From the NFRW Armed Services Committee
On June 12th we celebrate Women Veterans Day. According to the Veterans Affairs, there are almost two million women veterans in the United States and its territories.
President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Women's Armed Services Integration Act on June 12, 1948. Prior to that during peacetime, only female nurses could serve in the regular and reserve forces.
The Navy was the most progressive with women fully integrated from 1948. The women in the Army and Air Force, however, were assigned to the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) or the Women’s Air Force (WAFs), with duty to specific units. In 1976, the Air Force fully integrated and disbanded the WAFs. The Army didn’t disband the WACs until 1978. The Service Academies started accepting women into their programs the Fall Semester of 1976.
June 12th is not considered a separate day for women veterans but rather serves as a tribute and recognition for all women have brought to the Armed Forces since the Revolutionary War. Women have been there, whether recognized or not as service personnel. During each war, women volunteer to serve. Women veterans have come a long way from being strictly nurses to now serving in front line combat positions.
Give your women veterans a special “Thank You!"