The 75th-anniversary celebration of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act was a day of joy, gratitude, and inspiration. It served as a powerful reminder that women have always been an integral part of the military, and their contributions should never be overlooked or undervalued. It was a celebration of progress, but also a reminder of the work that still lies ahead in achieving full equality.
Three-quarters of a century earlier, and after two years of legislative debate, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, groundbreaking legislation which opened up the doors for women to serve as permanent, regular members of the military. It was a significant step towards gender equality in the armed forces.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, were among those in attendance to honor America’s women veterans at the Military Women’s Memorial at the Gateway to Arlington Cemetery on Monday. The memorial was also filled with women from different branches of the military gathered to commemorate this milestone and honor the nearly 3 million women who have served the nation.
“I’m here because it’s a part of my history. I was the first in the first group of women to go to Fort Jackson, South Carolina,” Mattie Whitfield, now Commander of the Disabled American Veterans Department of the Maryland Department Officers, told K Street Magazine.
“They were not ready for women. We made a big impact because a lot of things that women didn’t do, after a couple of years, they started doing,” she said. “I joined the Women’s Army Corps in 77/78 and then I joined the United States Army [when the Women’s Army Corps as a separate corps of the Army was disestablished in 1978 by another Act of Congress].”
In addition to breaking barriers, shattering glass ceilings, and continuing to pave the way for future generations of strong military women themselves, Whitfield and others joined in celebrating Air Force Brig. Gen. (Retired) Wilma L. Vaught.
One of the most decorated women in the history of the U.S. military and one of only seven women generals in the Armed Forces when she retired in 1985, 93-year-old Vaught was honored with the Margaret Chase Smith Leadership Award. Chase, then-Rep. from the State of Maine, was instrumental in the passage of the 1948 Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, and Vaught was the driving force for the Women’s Memorial at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery, in which the day’s celebration was held.
The recognition day included a program of tributes, honors, and music, both from celebrated American country musician Stokes Nielson and Pershing’s Own Chamber Players of the U.S. Army Band.
