![]() The Heart of the Memorial is the Register -where visitors are offered a unique look at some of the individual stories that make up the collective history of women’s service and where a tribute can be made to a specific woman who has served. The upper terrace features stunning views of the Washington Monument and Arlington National Cemetery as well as the Memorial’s signature arc of glass tablets. The completed Memorial -dedicated and opened to the public on Octo-includes the Court of Valor with its reflecting pool and a 200-jet fountain represent ing the sound of women’s voices. In June 1995, a groundbreaking ceremony was held, and construction soon began. As the sun passed overhead, the quotations were to reflect down onto the gallery walls inside the Memorial. They went back to the drawing board and returned with an arc of glass tablets etched with quotations by and about military women, which would act as skylights running the entire length of the exhibit gallery. This design was ultimately altered because of concerns that the illuminated spires would have too great an impact on the historic memorial corridor and did not blend harmoniously with the neoclassical architecture of the existing structure. The Weiss/Manfredi design originally included tall glass spires rising from the original semicircular retaining wall’s upper terrace and which would glow softly in the night. This bill authorized the establishment of “a memorial on Federal lands in the District of Columbia and its environs to honor women who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States.” The law also charged WIMSA with conducting the public campaign on behalf of the Memorial. Resolutions and testimony followed, and on November 6, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law PL-610. In 1985, they incorporated the Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation (WIMSA). ![]() When they learned that C ongresswoman Oakar was holding hearings for a national women veterans memorial, they volunteered to contact veterans groups, the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and to lobby Congress. The American Veterans Committee (AVC), a national group of veterans whose origins date back to 1944, w ere also discussing the lack of tribute to military women. Mary Rose Oakar, who researched the issue and found that women were almost never included when the nation honored its veterans. In 1983, after the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, World War II women veterans said that it was about time to honor them- “What about us? We served, too.” They approached former Ohio Rep. Our Memorial is located on the western terminus of Memorial Drive and is situated on the historic line connecting the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House. Opened to the public in1997, the Memorial’s award-winning design was accomplished by the architectural firm of Weiss/Manfredi and incorporates as its facade the historic Hemicycl e-a retaining wall dedicated in 1932 as part of the Memorial Bridge project and originally intended as the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. From the story of Molly Pitcher, who served with the Continental Army during the Revolution, to the women serving today, America’s military women have long demonstrated courage, patriotism, and leadership.ĭedicated to the more than 3 million women who have served our country since the American Revolution, the Military Women’s Memorial is located at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery and is the nation’s only major national memorial to honor all women who have defended the nation -from t he Revolution to the present. ![]() Women have served in the military since the founding of the Republic.
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