The bugle has been a part of military tradition since the nation’s beginning. In 1942, Donna-Mae Smith became the first woman bugler in the Army. The Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.Music: Artist: Maarten Schellekens, Title: Mi Bolero, https://freemusicarchive.org

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a surgeon, suffragist, and feminist reformer. In 1865, she was awarded the Medal of Honor for her service as a contract surgeon with the Union Army during the Civil War. Dr. Walker remains, to this day, the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor. The HERstory Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both the Military Women's Memorial (MWM) Register, an interactive online database of military women, and MWM's world class collection. The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

Join us as we recreate a World War I donut recipe used by Ethel Ash. Ash volunteered with the YMCA, a uniformed organization that worked alongside the military to boost morale. She served in France where she made hundreds of donuts a day for soldiers, with limited ingredients available to her. The Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.Recipe:1 cup water¼ cup butter¼ cup sugar¼ teaspoon cinnamon2 tablespoons cocoa powder½ teaspoon vanilla extract1 ¼ cup self-rising flour½ cup Sweetened Condensed MilkMusic: https://www.bensound.com

Gianna Fimbres drove fuel tankers in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. She shared her story with the Military Women’s Memorial and preserved it in our register - Hear her story in her own words. You can also preserve your stories by registering your service.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

Gladys Anderson was among the more than 800 women who joined the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only contingent of Black WACs to serve overseas during World War II. The HERstory Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

Jasmin Moghbeli is a Marine Corps aviator and an astronaut. As a 2020 graduate of NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Training Program, she is eligible to be the first woman on the moon as part of the Artemis Program. The HERstory Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection. The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

In 1970, Aida Nancy Sanchez deployed to Vietnam as a physical therapist, where she treated Americans, Vietnamese, and even the president of Cambodia. The Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.Music: Mushroom Funghi, https://freemusicarchive.org

During the Spanish-American War, more than 1,500 women worked for the Army as contract nurses, treating troops who contracted typhoid, malaria, and yellow fever. These nurses paved the way for the creation of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901, which enabled women to officially serve in the U.S. military for the first time. The HERstory Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

The First World War brought women into new roles in the military to fill jobs that would free men to be sent to the war in Europe. Opha May Johnson made history in 1918 as the first woman to enlist in the Marine Corps. The Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.Music: https://www.bensound.com

During the height of the Space Race, Air Force Col. Pearl E. Tucker led a course in aerospace nursing. To understand spaceflight and to be prepared to render medical aid, the aerospace nurses underwent much of the same training as astronauts. The nurses paved the way for women to have increasingly integral roles in space exploration in later years.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

Sarah Keys Evans was a civil rights trailblazer who stood up to discrimination by refusing to give up her seat on a bus, three years before the arrest of Rosa Parks. The HERstory Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both the Military Women's Memorial Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

Shannon Huffman Polson sits down with Military Women's Memorial President, Phyllis Wilson, to discuss her experience as a woman in the Military. At graduation from Duke University, Shannon was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in Army Aviation where she became one of the first women to fly Apache helicopters, serving on three continents and leading two flight platoons and a line company. Following her service in the Army, Shannon joined the corporate world. Today, she is the founder of The Grit Institute and author of the new book The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience, and Leadership in the Most Male-Dominated Organization in the World where she tells the tales of trailblazing women who learned to lead at the highest levels and how they overcame adversity and learned from their experiences.HERstory programming explores the lived experiences of women veterans throughout American history. HERstory is a program where women veterans share their stories in video chats with President Wilson.We are the leading memorial and education center honoring women’s contributions to the service of our nation.   As the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service, we educate and inspire through innovative and interactive exhibitions, our world-class collections, and engaging programs and events for all generations. We honor the commitment, contributions, and experiences of every woman who serves in, or with, the Armed Forces.

This program examines the contributions of American servicewomen to the Space Race. From the late 1950s through the 1960s, the United States engaged in the Space Race against the Soviet Union, each trying to become the first country to put a man on the moon. Early American astronauts were all men with a military background. NASA decided not to allow women to become astronauts during this period. Although they were excluded from space flight, women contributed to the Space Race in supporting roles, including Aerospace Nursing.

Rebekah Edmondson and Mahnaz Akbari both served in Afghanistan – Rebekah as a member of the Cultural Support Team and Mahnaz as a commander of the Female Tactical Platoon. Learn about the unique role American and Afghan women played at a time when US servicewomen were not allowed to fill combat positions.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.