The one who never gets the credit
So many of The Legal Genealogist‘s family members are being honored this weekend in the United States and, particularly, on Monday.
Monday.
November 11.
Veterans Day.
First proclaimed in November 1919 by President Wilson,1 Armistice Day became a national holiday by statute in 1938.2 In 1954, the name of the holiday was changed to Veterans Day.3
It joined the list of three-day-weekend holidays in 19684 but was returned to its original date of November 11th by statute passed in 1975, effective in 1978.5 It just happens to fall on a Monday this year.
A day for our veterans to get the credit they deserve.
All five of my mother’s brothers served in the military, and in their lives all of them were honored. My surviving uncle, my youngest uncle Mike will get his due this weekend, I’m sure.
Cousins by the dozens, in every branch of the United States military except — as far as I know — the Coast Guard.
And five of my own siblings.
All of whom will find themselves feted in one way or another this weekend — but one of whom may find things a little harder than the others.
All five of them can be given the special discounts for veterans if they go out this weekend.
But one of them will probably have to ask for it.
All five of them may park in that special parking spot for veterans.
But one of them will probably get a dirty look for doing so.
All five of them deserve to be thanked for their service.
But one of them will probably have to remind people of the fact of that service.
All five of them wore the uniform of the United States in honorable and voluntary service to this country.
But one of them never gets the automatic credit that the others do even if wearing that “I am a veteran” hat or driving the car with the veteran plates.
So here’s to the forgotten veteran of my family.
Here’s to my sister, Diana, USAF 1966-1970, shown here the day she was sworn in and flew off for a new life as she began her basic training.
Here’s to all of the women who served. And who never get the credit they deserve.
The most forgotten of all our forgotten veterans.
Thank you, ladies, one and all, for your service.
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “To the forgotten veteran,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 9 Nov 2019).
SOURCES
- “Veterans Day,” WWPL Blog, posted 22 March 2019, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum (https://www.woodrowwilson.org/blog/ : accessed 9 Nov 2019). ↩
- “AN ACT Making the 11th day of November in each year a legal holiday,” 52 Stat. 351 (13 May 1938). ↩
- “An Act To honor veterans on the 11th day of November of each year, a day dedicated to world peace,” 68 Stat. 168 (1 Jun 1954). ↩
- “An Act To provide for uniform annual observances of certain legal public holidays on Mondays, and for other purposes,” 82 Stat. 250 (27 Jun 1968). ↩
- “An Act To redesignate November 11 of each year as Veterans Day and to make such day a legal public holiday,” 89 Stat. 479 (18 Sep 1975). ↩
USAF veteran here. 1973-77. Not only was I very proud to serve, I am also very proud to be a member of the Medina County Women of the Military. MCWM is a veteran’s organization just for WOMEN who have served or are serving from Medina County Ohio. Ohio legislature just passed a bill to create a Veteran’s Day just for women: https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/ohio-house-passes-bill-to-create-women-veterans-day
I too am a veteran, USA from 1975-2005, active and reserves. I have been recognized for my service but want to thank Judy for recognizing all veterans, many of whom have never been thanked.
There is a group of female veterans, the Hello Girls, who waited 60 years for recognition for their service from the US government. In 1918, the U.S. Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France as telephone operators to help win the Great War. Hello Girls was the colloquial name for the operators. They swore Army oaths, wore uniforms, held rank, and were subject to military justice. By war’s end, they had connected over 26 million calls and were recognized by General John J. Pershing, Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, for their service. When they returned home, the U.S. government told them they were never soldiers. And then they were forgotten.
For 60 years, the women fought their own government for recognition. In 1977, with the help of Sen. Barry Goldwater and Congresswoman Lindy Boggs, they won and received veteran status. Unfortunately, only a handful were still alive.
A documentary filmmaker, Jim Theres, created a one-hour film about the Hello Girls in 2018. Elizabeth Cobb Hoffman, writer, lecturer, historian, professor, who wrote about the Hello Girls in her 2017 book of the same title, is one of the producers of the documentary, “The Hello Girls.”
You may watch it on Amazon Prime or Amazon Video. I highly recommend that you take the time to watch this award-winning documentary…it is very well done.
Maureen
It seems that with every military conflict, veterans have had to struggle for recognition. Once their service is over, people just want to get back to normal. That’s understandable, but what about the people whose service now recedes into the background? Women’s service is particularly invisible: they were often seen as “just support” and now are expected to step back.
During the Nam years, I tried to join the service but was told they had “met their “quota” of women. The real reason was because I wanted to fly. And they didn’t want me to. A decade later, women were being allowed to fly. I was a single mom working and going to school by that time. But to this day, when I see a woman publicly acknowledged for her service, or even commended for an action, I celebrate, not just for her, but for every woman who has been told “No” and does it anyway. That goes for the women in offices and in the field, too. Oddly, I am a pacifist, but I also recognize that there are some things that must be fought for. Right now I am fighting for the integrity of my country. I will never stop.
This morning, I filled out a form for Wreaths Across America, choosing to memorialize my parents, who were both WWII Navy veterans. The form is really designed for one person, but I filled out “John and Jane Doe” on the Name line, and for the service, “USN and USNR’ — because of course HE was in the REAL Navy and SHE was in the RESERVES.