This Monday, June 12, BVA recognizes all women veterans but especially our own blind and low vision women members and our Women Veterans Group! We thank them for their past military service and their current service to BVA.

The first Women Veterans Day, also referred to as Women Veterans Recognition Day and Women Veterans Appreciation Day, was celebrated on June 12, 2018. Its significance dates to June 12, 1948, when President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Women Armed Services Integration Act. Prior to that, only women nurses could serve in the regular and reserve forces during peacetime. 

Women Veterans Day is currently a state-recognized commemoration in California, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. 

Some may question why a Women Veterans Day is needed. Contrary to the perception that women veterans number only a few, there are currently almost two million women veterans in the United States, Puerto Rico, additional U.S. territories, and in countries outside the United States. In addition, women have served in vital roles in conflicts beyond recent ones. During the Revolutionary War, for example, they served as soldiers, raising morale and spying on the enemy. 

To learn more about the significance of Women Veterans Day, click here. For more information about BVA’s Women Veterans Group click here.