Women Veterans Day

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

Women Veterans Day

WHEREAS, seventy-five years ago on June 12, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act; and

WHEREAS, this Act enabled Virginia women to serve as permanent, regular members of not only the United States Army, but also the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force; and

WHEREAS, in 1943, the United States Congress gave the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) full Army status during wartime, and the WACs became a permanent part of the United States Army in the spring of 1948; and

WHEREAS, prior to the passage of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, women, except for nurses, served in the military only in times of war and their service was excluded from aircraft and vessels of the Navy that might engage in combat; and

WHEREAS, today, women continue to serve in the United States Armed Forces in times of conflict and peace with great honor and bravery in defense of our nation; and

WHEREAS, women veterans are the fastest-growing segment of Virginia’s veteran population with more than 107,000 women veterans calling the Commonwealth home, the highest percentage of women veterans of any state in the nation; and

WHEREAS, it is fitting to recognize the courage, honor, and dignity of the brave women who have served and continue to serve in defense of our nation and our Commonwealth;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize June 12, 2023, as WOMEN VETERANS DAY in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of our citizens.

Governor of Virginia

Proclamations