Las Cruces, NM - On this edition of PUENTES, bridges to the community, host Emily Guerra meets with United Military Women of the Southwest (UMWSW) President, Karen Woods, retired from the Navy. UMWSW is a non-profit organization in Las Cruces that supports women veterans who have served or are currently serving our country.
Women have served our country since the American Revolution. At that time women did not wear uniforms, but the Army hired them as nurses, cooks and laundresses, and as spies, carrying messages across enemy lines. Historians estimate that a few 100 women secretly served as Civil War soldiers. Women were denied a place within the military until 1901. During World War I, nearly 35,000 women served in the military, mostly as nurses, but also in all types of non-combat jobs. By World War II there were more than 400,000 women serving at home and overseas. Now, there are over 200,000 women serving in the military, many have combat jobs.
Woods says it is time for women veterans from all branches and eras of service to be honored with a monument. Five major services of the military will now be recognized with a monument: the Army; the Marine Corps; the Navy; the Air Force; and the Coast Guard. A groundbreaking ceremony for the new “Women Veterans Monument” will take place at 10 am on Saturday, September 10th, at the Las Cruces Veterans Park, 2651 Roadrunner Parkway. For more information visit: www.UMSWSW.weebly.com, and on Facebook. To make donations for the monument visit: www.gofundme.com/pf966o.