Women Veterans Day

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We have not recognized it nearly as long as we should have, but in the United States today, June 12th, we celebrate Women Veterans Day. Women Veterans Day started on June 12, 2008 (as I said, not nearly long enough) when the New York State Assembly declared the date Women Veterans’ Recognition Day, celebrating the contributions women have made to our Armed Forces over the years. It is not a National Holiday, rather, it’s celebrated on a state-by-state basis. A quick peek at AI tells me that over 20 states celebrate (take that for what it’s worth. Wikipedia lists 13. Also take that for what it’s worth.) Why did it take so long to recognize these vital women? Probably the same reasons military women had to overcome so many double standards in the first place. I’ll use just one example. Once, while I was in a VA Hospital, we were talking to a fellow vet who is part of a volunteer peer group. She was a young elderly, and army veteran. She was Airborne. But she was Airborne before women were actually allowed to be Airborne, so she made somewhere around 100-ish “unofficial” jumps. Her “official” jump total is actually quite low. She never got credit for all of those jumps; as far as the army is concerned, they never happened. And that’s just one reason why today is Women’s Veterans Day. Thank you, Ladies! Link is a short VA video about female veterans and PTSD: