LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor David A. Paterson to
proclaim June 12, 2010, as Women Veterans' Recognition Day in the State
of New York

WHEREAS, Sixty-two years ago, on June 12, 1948, President Harry S.
Truman signed into law the Women's Armed Services Act of 1948 (P.L.
625-80th Congress); this law insured that women would have a permanent
place in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps; and
WHEREAS, The late Senator Margaret Chase Smith from Maine authorized
the legislation that President Truman signed; the Act remains the most
significant legislation pertaining to women's military service and is
the cornerstone for policies and regulations affecting women; and
WHEREAS, Women veterans have always answered the call to duty, serving
with integrity and respect; and
WHEREAS, As of 2006 there are approximately 50,000 females serving in
Iraq and Afghanistan; women make up about 15 percent of the Army; and
WHEREAS, Women from New York who have served in the Armed Forces of
the United States have made countless contributions and tremendous
sacrifices during times of war; and
WHEREAS, It is important to recognize the contributions of New York
women veterans and educate the people of New York concerning the role of
women during wartime since this Nation was founded; and
WHEREAS, New Yorkers serving in the military continue to demonstrate
their professionalism, dedication, and skills, as well as their patriot-
ism and love for their country and liberties, freedoms, and rights that
it stands for as they mobilize in record numbers to support Operation
Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and
the global war on terrorism; and
WHEREAS, Jeanne M. Holm, who opened doors for women in the military as
the first female general in the Air Force and the first woman in any
military branch to reach the rank of two-star general, passed away on
February 15, 2010, at the age of 88; and
WHEREAS, From 1965 to 1975, General Holm was the highest-ranking woman
in the Air Force, which had been resistant to accept women in its ranks;
women were not allowed to fly and, except nurses, were not permitted
near the front lines during wartime; and
WHEREAS, General Holm was often a lonely but prescient voice for
change in the military, championing many ideas in the 1970s that did not
find full acceptance until years later; she called for women to be
admitted to the service academies, to participate fully in campus ROTC
programs, to be allowed to serve as pilots, and to have greater roles in
combat; and
WHEREAS, The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) established during
World War II were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal; their primary
mission was to fly noncombat military missions in the United States,
thus freeing their male counterparts for combat missions overseas; they
were the first women ever to fly American military aircraft and they
flew almost every type of aircraft operated by the Army Air Force during
World War II, logging more than 60 million miles; the Congressional Gold
Medal is the highest and most distinguished award Congress can award to
a civilian; and
WHEREAS, Today, women make up about fourteen percent of the 1.4
million people on active duty in the military; and
WHEREAS, More than 100 women have died in the conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan; and
WHEREAS, The number of women at the very top is growing but remains
small; in the Army, where women make up 14 percent of active duty

personnel, they account for about five percent of the generals; there
are 15 one-star generals, three two-star generals and one three-star
general; and
WHEREAS, By the end of 2011, the United States Navy will allow women
to join the Submarine Force; and
WHEREAS, Women have served this country in uniform -- whether veterans
of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, the current Global War on
Terror and peacetime service, have earned our respect and thanks; and
WHEREAS, Women Veterans' Recognition Day is a living estuary to the
courage of so many; from its broad base of shared concern and responsive
endeavor, there yet emanates the current of valiant tradition and the
irrepressible tide of freedom; and
WHEREAS, Through its avowed commitment to those who have served in the
cause of America's Freedom, Women Veterans' Recognition Day does so
unselfishly advance that spirit of united purpose and shared concern
which is the unalterable manifestation of our American experience; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to pay
tribute to the bravery, patriotism and sacrifice made by women, both
those still living and those who died in service of our great country;
and to most proudly commemorate the 62nd Anniversary of the signing of
the Women's Armed Forces Service Act of 1948, which later came to be
known as "Women Veterans' Recognition Day"; and to memorialize Governor
David A. Paterson to proclaim, Saturday, June 12, 2010, as Women Veter-
ans' Recognition Day in the State of New York, fully confident that such
procedure mirrors our shared commitment to preserve, to ensure and to
yet effect that patrimony of freedom which is our American Heritage; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Governor David A. Paterson, Governor of the State of New
York.