. I refer to the social media comments at the beginning of my speech.

What I have presented before you is a condensed illustration of why Women Veterans Day is crucial. With the population of women Veterans nationwide projected to increase to 18% by 2040, why do we still have to prove ourselves? After 246 years, why are we still being asked for our spouses’ information when applying for Veterans benefits? Why are we forgotten? So much of the history of our service is lost because it was not deemed important enough to record. This is why Captain Carlson Evans persisted. This is why when the WWII women Veterans said, “What about us? We served, too,” it led to the founding of the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington. When I see anything military or Veteran related, I check if woman are represented or else I think, “…they will never know we were there.” This is why we celebrate Women Veterans Day; a day to honor, recognize, and remember women who served in the United States armed forces. Until our experiences are acknowledged, until our stories are heard, and until our service is validated, I, and I hope you all will join me, will continue to advocate against the further marginalization of our service and for the normalization of our status as Veterans equal to men.

Melissa Harcrow is a native El Pasoan and an Army Veteran. She works for the Texas Veterans Commission as the Women Veterans Program Coordinator for west Texas and is passionate about advocating for women and Veterans, especially women Veterans.

As a firm believer in giving back to the community, Melissa serves as the Chair for the City of El Paso Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee, a Commissioner for the El Paso County Women’s Commission, Board Member for El Paso Texas Women Veterans, and Veterans Engagement Director for Team RWB El Paso Chapter.

During her time in the military, Melissa received twenty-three decorations and several recognitions including Non-commissioned Officer of the Year for her organization. Melissa has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Melissa has the unwavering support of her mother, husband, and children.