news-record.com

A ringing "well done" to UNCG and the Women Veterans Historical Project for the fine luncheon they held at the Elliott University Center on Nov. 3. The featured speaker was Lt. Col. Kathryn F. Wirkus, a 1974 graduate of UNCG. Her talk, "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants," was a tribute to those who served before she did and helped pave the way for her success.

Women have come far in the American military. They were in the Navy auxiliary during World War I when women were called "yeomanettes." In World War II, women served in all branches of service and in all combat theaters and made up a little more than 2 percent of those in uniform.

When someone asked Gen. George Patton, as irascible an officer who ever wore a uniform, if he had had any trouble with the women in his command, he replied, "Darned right I am having trouble with them -- I don't have enough of them!"

The luncheon was held during the same week that a woman, Ann E. Dunwoody, was named the first female four-star general in the American military, and that is high recognition, indeed.

Women now make up about 14 percent of the military. They are in all branches of service. All career specialties are open to women except direct combat, but women have suffered combat wounds in every war from WWII to the present.

Women are in all service academies, and hold every rank. They have served and continue to serve wherever the United States has an interest -- including Iraq and Afghanistan. There are about 23,500,000 veterans of all our wars still living in the United States and about 1,700,000, a little more than 7 percent of these, are women.

At the first luncheon to honor female veterans, back in 1998, 34 women attended, along with 28 guests and staff. This year, there were 74 female veterans and 86 guests and staff. The women represented all branches of service, as well as both the Army and the Navy Nurse Corps.

Three were from the American Red Cross.

As it was 10 years ago, the luncheon was organized by Betty Carter, for whom the "Women Veterans Historical Project at UNCG" is named, along with Hermann Trojanowski. Others who worked on the preparation and program include Beth Ann Koelsch, curator of the project; and Kathy Crowe, associate dean for public services.

New UNCG Chancellor Linda Brady welcomed all who had come to recognize the special achievements made by women in defending America. They have taken their places as full members of the team which defends this great nation and keeps America free.

The project's goal is to document the contributions of women in the military and in related service organizations.

They have:

l more than 200 oral histories

l 400 collections from individual veterans, including more than 300 uniform items, patches, insignia, shoes and hats, as well as posters, wartime advertising, letters, scrapbooks, several thousand photographs, diaries and published works.

The collection is eagerly seeking any of the items listed above that come from women veterans of the Vietnam War.

This often-misunderstood war has its own story to tell, and I urge all veterans, men and women both, to tell their stories and contribute whatever souvenirs, artifacts and uniforms they still have.

Read the oral histories and see the photos showing a part of American military service most people do not know at the Women Veterans project Web site -- http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/

l l l

William L. Smith of Greensboro is a member of the First Lutheran Church, and contacted me after the list of veterans from First Lutheran had gone to my editor. I am glad to include his name as a veteran who served. He was a sergeant in the Army Air Force, with service in the Pacific Theater.

l l l

John A. Dyrkacz, himself a veteran of the U. S. Army chemical corps, shared a photo of his dad, also named John, an Army captain, with Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, when both officers served in Europe.

Dyrkacz explained that his dad attended an Army language school and added, "We are of Ukranian descent, and his ability to speak Ukranian gave him a big advantage in communicating in Russian. He ended up being assigned to Eisenhower's staff, where he served as an interpreter. He was at the Four Power Conference where he met (Soviet Field Marshall) Georgi Zhukov among other Allied power leaders.

"This picture with Ike (my Dad is on the right) was taken during the conference. My dad passed away in December of 2000 and is buried at Arlington with my mother."

My thanks to Dyrlacz for sharing this treasured memory with other veterans.

Next column: Our annual remembrance of veterans who died in 2008.

Send your war stories and observations to Ned Harrison, News & Record, P. O. Box 20848, Greensboro, NC 27420. Send e-mail to: vetspeak@earthlink.net