For centuries women, in one capacity or another, have served this great nation of ours.

Often forgotten in the shuffle of history, women have nonetheless served as integral members of the United States Armed Forces.

Too few women have been recognized for their outstanding service. This thread is for those women who have served...... ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY





Not many women are mentioned during the Revolutionary War. If they are, they are not always titled a "heroine." However, Molly Pitcher broke the trend by not only being a war hero, but a loyal wife and hard worker. Courtesy of Melissa and Terese

Picture courtesy of NAIL.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: IzzyBizzy,

IN HONOR OF WOMEN POW's




Florena Budwin, wife of a Pennsylvania soldier of the Civil War disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Union Army to be near her husband. They were captured and imprisoned at the infamous Andersonville Prison where her husband died. She was then transferred to Florence, S.C., where her identity was revealed. She remained at the prison to care for Union soldiers, finally dying of illness in 1865. She was buried at Florence National Cemetery and is believed to be the first woman buried in a National Cemetery.















Operation Desert Storm saw the capture and imprisonment of an Army Flight Surgeon, Major Rhonda Cornum and an Army Transportation Specialist-Sp4 Melissa Rathbun-Nealy.

The above is courtesy of Captain Barabra A. Wilson, USAF (Ret). She has done a remarkable job putting together a wonderful compelation of women prisoner's of war.









May we never forget the brave women who came before us. Women who served their country, suffered wounds for their country, were imprisoned in foreign POW camps for their country and died for their country. They set the markers so women today and all the tomorrows can serve proudly. God bless them all.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: IzzyBizzy,

What about Anna Etheridge, Civil War?

Or perhaps Anne Bailey, during the Indian Wars?

Mary Corbin was the first woman to receive a pension from the U.S. government as a disabled soldier. She served during the Revolutionary War.

*smiles* Howabout Rebecca Stillwell? She was firing a cannon on a British sloop to keep it from making land during the revolutionary war. Perhaps she was our first female artillery crew?

Deborah Sampson was another woman soldier who posed as a man. She fought during the Revolutionary war.

For sheer viciousness, I think Nancy Hart wins the ribbon, for the six Tories she captured during the Revolutionary War, her work as a spy and a scout....and her tendency to shoot Tories on the river for sport.....much as we would shoot plastic ducks at a carnival game.

For sheer audaciousness and fun, look up Capt. Belle Boyd of the Confederate Army. She pulled quite a few stunts in her time during the Civil War.

There have been lots of people telling us that we women do not belong in the Armed Forces. Yet, from Boudicca to Maj. Mary Prophit, and all of those women in between, we are still there, still fighting and still dying for the things we believe in.

Peace,
Caliann

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Caliann,

Excellent Caliann.

Civil War history is one of my favorite periods, but I didn't want to post everything. Leave some of these great women for others to share.

Where have you been Caliann? Missed you seeing you.

Exellent postings and information about women in the military. I found some information also about heroic women in the military:



1861: Dr. Mary Walker was a doctor with the Union Army at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) and three later major engagements, but was later captured and spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war. At war's end, she received the Medal of Honor for her service and for hardships endured as a POW. She is the only female to ever receive this honor. By the end of the war, over 500 fully paid positions were available to women as nurses and in the United States Military. It is also known that women disguised themselves as men in order to fight.





Loretta Perfectus Walsh (b. April 22, 1896, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – d. August 6, 1925, Olyphant, Pennsylvania) became the first American active-duty Navy woman, and the first woman to serve in the United States armed forces other than as a nurse, when she enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve on March 17, 1917. Walsh subsequently became the first woman Navy petty officer when she was sworn in as Chief Yeoman four days later.

quote:

Originally posted by IzzyBizzy:
Excellent Caliann.

Civil War history is one of my favorite periods, but I didn't want to post everything. Leave some of these great women for others to share.

Where have you been Caliann? Missed you seeing you.

I adore Civil War history....a LOT of women were fighting or supporting fighters during it.

But actually, more women participated in the Indian Wars on BOTH sides. White women who lived in border areas HAD to learn how to fight...or they would end up as another statistic. Pioneer women were tough, and they were under no illusions that if they were captured, they wouldn't be raped and killed.

Native American women of the Plains Tribes had always participated in raids and wars....it was nothing new to them. And, again, they were under no illusions that they were immune to torture, rape and a slow, painful death.

*smiles* For me, I was visiting my in-laws before hubby and I shipped out. He's off to Benning right now and I am spending the next couple of weeks getting everything in order before I go off to Jackson. I'll be on again, off again as time permits.

Peace,
Caliann

Uh,uh,uh,uh,uh,uh,uh.....stammering here. When did you finally sign?

Keep us posted lady. Congratulations Caliann.

quote:

Originally posted by IzzyBizzy:
Uh,uh,uh,uh,uh,uh,uh.....stammering here. When did you finally sign?

Keep us posted lady. Congratulations Caliann.

*laughs* Beginning of last month...but then I had to spend some time doing the rounds of Familial Visitation. Thats why I hadn't been on very much.

Thanks for the congrats!

Peace,
Caliann

Colonel Ruby Bradley

She was a true inspiration and a Hero

http://www.wvhumanities.org/Bradley.htm

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/rbradley.htm

Marinesmother, I would like to say what a heroic woman you are posting about. I felt very proud reading about Colonel Bradley becacause it appears she was a very brave and selfless woman in the military who definitely went beyond the call of duty to do her job.

quote:

washingtonpost.com - Soldier Earns Silver Star for Her Role in Defeating Ambush

By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 17, 2005; A21



Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester is the first female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star medal for valor in combat.(By Spec. Jeremy D. Crisp -- Defense Department Via Associated Press)

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester fought her way through an enemy ambush south of Baghdad, killing three insurgents with her M-4 rifle to save fellow soldiers' lives -- and yesterday became the first woman since World War II to win the Silver Star medal for valor in combat.

The 23-year-old retail store manager from Bowling Green, Ky., won the award for skillfully leading her team of military police soldiers in a counterattack after about 50 insurgents ambushed a supply convoy they were guarding near Salman Pak on March 20.

The medal, rare for any soldier, underscores the growing role in combat of U.S. female troops in Iraq's guerrilla war, where tens of thousands of American women have served, 36 have been killed and 285 wounded, according to Pentagon figures.

After insurgents hit the convoy with a barrage of fire from machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, Hester "maneuvered her team through the kill zone into a flanking position where she assaulted a trench line with grenades and M203 rounds," according to the Army citation accompanying the Silver Star.

"She then cleared two trenches with her squad leader where she engaged and eliminated three AIF [anti-Iraqi forces] with her M4 rifle. Her actions saved the lives of numerous convoy members," the citation stated.

Hester, a varsity softball and basketball player in high school, joined the Army in 2001 and was assigned to the Kentucky National Guard's 617th Military Police Company, based in Richmond, Ky.

A female driver with the unit, Spec. Ashley J. Pullen of Danville, Ky., also won the Bronze Star for her bravery. Pullen laid down fire to suppress insurgents and then "exposed herself to heavy AIF fires in order to provide medical assistance to her critically injured comrades," saving several lives, her citation said.

Six other soldiers with Hester's unit won awards for defeating the ambush, leaving 27 insurgents dead, six wounded and one captured. They include Hester's squad leader, Staff. Sgt. Timothy F. Nein, who also won the Silver Star.

Marine Corps News - RCT-2 prepares Lionesses for "the wild"

Feb. 1, 2007; Submitted on: 02/01/2007 10:17:58 AM ; Story ID#: 200721101758

By Cpl. Adam Johnston, 2nd Marine Division

CAMP RIPPER, AL ASAD, IRAQ - (Feb. 1, 2007) -- In the animal kingdom, lions are widely recognized as one of the top species. Their immense strength, lightning speed and razor sharp jaws and claws make them a force to be reckoned with.

Like Marines, lions work as a team. A pride of lions is made up of both males and females. Males are responsible for the pride’s security, while the females are charged with hunting for prey. Without food, the males wouldn’t survive – without protection, neither would the females. It’s a circle; they both need each other to accomplish the mission.

A group of female Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 1 recently completed Regimental Combat Team 2’s lioness training program in preparation for future operations.

“Female Marines are needed throughout the (area of operation) at (tactical checkpoints) to search the Iraqi women,” said Gunner Terrence D. Washington, the infantry weapons officer for Regimental Combat Team 2. “It’s our job to make sure they’re ready.”

The training matrix included classes on rules of engagement, escalation of force, an intelligence brief, Iraqi culture training and searching techniques.

“Knowing that our males won’t search their females, the Iraqis will sometimes pass their weapons off to the women,” said Cpl. Megan A. Cavanaugh, a personnel administration clerk with Headquarters Company, CLB-1. “Our presence will be a huge asset to the units out there. We can save Marines’ lives.”

For Cavanaugh, this will be her first experience off base since arriving in-country last August. Naturally, she is nervously anxious.

“Part of me is thinking ‘I’ve gotten this far without having to go outside the wire, why now?’” said Cavanaugh, a native of Philadelphia. “But I know it’ll be a good opportunity to learn something new. I want to say I did something out here other than just sit behind a desk and deal with pay and leave problems.”

The lioness program is part of a 30-45 day rotation of female Marines out to TCP’s within the AO. This was RCT-2’s first time offering the training since taking command of western Al Anbar province Jan. 20.

“Regardless of culture, women talk to each other,” said Washington, a native of Rochester, N.Y. “Get a female Marine one-on-one with an Iraqi woman, away from the men, and she might just give up some valuable information.”

Like most of the lionesses, Sgt. Samantha S. Shepard, a logistics vehicle system operator with Combat Logistics Company 111, CLB-1, benefited most from the searching techniques class.

“The staff sergeant who taught the class was out there, doing the same thing we’re getting ready to do,” said Shepard, a native of Mexico, Missouri. “It was very reassuring to hear what it’s like from a female’s point of view.”

Washington hopes the lioness program will eventually catch on and be implemented by units across the Marine Corps.

“If we’re going to make Iraq a better place, everyone’s going to have to contribute, including the females,” Washington said. “It’s got to be a team effort.”
-30-



CAMP RIPPER, AL ASAD, IRAQ – Sgt. Samantha S. Shepard, a logistics vehicle system operator with Combat Logistics Company 111, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, demonstrates proper searching techniques to the group during an impromptu class. As a former military policeman, Shepard was familiar with the basics prior to participating in the lioness program.



CAMP RIPPER, AL ASAD, IRAQ – Cpl. Megan A. Cavanaugh, a personnel administration clerk with Headquarters Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, gets some hands-on training with a M1014 combat shotgun during Regimental Combat Team 2’s lioness program. A group of female Marines participated in the program to prepare themselves for future operations.



CAMP RIPPER, AL ASAD, IRAQ – A group of female Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 1, fired a variety of different weapons as part of Regimental Combat Team 2’s lioness program. The day of training at the range helped them to prepare for future operations.



CAMP RIPPER, AL ASAD, IRAQ – Gunner Terrence D. Washington, the infantry weapons officer for Regimental Combat Team 2, poses for a picture with a group of female Marines who participated in RCT-2’s lioness program. The training is designed to prepare female Marines for future operations.
-----------------------------------------------
More about the The Lioness Program

Pentagon Channel Offers Special Coverage During Women's History Month

By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2007 - More than 100 years before the Marine Corps actively recruited women, Lucy Brewster secretly signed up, served on "Old Ironsides," and fought in some of the bloodiest battles of the War of 1812. That's just one of many fascinating but little-known facts about women in the military the Pentagon Channel will offer its audience during March's Women's History Month.

"Our mission is to let people know not only that the Pentagon Channel recognizes these observances, but to make a tie to the military community," said Air Force Master Sgt. Rusty Barfield. "We go to great lengths to capture the personalities and important facts surrounding the monthly observances."

The Pentagon Channel will offer 15-second video "factoids" showcasing military accomplishments of women during "Around the Services," the network's signature half-hour newscast, within programming spot breaks on the channel around the clock as well as via podcast and video on demand. Extensive reports focusing on specific women military veterans will air each Friday in March during "Around the Services."

Viewers will meet former Women's Air Force Service Pilots, known as WASPs, the first women aviators who flew military supply missions during World War II. They will also be introduced to Lois Bouton, a World War II Coast Guard reservist who at the age of 87 still writes letters of support to more than 300 Coast Guard units every day. Retired Air Force Col. Eileen Collins, the first woman to command a NASA shuttle mission, also will be featured during the month of special reports.

The Defense Department typically hosts special programs in conjunction with national months of observance, such as an upcoming ceremony at the Women in the Military Service for America Memorial, at Arlington National Cemetery. The Pentagon Channel will cover this and other events and feature them as part of their special series of reports throughout the month.

A final story in the Women's History Month series will feature troops who serve today. "The last Friday of the observances, we focus on everyday servicemembers and get their perspectives on what the observance means to them," Barfield said. "The Pentagon Channel is committed to showcasing the diversity of the U.S. military and exceptional servicemembers who distinguish themselves and excel no matter their race, gender or national heritage.

(David Mays works for the Pentagon Channel.)

DoD Honors Women's Achievements

By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2007 - The Defense Department observed Women's History Month and honored the women filling its ranks in a ceremony today at Arlington National Cemetery.

In an observance at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, women who have risen through the ranks to become leaders in federal service encouraged others to do same.

The event also recognized military and civilian women who have made great strides in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and who were selected by their service branches for their outstanding achievements.

"This year's observance continues to acknowledge the legacies and extraordinary accomplishments of many great trailblazers who are leading the way to ensure women are granted full participation in America and the world," Gail McGinn said as she opened the ceremony. McGinn is deputy undersecretary of defense for plans.

McGinn said showcasing to America the many talents of DoD women can help young people can set goals and fulfill endless possibilities.

She compared the opportunities of American women to those in countries like Afghanistan, where women had been barred from classrooms and weren't allowed to advance in society.

"Being the largest employer in the United States brings a great responsibility to the Department of Defense," McGinn said. "As global competitors, we are committed to carrying the torch for advancing the fundamental values of liberty and equal opportunity for all."

Women within the department have been given the opportunity to gain responsibility very quickly and have therefore made their mark on the United States, she said.

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught, the most highly decorated woman in U.S. military history and the woman who spearheaded the campaign for the women's memorial at Arlington, acted as the event's host.

Women were raising their right hands to serve in the military long before they were even given the right to vote, Vaught said. Their loyal service to the country helped to secure that right, which came to pass with the ratification of the Women's Suffrage Act of 1918, she said.

Vaught shared with the audience how a few military women have been on the forefront to help change laws that affected women throughout the nation. From segregation, to equal military benefits, to a change in restrictions for women to serve on Navy ships, Vaught said those women were making it easier for those who followed.

"We now have women serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries," the retired general said. "They are doing things that have never been done before. But there is a price to it; we have lost 70 women there, and we honor their service."

Former DoD employee Daliza Salas, who now serves as the director of human resources at the Labor Department, told the audience about the great strides being made by women throughout the country.

She cited increasing statistics on the number of women who are graduating from college, owning their own businesses, taking management positions and narrowing the earnings gap between men.

Salas also pointed out that with an upcoming wave of projected retirements within the federal service, many women will have a better opportunity to advance through the senior ranks of government than ever before.

"I hope the women in the audience will recognize the opportunity of change in our country," Salas said. "No matter what your goals are, you can achieve your dreams. It's important to stay focused and make sure you take steps towards getting closer to them."

She encouraged the young people in the audience to be inspired by the achievements of the award winners who were recognized at the ceremony.

The 11 women were selected by their respective service branch as role models in fields that aren't normally populated by women, such as geology, toxicology, and nuclear physics.

Coast Guard Cadet 2nd Class DeCarol Davis was honored for her efforts in promoting the science, math, engineering and technology fields to young girls and minority youth.

Working with students at Winthrop Elementary School in New London, Conn., Davis wrote and directed a play that incorporated engineering applications and was designed to inspire the children to follow their dreams. It was so successful that an encore performance has been requested during an upcoming regional youth competition.

"I am humbled to receive this award," Davis said. "I also find it interesting to get awarded for inspiring children, when it was the children who inspired me - to dream and to live."

Commentary: Take Time to Thank Unsung Heroes During Women's History Month

By Elaine Wilson
Special to American Forces Press Service

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas , March 28, 2007 - The topic of women came up in my office the other day. We were trying to figure out the best way to highlight Women's History Month in the post newspaper, and we decided to ask a few outstanding women, "If you could be any other woman, who would you be and why?"

We received some thought-provoking responses. Acting Army Surgeon General Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock said she would choose Abigail Adams, because she was "an original thinker" who advised against the discrimination of women. Army Col. Patricia Hastings, director, Department of Combat Medic Training, said she would pick Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female physician to graduate with a degree in the United States.

Although they emulate others, Pollock and Hastings are inspirations in their own right. Pollock is the first woman to hold the position of Army surgeon general, and Hastings runs the department that trains the Army medics who have boosted the survival rate out in the field to more than 90 percent.

Pollock and Hastings are just two of the countless notable women who have helped shape American history. As soldiers, they continue a tradition started when women first began to serve in the Army in 1775. They join the ranks of women like Army Brig. Gen. Coral Pietsch, the first woman general officer in the Judge Advocate General Corps, and Army Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, the first woman to achieve three-star rank.

And, more recently, Army Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester helped her squad repel nearly 30 insurgents during an ambush of her convoy in Iraq. Hester became the first woman since World War I to earn the Silver Star Medal for exceptional valor.

History books and Web pages are filled with stories of these well-known and celebrated women. Their achievements and valor help shape our society and the young women who turn to them for inspiration.

With such high-profile achievements, however, it's too easy to overlook the countless other women whose walls may be less packed with accolades and achievements, but are a source of inspiration nonetheless. You may have seen one today at the desk next to you, in the hall or talked to one on the phone. They are women who do their job with excellence every day, not because they are paid a movie star's salary, but because of their inner drive and work ethic.

Women like my friend Air Force Master Sgt. Melissa Phillips, who is facing her second tour to Iraq in two years. She is handling the looming deployment with a grace and courage that I don't believe I'd have in the same circumstance.

Women who stand by their servicemembers, wounds and all, as they undergo a long, painful rehabilitation process. And any woman - whether a wife, mother, sister or grandmother -- who receives word that her loved one was killed while defending our nation's freedom and still manages to carry on.

I saw one of these heroes on a news report. Renee Ziegel had only dated Marine Cpl. Ty Ziegel for about three months before he was deployed to Iraq. He was severely injured when a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives. Ziegel was burned on his face and arms, and his left hand and three fingers on his right hand were amputated. But Renee didn't see the wounds; she only saw him. She stood by him for more than two years of surgery and rehabilitation, and they were married last October.

"If you love somebody, you're going to do what you have to do, no matter what," said Renee in a First Coast News article

Their stories, ones of fortitude and courage, are an inspiration to me. As a journalist, I've been to the Fisher Houses, medical and rehabilitation centers and have witnessed that courage firsthand. And I always ask myself if I would have the same courage faced with the same circumstances. I hope I don't have to find out, but if I do, I know there are women out there that I could turn to for my inspiration.

Take time during Women's History Month, and every other month, to thank an unsung hero. Thank a woman who inspires you, whether she is your mother, sister, friend or co-worker. Perhaps someone also will stop and thank you.

(Elaine Wilson is assigned to the Fort Sam Houston Public Information Office, where she is editor of the Fort Sam Houston News Leader.)

Copied and pasted from an earlier post. Thanks to MarinesMother for the original Post!! Cyn~

quote:

Shes an Inspiration and a Hero Col. Tammy Duckworth

Originally posted by marinesmother:

quote:

"I want to stay in the Army and I want to fly helicopters for the Army again. I'm not letting some guy who got lucky one day in Baghdad decide my future." - Major Tammy Duckworth

http://www.defendamerica.mil/profiles/jan2005/pr010605a.html

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2005/11/major_tammy_duc.html

Shes now running for congress. I think she would make an excellent congresswoman.

quote:

Originally posted by PeterDow:
Congress: Major Tammy Duckworth. Blackhawk down, still fighting!

Major Tammy Duckworth for Congress



Music Video - BBC News October 26, 2006, to Ride of the Valkyries.



Blackhawk down - but she is still fighting!



Iraq war heroine, US pilot lost her legs when her helicopter was shot down north of Baghdad.



Great American patriot running for Congress in Chicago!

Veteran wins the hearts of the free world!

We LOVE Tammy!

Wow! What an extraordinary inspirational courageous woman!



Valkyrie - (Scandinavian myth) - Each of Odin’s twelve handmaidens hovering over battlefields and carrying slain warriors designated by the Gods to Valhalla.

Duckworth - God's handmaiden!

Tammy Duckworth for Congress website - http://www.duckworthforcongress.com/

IzzyBizzy said it admirably and I'll have to again reiterate the following: Wonderfully done! I was an Academic Instructor at the Air Force Security Police Academy at Lackland Air Force Base and taught some of our first female cops! They were absolutely incredible! Often, after sustaining severe pain, they did not, and would not quit! I'm talking broken bones! We had to force them to take a break, get medical attention and finish the course. They did! Resoundingly so! When my tour was over and I went back into the field, I supervised several of them in real-world situations! Still stellar field performance in life and death situations! Cool heads, drove forward, excelled, and they are now some of our great military leaders (Officer and enlisted) in almost every career field! I was proud to have with and along side them! Our Sister Soldiers do it just as well as we do! And in some situations, a tad better! I know the criteria! And they most ably measure up to it, every single time! I'm done! (I got kinda excited with this one, because I've read some of the stuff some of these guys are writing that is adverse to the good order and discipline of our United States Military Service(s)! This one guy has seen evidence that female in the military is a situation whose time has come and is long overdue! She will lay down her life just as quickly as any man, for you and definitely "with you"!!!!!

WWI Nurse Awarded Silver Star

Army News Service | Fred W. Baker III | August 02, 2007

WASHINGTON - While Army nurse Linnie Leckrone was patching up wounded Soldiers in France on the front lines of World War I, she most likely wasn't thinking that her actions one day would merit the military's third-highest award for valor in the face of the enemy.

Ms. Leckrone probably didn't even consider the history she was making on July 29, 1918, as enemy artillery pounded the location of her field hospital, and she and the small staff of the "gas and shock team" did their best to care for the barrage of incoming wounded.

The Army nurse who volunteered for duty on the front lines that day became one of the first three women in the military authorized to wear the Silver Star. Ironically, she never got to wear the medal, and never even knew she had earned it.

But that would have been fine by Ms. Leckrone, her daughter said July 31, at an Army ceremony at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, Va. The Silver Star was awarded posthumously to Ms. Leckrone, and presented to her daughter, Mary Jane Bolles Reed.

"If she were here, she would say, "I don't need a medal. I just did what I had to do," said her daughter. "And, of course, that's true. But what she had to do required great courage and was pretty exceptional."

Ms. Leckrone was one of the more than 10,000 women who served in the Army Nurse Corps in France during World War I. Nurses then did not wear rank and were referred to as "miss" or "nurse." Nurses were not supposed to serve in combat, but as forward surgery became more critical during the war, some nurses were moved to the front lines to work in field hospitals.

According to her daughter, Ms. Leckrone's thoughts during the war were appropriately placed -- on the troops.

The image of one Soldier must have stood out.

"He was just a boy. No more than 16 years old. He called me Mom. And he was so sick, he died before morning," Ms. Leckrone recalled to her daughter many years after the war.

Ms. Leckrone was cited with the Citation Star, which predated the Silver Star, for serving on the front lines that July in France and caring for wounded despite an enemy artillery bombardment, said Sanders Marble, a historian with the Army's Office of Medical History, working for the Army Surgeon General.

A colleague of Mr. Marble's found the three Army nurses cited for the award while searching lists for Army dentists. He came across the names and titles and realized their historical significance, Mr. Marble said.

Previously, four World War II Army nurses were considered the first women Silver Star recipients, he said, for gallantry in action in Italy in 1944. But, in 1932, then Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley authorized recipients of the Citation Star to exchange their medals for the new Silver Star. About 10,000 servicemembers have requested to have their Citation Stars exchanged for Silver Stars.

Mr. Marble's office researched the event. They had only two sentences to go by, including a name, location and description of the citation. They expanded on the citation and submitted for the exchange.

Mr. Marble said one recipient died and has no living next of kin. The other recipient's family was not able to attend the ceremony.

The historian said Ms. Leckrone's family was surprised when they got the call from his office. Ms. Leckrone was cited for the Citation Star, but it was never presented. She was discharged from the Army before it could be awarded.

"As far as we know, she never knew about it," Mr. Marble said. "The daughter, Mrs. Reed, was stunned when we called her and said, 'Your mother was in the Army, did you know about this?'"

Ms. Leckrone returned to the United States after serving 14 months overseas. When she returned there was no parade or welcome-home ceremony, her daughter said.

"They got back to New York City in uniform. People looked at them like foreigners. There was no big welcome home celebration," Ms. Reed said.

Her mother took a job as a nurse in Chicago, but then later followed her friend and fellow combat nurse - who also received the same citation - to Colorado. She got a job in the southern part of the state, in a small rural town, doing what she loved, her daughter said: helping people.

Routinely, Ms. Leckrone would walk two to three miles to small farm houses to take care of the sick, Ms. Reed said. The local people were grateful for the care.

"She said 'They just worshipped me,'" Ms. Reed said.

Ms. Leckrone later moved to Boulder, Colo., and worked as a nurse for the county. It was there she met her husband, married and quit nursing, at least outside of her family.

"Four rambunctious farm kids came up with a multitude of illnesses and injuries that taxed her nursing skills," Ms. Reed said of herself and her siblings.

While preparing to receive the award for her mother, Ms. Reed said she started digging back through years of family history and prepared a long list of her mother's accomplishments.

But afterward, Ms. Reed said, she realized the list was not important to understanding the impact that Ms. Leckrone left in the lives of those she served.

"Looking at it, I realized you don't need to know what she did, but it was how she did those things. It was always with compassion, and gumption and care - with the heart of a true nurse," Ms. Reed said. "Linnie Leckrone was a nurse all her life. She was unflappable."

(Fred W. Baker III writes for American Forces Press Service.)