Women veterans . . . often overlooked

"To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan,"

- The motto of the Department of Veterans Affairs

Since March is Women's History Month, it's appropriate to look into the history of women veterans. Toward the end of the Women's Liberation Movement, the Bureau of the Census finally gave a thought to the women who served. The 1980 census was the first time that American women were even asked if they had ever served in the Armed Forces. An astonishing 1.2 million responded "yes."

Soon after that 1980 census, Congress took note. The Department of Veterans Affairs, then known as the Veterans Administration, slowly started to inform women veterans that they, too, were entitled to VA benefits.

This article has some highlights of actions taken to prevent women veterans from being overlooked.

Senator Daniel Inouye's 1982 report

In 1982, a report about women veterans by the Government Accountability Office, GAO, known as Congress's watchdog, was instigated by Senator Daniel Inouye. Apparently the senator identified with women veterans because he knew what it was like to be ignored and unappreciated.

During World War II, Inouye served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Along with the Hawaiian Territorial Guard, those residing in relocation camps, almost all Nisei, the American-born descendants of Japanese immigrants composed the legendary 442nd. The regiment's 18,000 men were repeatedly called upon to perform the most dangerous and difficult assignments. Losing his right arm to a grenade, Inouye became the first Japanese American in the House of Representatives, and afterward served as a U.S. Senator.

The report to Senator Inouye concluded women did not have equal access to VA benefits. When women went to VA facilities, they did not receive complete physical examinations. Nor was the VA providing any gynecological care or informing women of their benefits under the law. Major studies of Vietnam veterans did not include women. The data compiled in the VA's Agent Orange registry did not distinguish between male and female veterans. Thus, the GAO could not determine the incidence or type of medical problems women experienced.

Vietnam Nurse Diane Carlson Evans efforts to have women veterans recognized, 1982 to 1993

When Diane Carlson Evans returned from serving as an Army nurse in Vietnam, her default format was "Tell nobody. Feel nothing. Risk nothing." Then she went to the dedication of the Vietnam Wall in the National Mall in 1982. Six months afterward, the Three Soldiers statue depicting three men was erected next to the Wall. During both dedications, there was no mention by any of the dignitaries of the 10,000 women who served in Vietnam, 80% of whom were nurses. Diane pondered the notion of a monument for the women who served in Vietnam.

She contacted the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, the organization responsible for the Wall and the Three Soldiers statue. She told the head man about her idea, and said, "We'd love your support." His response? "Well, that will never happen," and he hung up on her.

She drafted her four children to help write letters and lick stamps. The American Nurses Association donated a small space in its Washington, D.C. headquarters. When she went to the national convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars, the VFW, to ask for support, its members made such remarks as: "You Vietnam vets are all alike. You lost your war. You shamed America."

Five years into her endeavor, Diane and two other nurses were to appear before the Commission of Fine Arts, whose approval is required for anything that goes on the National Mall. Strategically timing his article, that very morning the art critic for the Washington Post wrote a column criticizing the design of the statue, adding that the Three Soldiers statue of the men was enough. The New York Times and the Boston Globe ran similar articles. Four out of the five members of the Commission of Fine Arts voted against permitting a statue commemorating the women who served in Vietnam.

Months after that, Diane received a telephone call. The woman said, "I'm calling on behalf of Morley Safer...60 Minutes is exploring the possibility of doing a segment on nurses and their fight to get a memorial."

That segment, "The Forgotten Nurses," ran in 1989. Americans around the country wrote letters and sent donations to Diane. Family members of nurses who committed suicide wrote to encourage her to continue.

On Nov. 11, 1993, almost 11 years after she began, Diane Carlson Evans spoke at the dedication of the Three Nurses statue that is near the Wall and the Three Soldiers statue in the National Mall. She said, "Welcome home, daughters of America. Welcome home my sister veterans. Let no one ever forget you again and what you did for this nation."

The Advisory Committee on Women Veterans Created in 1983

In 1983, Congress passed Public Law 98-160, known as the Veterans Health Care Amendments of 1983. That law mandated that the VA establish an Advisory Committee on Women Veterans. Not only was the committee tasked with assessing the needs of women Veterans with respect to adequate access to VA programs and services, but it was also empowered to make recommendations for change.

Over the years, the Committee has made many thoughtful recommendations to Congress and the VA for changes to benefit women veterans, such as: sexual trauma counseling; inpatient psychiatric units exclusively for women; domiciles for homeless women; VA employee education about the needs of women veterans; gender specific weight management and eating disorder programs; mental health services for women; childcare for women using VA facilities; examination of co-pay for preventative screenings; emergency gynecological services; identification of barriers to women receiving health care; and, examination of education benefits for women.

1985 Survey of Female Veterans

The VA commissioned Louis Harris and Associates to conduct a survey of female veterans. The group interviewed 3,003 women veterans, half of whom entered the service since the beginning of the Vietnam War. The 1985 report states that, while nurses represented 16% of all women veterans, 75% of women officers were nurses. Most served for a few years and then left the service.

Most women veterans had served in the Armed Forces during a war period. About 15% said they left the service because they were forced to leave by the military because of pregnancy or children.

This survey found that 57% of the women did not know they were eligible for VA services, benefits, and programs. Another particularly troublesome finding was that women Veterans reported twice the rates of cancer as compared to the women in the general adult population, with gynecological cancers being the most common.

Women Veterans Health Programs Act of 1992

In 1992, Congress passed Public Law 102-585, known as the Women Veterans Health Programs Act of 1992. That Act authorizes the VA to provide counseling services to women veterans to overcome psychological trauma resulting from physical assault or sexual harassment while on active duty.

The Act also permits the VA to provide pap smears, mammograms and general reproductive care, including the management of menopause. However, it does not permit the VA to provide infertility services, abortions or pregnancy care, "except for such care relating to a pregnancy that is complicated or in which the risks of complications are increased by a service-connected condition."

The VA Center for Women Veterans, 1994

The VA Center for Women Veterans was established by Congress in 1994 by Public Law 103-446. The intent was to monitor and coordinate the VA's administration of health care, benefits services and programs for women veterans. The Center is also intended to advocate for a cultural transformation, both within the VA and in the general public, in recognizing the service and contributions of women veterans and women in the military. Congress also directed the Center to raise awareness of the responsibility to treat women veterans with dignity and respect.

One of the ways the Center acknowledges the accomplishments of women veterans is by recognizing Women Veteran Trailblazers each year. Women veterans who make an impact by enhancing the lives of other veterans, veteran families or veteran caregivers are given an award each year.

The Women's Health Sciences Division, 1994

Founded in 1994, the Women's Health Sciences Division is located in Boston. It focuses on the special issues of women and PTSD, and especially on effective treatments. The Division has pioneered research on the psychological impact of military service on women Veterans. Such initiatives include development of psychological assessment techniques, the impact of sexual assault and military sexual trauma, and on the effect of PTSD on women's health and medical problems.

The Military Women's Memorial, 1997

The Military Women's Memorial was established by the federal government in 1997. It is located at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. The Memorial contains a computerized database of women who have served in the military. The public quickly embraced the database as the Memorial's main attraction.

One criticism is that the Memorial commemorates women who have served in the past, but present and future service by women, who now serve in combat, will be recognized alongside men. Perhaps that aspect of the Memorial should be applauded rather than scorned, since it means women veterans of the past will not be forgotten.

Better late than never, 2009, 2022

On July 1, 2009, President Barack Obama signed a bill awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to women who served in the Women Airforce Service Pilots [WASP] program, which was established during World War II; 1,102 women volunteered and 38 women pilots died during service to their country.

Another Congressional Gold Medal was presented last March by President Joseph Biden to the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory, the first African American unit of the Women's Auxiliary Corps [WACs] sent overseas during World War II. Their mission in Birmingham, England, was to organize and direct mail to U.S. servicemen which had gone undelivered. The battalion was faced with air hangers full of undelivered posts, which needed to be sorted and redirected. The women worked around the clock in three shifts, for eight hours per shift, seven days a week. They were tasked with clearing all the backlogged mail in six months, but they were able to accomplish their goal in three months.

The 6888th was headed by Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams. Adams will be honored in the renaming of Fort Lee in Virginia. The new name will be Fort Gregg-Adams.

Women Veterans Program Manager, 2012

As of 2012, each VA facility is supposed to have a Women Veterans Program Manager, WVPM. That person is supposed to assess the need for, and implementation of, services for eligible women veterans, and to provide leadership and oversight to ensure that identified needs are met at the facility. But a 2018 Elder Law Journal article states that, while the VA touts the establishment of its WVPM, very few women actually use it. The article says the low utilization rate may be due to the fact that when women veterans visit VA facilities, they report that VA staff is unable to identify and direct the patient to the WVPM.

The 2021 Deborah Sampson Act

The Deborah Sampson Act was signed into law on Jan. 5, 2021. 38 U.S.C. § 7306 et seq. The Act aims to eliminate barriers to care and services that many women veterans face and should help ensure the VA addresses the needs of women veterans who are more likely to face homelessness, unemployment, and go without needed health care.

Why is it called the Deborah Sampson Act? She was the first known woman to fight in the Revolutionary War. In 1782, as the war raged on, the patriotic Sampson disguised herself as a man named Robert Shurtleff and joined the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment. She served in many dangerous missions and was not discovered even when she was wounded; she extracted the pistol ball herself. She was ultimately found out in Philadelphia when she became ill during an epidemic, was taken to a hospital, and lost consciousness.

The 2022 GAO report

A 2022 GAO report on women veterans stated that from 2017 through 2021, the VA's Supportive Services for Veteran Families, SSVF, program served about 11,100 women veterans annually, making up about 13% of all veterans served each year. The program supports women veterans through rapid re-housing to help those who are experiencing homelessness transition to permanent housing, and prevention services to help veterans remain in their home as they resolve a housing crisis. Keeping in mind, there were 1.66 million women veterans in the nation in 2021, these numbers are somewhat sobering.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade

After the United States Supreme Court issued Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 142 S.Ct. 2228 (2022), the VA announced it will offer abortion access to veterans in cases of rape, incest and pregnancies that endanger the life or health of an individual. The move marks the first time VA physicians are able to perform abortions on federal property, even in states where abortions have been outlawed.

Conclusion

Women veterans have come a long way. From this chronology, one can see that it usually takes Congress a long time to act on recommendations. But most were eventually adopted. At least there's now an infrastructure in place with various entities on the lookout for the needs of women veterans.

Unfortunately, sexual assaults in the military remain commonplace. They are considered an occupational hazard for women pursuing military careers. The aftereffects of these assaults plague women veterans.