Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Monumental Visits: U.S. Air Force & Women in the Military
The future of our nation is forever bound up in the development of air power.
-- Col. William “Billy” Mitchell, air power visionary
We better be prepared to dominate the skies above the surface of the earth or be prepared to be buried beneath it.
-- Gen. Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz, first Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force
Soldiers can walk the battlefields where they once fought and Marines can walk the beaches they once stormed, but airmen cannot visit the patches of sky across where they raced while defending our country’s freedoms. As such, the U.S. Air Force Memorial was built as a place to honor those who served in the Air Force and its predecessor organizations. Construction began in February 2006 and was completed seven months later, with the memorial’s dedication in September 2006.
I’m sure many people know that the U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Army Air Forces preceded the creation of the U.S. Air Force, but there were several additional units that led to the path of U.S. air dominance: the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps was created in 1907, followed by the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps (1914), the Division of Military Aeronautics, Secretary of War (for four days in 1918), and the U.S. Army Air Service (1918). The U.S. Army Air Corps was created in 1926, followed by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941, and the latter fought in campaigns from Asia and the Pacific to Europe and Africa before giving way to the U.S. Air Force -- which celebrates its 61st anniversary next week on Sept. 18.
Here’s my favorite Airman -- my dad, retired Brig. Gen. Michael Quarnaccio and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross for a mission he flew in Vietnam (which he is rather humble about when describing it). Notice that more than 10 years after he retired, he’s still wearing the Air Force logo on his shirt as well as an Air Force Association hat with the “Hap Arnold” wings.
The three spires of the memorial are designed to evoke the image of the Air Force Thunderbirds’ contrails as they peel back in the “bomb burst” maneuver. The Thunderbirds perform this maneuver with four jets, but the fourth spire is absent here to represent the Missing Man Formation traditionally flown at Air Force funeral fly-overs.
The west entrance to the memorial includes bronze Honor Guard statues standing watch over the memorial on Fort Myer, just south of Arlington National Cemetery. The south wall behind the Honor Guard details the combat campaigns of the U.S. Air Force and its predecessors as well as the service’s core values of “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.” The north wall bears the names of the Air Force recipients of the Medal of Honor -- from World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, as well as two peacetime recipients.
MacKenzie and Benjamin cooperated for a photo at the memorial ... but Zachary opted to make a face when I snapped a photo. I have MANY photos of him with similar expressions!
From the storm-washed decks of the Mayflower ... to the present hour, woman has stood like a rock for the welfare and the glory of the history of the country, and one might well add...unwritten, unrewarded, and almost unrecognized.
--Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, 1911
All of us must work at patriotism, not just believe in it. For only by our young women offering their services to our country as working patriots in the armed forces…can our defense be adequate.
--Helen Hayes, Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service
Our last stop on our D.C. memorials visit was the Women in Military Service for America Memorial adjacent to the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. This memorial honors all women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces -- and is the only major national memorial honoring and paying tribute to all women who have served in the U.S. armed forces from the American Revolution to the present day (and there are nearly two million of us!). The groundbreaking for this memorial was in June 1995, and it was dedicated in October 1997. Inside the memorial is a museum featuring exhibits on women in the military. The “heart” of the memorial is a computerized database of information about servicewomen who are registered -- a virtual, on-going record of history as it’s made. Approximately 250,000 of the two million eligible women have been registered thus far (note to self: I need to register at www.womensmemorial.org!).
The lower terrace, in front of the Hemicycle wall, is a reflecting pool and Court of Valor. The Education Center is behind the Hemicycle and includes the Hall of Honor, the exhibit gallery, a theater and the computer registry of servicewomen. On the upper terrace is an arc of large glass panels with etched quotations from and about servicewomen.
I liked this passage from one of the displays in the exhibit gallery, since it summarizes the passage of legislation allowing women to permanently serve in the armed forces ... effectively allowing me my career:
Sweet Victory
In both World War I and World War II, American women served the nation in the armed forces with distinction. At the end of World War II, the nation optimistically and rapidly demobilized. With the advent of the Cold War, however, there was a manpower shortage in the armed services. Women could fill the gap.
In 1947, military leaders asked Congress to authorize the integration of women into the officer and enlisted ranks of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. However, many congressmen did not believe women should be permanent members of the military. Some did not like the idea of women commanding men. Senator Margaret Chase Smith and Representative Edith Nourse Rogers guided the legislation through contentious congressional hearings to its ultimate passage.
The final version of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 reflected contemporary attitudes toward women in the military. Nevertheless, the passage of the Act was a victory for women seeking careers in the armed forces and laid the foundation for future steps toward equity.
Arlington National Cemetery is just behind the memorial, and is serenely visible from the upper terrace.
It isn’t just my brother’s country, or my husband’s country, it’s my country as well. And so the war wasn’t just their war, it was my war, and I needed to serve in it.
--Beatrice Hood Stroup, Maj., Women’s Army Corps, World War II
The qualities that are most important in all military jobs -- things like integrity, moral courage, and determination -- have nothing to do with gender.
--Rhonda Cornum, Maj., U.S. Army Medical Corps, Operation Desert Storm
Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom, that our resolve was just as great as the brave men who stood among us, and with victory our hearts were just as full and beat just as fast -- that the tears fell just as hard for those we left behind.
--Anne Sosh Brehm, 1st Lt., U.S. Army Nurse Corps, World War II
-- Col. William “Billy” Mitchell, air power visionary
We better be prepared to dominate the skies above the surface of the earth or be prepared to be buried beneath it.
-- Gen. Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz, first Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force
Soldiers can walk the battlefields where they once fought and Marines can walk the beaches they once stormed, but airmen cannot visit the patches of sky across where they raced while defending our country’s freedoms. As such, the U.S. Air Force Memorial was built as a place to honor those who served in the Air Force and its predecessor organizations. Construction began in February 2006 and was completed seven months later, with the memorial’s dedication in September 2006.
I’m sure many people know that the U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Army Air Forces preceded the creation of the U.S. Air Force, but there were several additional units that led to the path of U.S. air dominance: the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps was created in 1907, followed by the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps (1914), the Division of Military Aeronautics, Secretary of War (for four days in 1918), and the U.S. Army Air Service (1918). The U.S. Army Air Corps was created in 1926, followed by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941, and the latter fought in campaigns from Asia and the Pacific to Europe and Africa before giving way to the U.S. Air Force -- which celebrates its 61st anniversary next week on Sept. 18.
Here’s my favorite Airman -- my dad, retired Brig. Gen. Michael Quarnaccio and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross for a mission he flew in Vietnam (which he is rather humble about when describing it). Notice that more than 10 years after he retired, he’s still wearing the Air Force logo on his shirt as well as an Air Force Association hat with the “Hap Arnold” wings.
The three spires of the memorial are designed to evoke the image of the Air Force Thunderbirds’ contrails as they peel back in the “bomb burst” maneuver. The Thunderbirds perform this maneuver with four jets, but the fourth spire is absent here to represent the Missing Man Formation traditionally flown at Air Force funeral fly-overs.
The west entrance to the memorial includes bronze Honor Guard statues standing watch over the memorial on Fort Myer, just south of Arlington National Cemetery. The south wall behind the Honor Guard details the combat campaigns of the U.S. Air Force and its predecessors as well as the service’s core values of “integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.” The north wall bears the names of the Air Force recipients of the Medal of Honor -- from World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, as well as two peacetime recipients.
MacKenzie and Benjamin cooperated for a photo at the memorial ... but Zachary opted to make a face when I snapped a photo. I have MANY photos of him with similar expressions!
From the storm-washed decks of the Mayflower ... to the present hour, woman has stood like a rock for the welfare and the glory of the history of the country, and one might well add...unwritten, unrewarded, and almost unrecognized.
--Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, 1911
All of us must work at patriotism, not just believe in it. For only by our young women offering their services to our country as working patriots in the armed forces…can our defense be adequate.
--Helen Hayes, Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Service
Our last stop on our D.C. memorials visit was the Women in Military Service for America Memorial adjacent to the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. This memorial honors all women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces -- and is the only major national memorial honoring and paying tribute to all women who have served in the U.S. armed forces from the American Revolution to the present day (and there are nearly two million of us!). The groundbreaking for this memorial was in June 1995, and it was dedicated in October 1997. Inside the memorial is a museum featuring exhibits on women in the military. The “heart” of the memorial is a computerized database of information about servicewomen who are registered -- a virtual, on-going record of history as it’s made. Approximately 250,000 of the two million eligible women have been registered thus far (note to self: I need to register at www.womensmemorial.org!).
The lower terrace, in front of the Hemicycle wall, is a reflecting pool and Court of Valor. The Education Center is behind the Hemicycle and includes the Hall of Honor, the exhibit gallery, a theater and the computer registry of servicewomen. On the upper terrace is an arc of large glass panels with etched quotations from and about servicewomen.I liked this passage from one of the displays in the exhibit gallery, since it summarizes the passage of legislation allowing women to permanently serve in the armed forces ... effectively allowing me my career:
Sweet Victory
In both World War I and World War II, American women served the nation in the armed forces with distinction. At the end of World War II, the nation optimistically and rapidly demobilized. With the advent of the Cold War, however, there was a manpower shortage in the armed services. Women could fill the gap.
In 1947, military leaders asked Congress to authorize the integration of women into the officer and enlisted ranks of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. However, many congressmen did not believe women should be permanent members of the military. Some did not like the idea of women commanding men. Senator Margaret Chase Smith and Representative Edith Nourse Rogers guided the legislation through contentious congressional hearings to its ultimate passage.
The final version of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 reflected contemporary attitudes toward women in the military. Nevertheless, the passage of the Act was a victory for women seeking careers in the armed forces and laid the foundation for future steps toward equity.
Arlington National Cemetery is just behind the memorial, and is serenely visible from the upper terrace.It isn’t just my brother’s country, or my husband’s country, it’s my country as well. And so the war wasn’t just their war, it was my war, and I needed to serve in it.
--Beatrice Hood Stroup, Maj., Women’s Army Corps, World War II
The qualities that are most important in all military jobs -- things like integrity, moral courage, and determination -- have nothing to do with gender.
--Rhonda Cornum, Maj., U.S. Army Medical Corps, Operation Desert Storm
Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom, that our resolve was just as great as the brave men who stood among us, and with victory our hearts were just as full and beat just as fast -- that the tears fell just as hard for those we left behind.
--Anne Sosh Brehm, 1st Lt., U.S. Army Nurse Corps, World War II
Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie, Nana and Papa, Stateside visits, Zachary
