The Significance of the Vietnam Women's Memorial

BY TOM BURKE

It can be easy to forget how significant the Vietnam Women’s Memorial has been for women who served in Vietnam, as well as for new generations of women veterans. After years of limited visibility and recognition, the memorial gave women veterans of the Vietnam War the opportunity to feel a national connection and appreciation, regardless of their duty station.

The Women’s Memorial was dedicated on November 11, 1993, after ten years of work, and 32 years later, we continue to appreciate the sacrifices women Vietnam War veterans made as they performed their duty.

In her remarks at the 1993 dedication, Diane Carlson Evans, who spearheaded the long effort to have the memorial built, extolled the trailblazing quality of the women who served in Vietnam—ordinary women, she said, who accomplished extraordinary things in difficult and often-dangerous conditions.

One of these ordinary women from my state of Ohio, Sharon Lane, made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. Her name is well known and respected. Chapter 199 in Canton, Ohio, is named Sharon Lane Memorial chapter in her honor.

Army Lt. Lane was serving in an evac hospital at Chu Lai on June 8, 1969, when she was struck by shrapnel during an attack. She was killed in action at the age of 25, the first nurse to die in combat in Vietnam. A poem about her by Maude Smith begins: “I am Lt. Lane. Do you remember me?” It is our duty as veterans to ensure that the answer is always ‘yes.’

Perhaps the most enduring aspect of both the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial is that they serve to inspire future generations. With any luck, these memorials will live on, inspire dreams, challenge adversity, and bring home what all of us wished for during our time in the military: that freedom will long endure in the U.S.A., as we honor men and the women who keep the nation safe.

The National Convention is fast approaching. The future plan for VVA will be presented to the delegates at the first Convention floor session. I once again urge you to attend, if at all possible, to make sure that your voice is heard on this important issue. The democratic process by which we operate is like no other VSO, as we leave it to the membership to decide our course for the future.

A couple last bits of information I found interesting ... our Army folks out there probably already know that Fort Bragg’s name was changed to Fort Liberty, and because some people didn’t like that either, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the Fort Bragg name reinstated — but for a different soldier than the one for whom the base was initially named. The North Carolina facility is now named for PFC Roland L. Bragg, a soldier who served in the 18 Airborne Corps during WWII. Bragg earned a silver star for conspicuous gallantry and a Purple Heart for wounds sustained during the Battle of the Bulge. ... Meanwhile the Navy announced it will name the next two Ford-class aircraft carriers after presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The future U.S.S. William J. Clinton and U.S.S. George W. Bush will become the fifth and sixth Ford-class ships — those that are slated to eventually replace the Nimitz class carriers in operation today.

See you in New Orleans.

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