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A RESOLUTION recognizing the 75th anniversary of the enactment of the 1
Women's Armed Services Integration Act. 2
WHEREAS, the very foundation of our nation was supported by the nascent 3
Continental Army where history records women disguising themselves as men in order to 4
serve as fighting soldiers in addition to the other supporting roles women played; and 5
WHEREAS, during the tumultuous times of the Civil War, women served in critical 6
noncombat roles, while yet other women disguised themselves as men to serve as fighting 7
soldiers; and 8
WHEREAS, World War I saw a mobilization effort of the Women's Committee of 9
the Council of National Defense, sponsored by the National American Woman Suffrage 10
Association, where women took over for men in agricultural endeavors, millions of 11
women volunteered for service with the American Red Cross in capacities that included 12
healthcare, transportation, and foodservice, while other women were actually admitted 13
into the United States Army Signal Corps. Some women were awarded the Distinguished 14
Service Medal, but they did not receive the same treatment as veterans as men did. 15
During the war, 11,272 women were also allowed to join the Navy in such capacities as 16
stenographers, clerks, radio operators, messengers, truck drivers, ordnance workers, 17
mechanics, cryptographers, and other noncombat shore duty capacities. These women did 18
enjoy veteran's status. The Army and Navy Nurse Corps allowed women the opportunity 19
to serve both at home and abroad, as well as on hospital and troop ships where they were 20
subject to the terror of war. 36 brave women lost their lives of the 22,804 nurses who 21
served; and 22
WHEREAS, women continued to play a role in the military as the dark clouds of 23
World War II roiled. In 1942, Congress authorized the creation of the Women's Auxiliary 24
Army Corps which became the Women's Army Corps and gave women members full 25
military status. Aviation enthusiasts are well-aware of the Women's Airforce Service 26
Pilots who flew military aircraft from factories to bases, transported cargo, and 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 999
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participated in other capacities. At the end of the war more than 100,000 women served 1
in more than 200 noncombatant roles. At the same time, the Navy hosted the Women 2
Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. As in other times of great need, women 3
assumed roles that were most commonly held by men on United States soil, working in, 4
most notably, aviation and munitions, among others; and 5
WHEREAS, women's full-service status granted during World War II was set to 6
expire in 1948, and Army leadership requested that enlisted women be made a permanent 7
part of the service, Congress began work on the Women's Armed Services Integration 8
Act; and 9
WHEREAS, in 1948, President Roosevelt signed into law the Women's Armed 10
Services Integration Act, which paved the way for women to fully, and permanently, 11
serve in all four branches of United States Armed Forces; and 12
WHEREAS, this year, 2023, marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of that Act; 13
and 14
WHEREAS, women have continued to seize upon opportunities to preserve our 15
nation through military service, and this day there are around 230,000 women serving in 16
the armed services and around two million women veterans in the United States; 17
NOW, THEREFORE, 18
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the 19
Commonwealth of Kentucky: 20
Section 1. The House of Representatives does hereby recognize the vital and 21
manifold roles that women have played in the military in guaranteeing not only the 22
formation of the United States of America, but the continued existence of the nation and 23
the concomitant freedoms and prosperity that its citizens, and the citizens of this 24
Commonwealth, continue to enjoy to this day, when all were threatened by war. 25
Section 2. When the House of Representatives adjourns this day, it does so in 26
recognition of all women who have served in the military and in support of the military to 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 999
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maintain the nation's and the Commonwealth's freedoms and prosperity, as well as in 1
recognition of the 75th anniversary of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, 2
which served to ratify women's vital and historic role in preserving our democracy. 3