LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim June 12, 2011, as Women Veterans Recognition Day in the State
of New York

WHEREAS, Sixty-three 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 ensured that women would have a permanent
place in the United States 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, Opera-
tion New Dawn and the Global War on Terrorism; and
WHEREAS, There are nearly 2,500 women serving in the New York Army and
New York Air National Guard, and they routinely take to the skies,
logging flying time in Blackhawk helicopters and C-130 Hercules trans-
port planes; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Air Force General directing the air strikes over
Libya in late March 2011 had flown aerial tankers into battle, commanded
pilots of Air Force One and became the first woman to lead a combat air
campaign; Major General Margaret Woodward was in charge of the 17th Air
Force, a unit that supports humanitarian and peacekeeping missions in
Africa, when she was ordered to set up the United States-sanctioned
no-fly zone over Libya; and
WHEREAS, As the Joint Air Force Component Commander for Operation
Odyssey Dawn, Major General Woodward is in charge of carrying out the
United Nations mandate to protect Libyan civilians and enforce a no-fly
zone over the country; Major General Woodward and liaison officers from
allied countries choose targets and synchronize operations; and
WHEREAS, Today, women make up about 14 percent of the 1.4 million
people on active duty in the military; and
WHEREAS, Over 230,000 women have served in the Middle East since 2001,
over 650 have been wounded and 120 have died according to the Department
of Defense; and
WHEREAS, By the end of 2011, the United States Navy will allow women
to join the Submarine Force; and
WHEREAS, The first New York State licensed residential treatment
facility designed exclusively for women veterans began operations on
January 30, 2011, in Ellenville, New York; 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

Terrorism and peacetime service; they 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 63rd 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
Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim, Sunday, June 12, 2011, as Women Veterans
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 we honor today those women who have served in the
United States Armed Forces honorably as military nurses in all branches
of the Armed Forces; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.