ISED staffer and U.S. Army veteran Missy Baird puts her feet in the fountain at the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. Baird was on an all-female veteran flight with HonorAir.
For two ISED veterans, taking an flight to see memorials in Washington, D.C., was inspiring on its own.
But to be on an HonorAir flight made up entirely of women veterans took it to another level.
âThe thing that impacted me most was just being amongst all of those women, knowing that we had shared experiences, good and bad, in the military, and being able to bond around our stories,â said U.S. Navy veteran Clarice Phelps, radiochemical process development engineer in RSTD. âA lot of times, in certain branches, depending on what job you have, you might be the only woman, or one of just a few. Just being around these other women meant a lot.â
Phelps and ISEDâs Missy Baird, Document and Records Management group leader, were two of six ORNL women veterans on the one-day trip Sept. 25. Also on the flight were Kate Duffy, RRD Compliance and Assessment technical staff; Jana Johnson, HR Partnerships business partner; Bobbie Kemnitz, HSD staff nurse; and Danielle Lowry, Office of Integrated Performance Management records analyst.
âThere were female veterans of all ages on the flight,â said Baird, a U.S. Army veteran who served as a military police officer. âWe had very young to very old veterans.â
Unsurprisingly, the women found visiting Arlington Cemetery and various memorials moving â including the , which figures so prominently into the Labâs history. Baird joined Phelps in putting their feet in, respectfully, at the waterâs edge.
âIt just helped me connect to their experience,â said Phelps, who served as a nuclear engineering laboratory technician. âIt helped me connect to the people who endured and were in those conflicts. Weâre at a time now where a lot of things separate and divide us as a country. But all these people whose names are inscribed on walls, plaques, on any of these memorials â they gave more than anybody alive right now. They gave their lives for us to exist as a country. Everybody can agree that is the ultimate sacrifice.â
They also found their visit to the in Arlington, intended as a highlight of the womenâs HonorAir flight, poignant.
âJust seeing the breadth and depth of the sacrifices women made for this country â and it took until relatively recently for people to recognize them,â Phelps said. âJust to see them being honored meant a whole lot.â
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOEâs Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOEâs Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.
Women veterans began advocating for a monument in the early 1980s but faced challenges from some government agencies and elected officials who argued that existing military monuments adequately honored female veterans. Organizers had to overcome many obstacles in siting, designing and funding, as it was ultimately built on the historic site of the then-deteriorating Hemicycle, which honored the 200th anniversary of George Washingtonâs birth.
It was 1997 before the Military Womenâs Memorial opened on the site. The memorial features artifacts, interactive exhibits and a collection of the stories of military women as they told them.
âIt was very interesting to see how women had progressed from being ânothingâ in service to fighting in combat and serving in other areas,â Baird said.
Still, Phelps said, its museum-like setup felt in some ways like an âafterthoughtâ compared to the more emotion-evocating memorials such as the .
Phelps remembers feeling overlooked as a female service member â going in uniform into port cities where residents would come up to their male colleagues to thank them for their service, but ignored the women completely.
âIt was awkward â they didnât know what to say to us, so we never got that same treatment,â said Phelps, who said that even at veteransâ events now people often assume her husband is the veteran, until he corrects them. âIt should be the norm that this is also what a veteran looks like: young, women, people of color.â
All the veterans, however, felt appreciated when they returned to Knoxville to find close to 1,000 people gathered at the airport, cheering, thanking them and welcoming them back.
âIt was amazing to see such patriotism,â Baird said.
Theyâd already had an emotional return flight, she added, reading letters of thanks written to them by their families, coworkers and others.
âMy kids wrote me letters,â Baird said. âThey said, âYou donât talk about your service much.â Having this opportunity to celebrate it again was cool.â
Phelps said sheâs proud of her service, to be a part of defending America.
âIt hits different when you are a part of the history of serving this country and not just a recipient of the protection we provide,â she said. âYou see other countries, and it gives you perspective. You have a global view of how good we have it here.â
She said thinking about the names of veterans memorialized in D.C. gave her chills. Notably, there arenât yet memorials to those who served in more recent conflicts, such as the 13-year Operating Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq, in which she served.
âOne day, weâre not going to be here, and how will they memorialize us?â she said. âWill they remember us with reverence and honor? I hope they do.â
