38 ARMY March 2011 WAC Color Guard,1950s.
WASPs make a lastminute check around a Curtis A25 Helldiver. Actress Marlene Dietrich visits with WACs in France, November 1944. USAMHI Women s Army uniforms. By LTC Jenelle Roberts retired hroughout the Army s nearly 236- year history, women have proven that, when freedom is threatened, no obstacle will prevent them from defending their families, their fellow soldiers and their country. When their country calls, they respond not within gender-hyphenated roles, but as soldiers. For today s women soldiers, it is important to understand that the Army in which they serve is far different from that of their predecessors. Organizations such as the Army Women s Foundation and the Women s Museum are dedi- March 2011 ARMY 39
African-American WACs march, with Charity Adams leading. Adams was the first African-American WAC commissioned officer. cated to keeping stories past and present alive. This ensures that the soldiers of today s Army learn to appreciate the trials, tribulations and triumphs of the women who have served before them as well as embrace the legacy they will leave for future generations. The Army Women s Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization originally established in 1969 as the Women s Army Corps (WAC) Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to promote public interest in the Army and the women who serve in it. It is the only foundation devoted exclusively to women who serve or have served in the the national network for today s Army women and a dynamic advocate for telling the history of Army women. MG Dee A. McWilliams, retired, current president of the Army Women s Foundation, wrote in her fall 2010 President s Message that our mission is to remember those who have served and to support today s women soldiers as they serve, and beyond. The foundation has joined with others to tell the story of Army women and to provide ongoing education to different stakeholders about the unique needs of women who serve. Through programs, research, symposiums and scholarships, the foundation recognizes and honors the service of Army women. One of the programs the Army Women s Foundation recently cosponsored was When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans, a multimedia initiative that included a gallery show, book and documentary film. Author Laura Browder and photographer Sascha Pflaeging collaborated on this project because they believed that many Americans are unaware of how many women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and the range of roles they have taken on there. The hopes, dreams and experiences of all servicewomen active duty, Reserve LTC Jenelle Roberts, USA Ret., was commissioned from the Reserve Officers Training Corps in 1984 and retired in 2006. An employee of SRA Intl., she works at the Test and Evaluation Command. and National Guard; mothers, daughters and wives were seen by more than 75,000 viewers at the Women s Memorial [Women in Military Service for America Memorial] at Arlington Cemetery last summer, said Peggy Trossen, executive director of the Army Women s Foundation. We were very proud to join with TriWest Healthcare Alliance and the memorial to sponsor this extraordinary exhibit. The Army Women s Foundation also supports the Women s Museum at Fort Lee, Va., the only Army museum dedicated to Army women. The museum honors women s contributions to the Army from the Revolutionary War to the present, telling their stories with interactive exhibits and videos. Its mission, according to its web site, is to serve as an educational institution, providing military history training and instruction to soldiers, veterans and the civilian community. It serves as the custodian and repository of artifacts and archival material pertaining to the service of women across all branches and organizations of the U.S. Army from inception to the present day. The museum not only contains history its very presence is a piece of history. The Women s Museum is a direct descendant of the WAC Museum, which opened in May 1955 at the newly established WAC Center at Fort McClellan, Copyright 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press 40 ARMY March 2011
The Women s Museum held its grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new expansion during the Women's History Month Program, March 19, 2010, at Fort Lee, Va. From left, Francoise Bonnell, Army Women s Museum acting director; William Moore, deputy to the commanding general, Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) and Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE); CSM Michele S. Jones, USA ret., special assistant to the Secretary of Defense White House Liaison; MG James E. Chambers, then-cascom, SCoE and Fort Lee commanding general; MG Dee McWilliams, USA ret., Army Women s Foundation president; BG Jesse R. Cross, Quartermaster School commanding general; and Peggy Trossen, Army Women s Foundation executive director. CSM Brenda K. Curfman earned an Army Commendation Medal with V device for valor for her actions when her convoy came under attack in Iraq in December 2007. At the time she was the command sergeant major for the 95th Military Police Battalion. Ala., displaying WAC history in photographs, uniforms and other memorabilia. The first museum occupied one room in the WAC Headquarters building. As the museum grew, it became obvious that a building was needed to house the artifacts and archives. Since government funding was not available, the private WAC Foundation was formed in 1969 to oversee the fundraising. Over the course of several years, WACs, their families and their friends worked tirelessly to raise money for the museum. A new building was constructed entirely with private donations and dedicated in May 1977. Congress passed a law in 1978 that disestablished the WAC as a separate corps of the Army. The WAC Museum remained active on Fort McClellan until the post was closed in the late 1990s as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process. Officials at the (From left) CSM Delice Liggon, SGM Donna King, SGM Andrea Farmer, SGM L Tanya Williams and SGM Jerry Finin. All are assigned to the Quartermaster Center and School at Fort Lee, Va. /T. Anthony Bell 42 ARMY March 2011
SGT Dawn Cloukey, a signals systems specialist with the Brigade Troop Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, tests the functionality of a communication device during a brief stop at Forward Operating Base Normandy, Iraq. /PFC Jesus J. Aranda /SPC Joanna N. Amberger PFC Michelle Almeida measures wood framing material for the windows in the new classroom facility the Hawaii National Guard, 230th Engineer Company, built jointly with the Royal Thai Marine Engineer Battalion during the Cobra Gold joint engineering civil assistance mission in 2010. time considered closing the museum, but once again former WACs and their supporters pulled together, determined to save their legacy. The museum moved to Fort Lee with an expanded mission that includes all components (active, Guard and Reserve) and branches. In 2000, the WAC Foundation became the Army Women s Museum Foundation, and the new Women s Museum was dedicated in May 2001. Some 40 years after their original support to the museum as the WAC Foundation, the Army Women s Foundation organized and entirely funded an $800,000 addition to the museum. The museum addition further enhances the history of Army women and their contributions to our nation, said MG McWilliams. The funding was raised through our Forward March campaign. Donations ranged from $5 or $10 to several generous bequests from the estates of women veterans. We are very proud to facilitate honoring our Army women. In March 2010, the addition was completed and dedicated for the purpose of conducting training for soldiers, serving as a resource for the Fort Lee community and accommodating museum programs and outreach. Visitors to the Women s Museum will learn that the contributions and service of women in the Army are steeped in a long and eventful history. Women nursed the ill and wounded, laundered and mended clothing, and cooked for troops during the Revolutionary War, despite small compensation. They disguised themselves as men, bound their breasts and cut their hair to defend freedom during In 2008, LTG Ann E. Dunwoody became the nation s first four-star female officer. She was pinned by Chief of Staff of the Army GEN George W. Casey Jr. and her husband, Craig Brotchie, during a ceremony at the Pentagon. the Civil War. Dr. Mary E. Walker received the Medal of Honor, the only woman so honored during the war. When the Women s Army Auxiliary Corps was established in World War II, women did not receive the same benefits as their male counterparts. They were not allowed in Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) programs until 1972, or the U.S. Military Academy until 1976. The invasion of Grenada in 1983 was the first American armed conflict in which women were allowed to fly helicopters. In 2008, Ann E. Dunwoody became the first female four-star general in U.S. military history. In 2009, CSM Teresa King became the first female commandant of the Drill Sergeant School. More than 200,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2011, women no longer have to bind their breasts to serve, they can receive an ROTC scholarship, and they can attain the highest rank officer and enlisted in the Army. Through the efforts of organizations like the Army Women s Foundation and the Women s Museum, we can appreciate the struggles of the women of the past, be grateful for today s opportunities and look to make the future even better for those who serve. U.S. Navy/PO2 Molly A. Burgess 44 ARMY March 2011