This Empowering Memorial Honors the Legacies of Military Women | National Geographic

I remember vividly at the dedication 20 years ago of the memorial. There was a World War I veteran in her uniform who spoke. She said, "When I served in the Navy, women were not even allowed to vote." I thought, what a brave woman! So in that hundred years, uh, that alone shows you where women started in the military.

Everything is open to them today. There is nothing women can't do. At various times when I've been here, I've met women who served their country. Many times, they would have tears in their eyes because this is hallowed ground for us.

Those of us at the foundation are absolutely committed to the future of this memorial, and every day we get, uh, reinforcement, so to speak, from our constituents—military women themselves. Most women who served, to include me, will never write a book about their service. They'll never be in anybody else's book.

But they can record their history by registering. They can put their picture, a story of where they served, and we want that to continue. That's why we're working so hard to sustain the memorial.

This is an extraordinary place, and every day I learn that, um, I learn that, um, we have to promote women and we have to promote each other, um, and to reach out and make sure that this story is told.

That for our kids, that my granddaughter knows that she can do anything, and that her brother knows that she can do anything too.