Women’s memorial at Arlington struggling

Women’s memorial at Arlington struggling

By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 11, 2010 7:06:39 EDT

ARLINGTON, Va. — Garage sales and quilt raffles helped a determined group of female World War II veterans raise money to transform a rundown wall at Arlington National Cemetery into a grand stone memorial to women who served their country. But those women are dying off, even as the memorial runs short of funds.

With women now involved more heavily in combat jobs, those early organizers hope a new generation will step up to the challenge of keeping the memorial open so military women’s stories won’t be lost.

The dedication of the memorial that today is visitors’ first view of the cemetery was such a joyous event that 40,000 people attended in 1997. One of them was a 101-year-old World War I vet named Frieda Mae Hardin who was met with cheers when she told the crowd that women considering military careers should “go for it!”

Even as a steady flow of visitors enters its doors, the deaths of about three-quarters of the 400,000 women who served in World War II has left the memorial honoring military women of all eras without many of its loyal benefactors, although some still visit.
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Women memorial at Arlington struggling