Women have never been required to serve in the U.S. military, yet have answered the call voluntarily serving since our country became a free nation.
Women have worked for the right to serve in the same roles as their brothers in arms and have been significant contributors to our nation’s success.
To put it simply, we wouldn’t be where we are today without our women veterans.
Our great state of South Carolina is home to many of these incredible women who have given so much in service to our country.
South Carolina native and veteran Caroline Etheredge Hembel was the only woman to complete the Civilian Pilot Training Program at the University of South Carolina in 1939.
In 1940, Hembel became the first woman in the 11 Southeastern states to fly solo and receive a pilot’s license. In 1941, she began training Navy V-5 aviation cadets, and in 1943 she was selected to be one of WWII’s legendary Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilots (WASPs).
Women have worked for the right to serve in the same roles as their brothers in arms and have been significant contributors to our nation’s success.
South Carolinian trailblazer Charity Adams Earley paved the way for African American women in the U.S. military. In 1942, she left her job as a school teacher in Columbia, SC to join what was then the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) before it became the Women’s Army Corps (WAC).
After completing the first Officer Candidate School, Charity served as a staff training officer, a station control officer, and a company commander at Fort Des Moines. In September 1943, she was promoted to Major, making her the highest-ranking female officer at the training center.
In 1944, she was selected to be the Commanding Officer of the first unit of WAC African Americans to go overseas. After leaving the military she continued serving by working at the VA.
Beaufort’s own Caroline Fermin joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1988, serving 25 years before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. Fermin currently serves as the Executive Director of the Parris Island Heritage Foundation, generating funds for the Parris Island Museum.
Additionally, she serves as a Commissioner of the Beaufort County and Municipal Planning Commissions. Fermin is on the Boards of Voter Registration and Elections, the Chamber of Commerce and the Military Enhancement Committee, and serves as Secretary of her MOAA chapter.
Women currently represent 18% of the Armed Forces and make up the largest growing population of veterans. However, they are facing significant challenges while serving.
Women currently represent 18% of the Armed Forces and make up the largest growing population of veterans. However, they are facing significant challenges while serving.
Did you know one in four servicewomen report being sexually assaulted by someone in their chain of command?
Women are 28% more likely to leave the service than their male counterparts, citing issues such as lack of family planning support, retaliation after sexual assault, a lack of female mentorship in senior leadership, and sexism in general.
Once they separate from the military, women experience more unique and difficult challenges, including accessing their earned benefits, finding meaningful employment, and recovering from their time in the military.
Unfortunately, the daughters of our brave nation also face a higher prevalence of lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorders, arthritis, and osteoporosis than men.
Our women veterans have volunteered to give up their lives for our nation and deserve the unfaltering support of the United States government and the American people through health care, education and other well-earned benefits.
In Congress, we have worked to support women veterans in various ways. As a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I have co-sponsored legislation to help homeless veterans, speed up payments for veterans’ survivors, improve medical care for women specific issues, support veterans with sexual trauma, and generally improve the VA. Our office champions our veterans and works tirelessly to improve their quality of life during and after service. Congress must continue this important work.
These women have signed up, and continue to sign up every day to protect us and our democracy. They are America’s daughters who voluntarily gave up their freedoms to protect ours. As we mark another Veterans Day, the very least we can do is commit ourselves to protecting them and honor their selfless service to our great Nation.
Nancy Mace represents the 1st District of South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives. A member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and daughter of an Army General, she graduated magna cum laude from The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, where she was the school’s first female to graduate from its Corps of Cadets in 1999.