Texas Women Veterans Day honors past, present, and future of servicewomen
Texas has the highest women veteran population in the U.S., with over 207,500 women veterans, the Texas Veterans Commission says.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- June 12 marks a significant day in the United States, as on that date nearly 80 years ago, President Harry Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act.
Now, decades later, those who served are ensuring that servicewomen are never forgotten.
Thursday is Women Veterans Day, which recognizes the anniversary of the act being signed into law in 1948. The State of Texas formally established Women Veterans Day in 2017.
Still, arriving at this moment didn't happen overnight.
Dr. LaShondra Jones, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, pushed for Texas women veterans to have their own day.
Jones, now running the City of Houston's Mayor's Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, saw her efforts pay off, when Rep. Victoria Neave filed House Bill 2698, establishing the day on May 5, 2017. The bill was later incorporated into Texas Senate Bill 805, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law on June 9, 2017.
Ceremonies have been held in the City of Houston since then, and on Thursday, that continued at City Hall.
The annual ceremony makes it a point to give servicewomen their flowers while they're here with us.
This year's honorees were:
- Bertha Strait Lee - U.S. Army, age 100
- Patricia Rankin - U.S. Army, age 84
- Judy Harwell - U.S. Air Force, age 83
- Judy Hirst - U.S. Marine Corps, age 70
- Sheila Jones - U.S. Army, age 59
Jones, a Harris County Pct. 1 Deputy Constable, was wounded in a shootout in April near the Harris County Family Law Center in downtown Houston. She was released from the hospital a day later and appeared at the ceremony on Thursday.
Army veteran and El Paso native Shoshana Johnson, also an honoree, shared her story as the keynote speaker.
Johnson enlisted in 1998 as a cook to earn tuition for culinary school. In February 2003, while serving her second military assignment at Fort Bliss, Texas, she received orders to deploy to Iraq.
A month after her arrival to the country to serve as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraqi troops ambushed her convoy and took them captive in Nasiriyah.
Johnson sustained bullet wounds to her ankles and was captured by Iraqi forces. She spent 22 days as a Prisoner of War along with five other members of her unit.
"As a veteran, as a female veteran, a minority veteran, it's not easy coming home with the weight and dealing with things. I ask for my community at large that we be given grace and respect," Johnson told ABC13.
"I have a Purple Heart, I have a Bronze star POW medal on my license plate. It shows the Bronze star. Do you know how many times I get stopped and asked, 'Oh, your husband served'? I said, 'I've never been married, but I do have a Bronze star," Johnson said, explaining why women veterans should be recognized. "It needs to be highlighted because we've done so much. It's time for us to have the sun shine on our faces."
Johnson, who is an author and mom to daughter Janelle, said she also wants future servicewomen to understand how critical they are in the military.
"I really want our young women to understand what they're capable of and sacrifices of those women that came before them, and I want our young men to understand, you don't do it alone, the women don't just stand behind you, they stand next to you," Johnson said.
Harwell, another honoree, told ABC13 there weren't many women in the military when she served in the U.S. Air Force at Clark Air Base in the Philippines during the Vietnam War.
"People don't know, but they sent their whole families over there, so I worked with the families and the children to get them adjusted to life in the Philippines and on base," Harwell said. "They think of men only in the military, they don't think of women and what we do. And we do contribute a lot to the military."
Mildred Gates Hooper, a member of the U.S. Army's 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, was posthumously honored.
Also known as Six Triple Eight, it's the largest group of Black servicewomen to serve overseas during World War II.
Hooper's daughter, Stelena Hooper-Evans, accepted the honor on her behalf.
"My mother joined as an adventure to do something for her country. It ended up being historic and something that needed to be done and she was proud to do that," Hooper-Evans said. "She did not get a chance to receive this type of recognition so I'm so honored to represent her."
Harris County Pct. 7 Deputy Constable Jennifer Chavis, an Army veteran, was posthumously honored for her service as well. Chavis was killed by a drunk driver in 2022.
Army servicemembers surrounded Chavis' family as they accepted a wood piece of the American flag in her honor. It was one of many emotional moments, with the song, "Amazing Grace," playing in the background.
Chavis served for six years and was stationed in Germany. She also completed a tour in the Middle East.
Chavis was also an advocate for disabled veterans, establishing a nonprofit in 2014 to help with costs associated with training and adopting service animals.
The Women's Armed Services Integration Act legally permitted women to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces in a number of official capacities, according to the Truman Library Institute.
Before, women in the military joined as volunteers, serving in clerical roles, nursing, or special, temporary units such as the Women's Army Corps during WWII.
But the act was significant for multiple reasons, namely that it also now meant women could serve in all branches of the military and can claim their benefits after service, something they were previously ineligible to do.
Women today serve in a variety of roles and occupational specialties, including logistics, munitions, intelligence, and combat.
It's also fitting that the day should be honored in Texas, as the Lone Star State has the highest women veteran population in the nation with over 207,500 women veterans.
