Rememberin'

This picture shows somethin' we all sorta' forget-- especially now that women bein' in combat is a common occurrence. It wasn't always that way, and the Vietnam Woman's Memorial is just as important as the Wall.

AHM reminded me of that 'cause her mom was a nurse. She decided not to enlist during WWII (rumor has it her fiance--AHM's father--tore up the enlistment papers).

Her nursing school roommate, however, did enlist--in 1942. First she was sent to India to take care of the men buildin' the Burma Road and the pilots flyin' the "Hump"--the 530-mile long passage over the Himalayan Mountains--and Merrill's Marauders. In 1950 she went to Korea with the Inchon landings, part of the 4th Field Hospital that often arrived ahead of the M.A.S.H. units. (Alan Alda, eat your heart out.)

Over the years she worked her way up through the Army Nurse Corp, ultimately to head the Walter Reed Hospital nursing staff. In 1970, President Nixon chose Anna Mae Hays as the first woman in American military history to become a brigadier general.

She's 84 now, and I don't know if the lady ever wrote a book, but I sure hope she does. We need more stories like hers as an example.

So while you're honoring the men, remember to honor the women too.

posted by Harrison at 1:45 PM