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| My mother - 1952 |
Many people know about Veterans Day on 11 November, but far fewer know about Women Veterans Recognition Day, observed each year on 12 June. It is not a separate Veterans Day for women, nor is it a federal holiday. Instead, it is a day of recognition tied to an important moment in military history.
On 12 June 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. This law gave women the right to serve as permanent, regular members of the U.S. armed forces. Before then, women had served in vital roles, especially during wartime, but their service was often treated as temporary.
This day also made me think again about my mother’s own service in the Navy. I have written about her military service before, including in “Honor a Servicewoman on Veterans Day: The Military Women’s Memorial Register,” “My Mother, A Navy Veteran,” and “Honoring My Parents on Veterans Day.” But as I looked back at those posts, I realized I have only one photograph of Mom in uniform. That needs to change. I definitely want to ask her about any other photographs she may have and record the stories that go with them.
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Diana
© 2026
Missina Schallus, “Dispelling the Myths of Women Veterans Recognition Day,” VA News, 8 June 2022; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, digital article, https://news.va.gov/105206/dispelling-the-myths-of-women-veterans-recognition-day/ : accessed 12 June 2026.
Photo from Boot Camp, photograph, ca. 1952; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of D. B. Quinn, VA, 2021.
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