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- On this edition of "The American Veteran,"
an overview of women's programs at VA...
the benefits of strength training for older veterans...
- Here you go, sir.
- the youth volunteer award winner...
- Passing to the left...
- the history of women serving in the Coast Guard...
- I have flown 43 different...
- And a look at WASPs of World War II.
Welcome to "The American Veteran,"
brought to you by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
To commemorate Women's History Month,
we are on location at the Women's Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.
We'll begin by talking with General Wilma Vaught
about their mission to preserve and honor women veterans.
- The purpose of the memorial,
the mission of the memorial
is to tell the story,
tell the story of women's service,
and it's also a place where we collect
and put together the history of women in the military,
and until we started this,
that history wasn't really being captured,
and now we're capturing it.
- Each year, youth volunteers are recognized
for their service at VA hospitals across the nation.
This year, Krystal Shirrell from Indiana
is the winner of the James H. Parke Scholarship.
- O-71.
- It's Bingo Night at the VA Domiciliary
in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- O-65.
- Several local veterans have gathered here to celebrate
with friends and have a good time.
As well, most have come to celebrate their friendship
with an activity leader, an 18-year-old college
freshman, Krystal Shirrell.
- I would have never in a million years thought that
something so little could have such a big impact, but it
really has on them.
- She's Krystal.
It's just more or less kind of like she's part
of the family, you know?
I mean, veterans have camaraderie, and I think she
fits right in there with us.
- For every hour that she actually did at the VA,
she was probably giving 10 hours in the community.
And the more I got to meet Krystal and hang out with her
and see what she was doing, the more I learned the impact
that she was having on the community and bringing
the community to the VA and serving the patients
at the domiciliary.
- I was pretty much in a shell because I gave up.
To see her smiling, always joyful, it kind of brought
more--kind of opened me up a little more.
- While in school, Krystal earns a number of academic
and athletic honors.
When she's out of the classroom, she devotes much
of her time to volunteering for veterans' causes.
It is a passion she continues to fuel through her time
and service, a passion that has earned her
the James H. Parke Scholarship Award for Youth Volunteerism
presented annually by the James H. Parke Memorial Fund.
- I think if you find something that you're truly
passionate about and something that's really close to your
heart, then even as one person, you can make
a big difference.
So I started for my Girl Scout Gold Award project, I made lap
blankets and delivered them to patients--not only just their
legs and their body temperature, but warm their
hearts as well.
- One of the things that impresses me the most
about Krystal is she has set a new standard here at the VA
for volunteer youth, and a lot of the youth that we have
in our program are now looking up to her and trying to figure
out ways where they can then stretch their own boundaries.
- Her cause continued to grow.
Krystal eventually branded her efforts "VETS," which stands
for "Veterans Have Earned our Thanks and Support."
Whether she was working with those in nursing homes, school
groups on field trips, or others, Krystal always
served as a general of her own passionate army of volunteers,
making hand-crafted items for veterans and putting together
care packages and holiday items
for active troops overseas.
- You know, when you're overseas, the one thing that
is a constant on your mind is home.
So when you receive packages, especially during
the holidays, and Krystal did the Christmas trees, it means
so much to us over there.
It's just a reminder that we're not forgotten.
- Others have also honored Krystal for her
volunteer efforts.
She was a guest at the White House in the spring of 2012
and has been a special contributor
to President Obama's blog "Joining Forces,"
a site for military families and volunteers.
- Veterans are an incredible group of people to
give back to.
To hear their stories and to be inspired by them like I
have been for the last few years, it's--I wouldn't trade
it for the world.
- Her work with the wounded has touched her life deeply.
She has committed to a career in a pharmacy, hoping to serve
in an area VA hospital.
- She was our first student to go through a career shadow
program, which is run by voluntary service.
We find mentors in the VA that we can assign them to,
and they learn all aspects.
It was really neat to see her grow and learn more
about the pharmaceutical area where she was placed,
and to learn and develop relationships with
the pharmaceutical staff.
- In one area of the VA, she's Ms. Shirrell,
a hard-working pharmacy student, but back over
in the domiciliary, she's just Krystal, a person driven by
compassion, a person who gives out gifts to American veterans
just as she continues to remember the gifts they have
given to her...
- G-47.
- Bingo!
- and to all of us.
- ...you take your time out of your day to come in here
and do the things that you do, it really shows a real,
genuine concern.
So for you, I genuinely wish the ultimate in happiness,
the ultimate in career success, and may you and your
parents continue to have a happy, prosperous relationship
and careers in all you do.
And God bless you tremendously, tremendously.
- Ohh! Thank you so much. God bless you, too.
- To learn more about how you can volunteer at VA,
contact your local medical center
or visit the web site volunteer.va.gov.
Research at the VA Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama
are studying the basic function of human muscle
to promote better health for older veterans.
Recently, those efforts have focused on
patients suffering from Parkinson's Disease,
and the results are encouraging.
- When Riley Nelson was diagnosed
with Parkinson's Disease, his doctor told him
that regular exercise would increase his strength
and improve his agility.
- I always had strong legs,
but my upper body strength had deteriorated.
- But this isn't a regular gym
or a normal workout because he volunteered
to be part of a research program
on strength training for older adults.
The study, which begins in the gym
and continues in a special research lab,
is a unique partnership between VA
and the University of Alabama Birmingham.
In the 1970s, VA realized it needed to plan
for an aging veteran population and began establishing
geriatric research, educational, and clinical centers, or GRECCs,
to provide specialized care for our older veterans.
Today, there are 20 GRECCs across the country,
and research is a major component of their mission.
Dr. Richard Allman,
the director of the Birmingham/Atlanta GRECC,
says this program is an effort to determine how exercise
can help older people with Parkinson's disease
improve their strength and mobility.
- Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressive
neurologic disorder that leads to problems
with gait and balance and puts these individuals
at risk for falling, which is a big problem,
and exercise appears to be, and is likely to be,
an ideal prescription or an ideal medicine
for helping the individual with Parkinson's disease
to learn how to better coordinate the brain function
with their muscle function.
- Dr. Allman says VA
and the University of Alabama Birmingham
have complementary strengths and resources,
and their partnership on studies like this one
enables VA to do more research, offer better programs,
and provide even better care for their patients.
Like the other participants in the study,
Riley goes to a special gym 3 times a week
for scientifically designed and carefully monitored workouts
that one day may help explain why older people
lose muscle mass and, more importantly,
how they can rebuild it.
For Riley, it's an opportunity to help himself
and other seniors, many of whom are veterans.
- I was a poster child for symptoms of Parkinson's,
and I wanted to be able to do anything I could
to help somebody else who had those same symptoms live with it
because it can be debilitating.
- Dr. Marcus Bamman,
the director of the UAB Center for Exercise Medicine,
leads the study and say his team has introduced
a high-intensity exercise routine
for aging adults with Parkinson's.
He then studies the results in a research lab.
- We know that over a period of decades of aging,
both the Parkinson's patients and the healthy older adult
have suffered some level of muscle atrophy,
some amount of muscle loss.
So we're interested in restoring that.
We call that muscle regrowth.
- The question is, exactly what impact
does high-intensity exercise have on the aging process
on patients with Parkinson's disease?
- We think that it can have significant benefit
for both restoration of muscle function
in terms of strength, power development,
reduced fatigability, improved balance and coordination.
- Riley has only been in the program for 3 months,
and he has already seen an improvement
in his strength and agility.
- In the mornings, I used to get up out of bed
and feel like I was gonna fall over,
and I don't even have to brace myself
to get out of bed anymore.
- Danny Fuqua, another vet with Parkinson's disease,
also volunteered for the workout study,
and, like, Riley, he's noticed a significant improvement
in his physical condition.
- I feel stronger, feel more confident,
and I think it's certainly gonna, in the long run,
help me maintain mobility.
- If a person wants to maintain their independence,
they want to continue to live in the home
that they've had for decades, and they want to be able
to get up and down the stairs and they want to be able
to function in their community well,
strength is absolutely critical.
- About 10% of veterans are women.
Dr. Irene Trowell-Harris,
director of VA's Center for Women Veterans,
provides an overview of benefits available.
- I joined the military to serve my country,
and initially, I went in as a nurse.
I became a flight nurse and flight nurse examiner
and hospital commander, then advisor to Surgeon General.
I became a director probably because of my experience
in the military and also my experience at the VA,
but I've always been an advocate for women veterans issues.
So, I think that was one of the big, big parts of it, though.
A big issue for all of us is to educate the public,
the veterans, the media, everybody
that they are veterans.
Women do not self-identify.
They're not aware that they are eligible.
That means they're not going to apply
for these numerous benefits and services
which they have definitely earned.
We have the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans.
We have numerous ways of collecting data
from the women veterans, and they're the ones
that tell us what the needs are.
eBenefits is the portal for all veterans,
active duty, Guard, and reserve component.
If a veteran has got an issue, she can call in
and find out information out there.
She can go to the VA Medical Center
and ask for the women veterans program manager,
who is somebody specifically educated and trained
to take care of the women veterans.
During Women's History Month, we're gonna have
a special program recognizing women veterans, honoring them.
At that point in time, the VSO, they're gonna come in, also,
and say how they are helping us change the culture,
and they're gonna speak to what they're doing
with the women veterans.
Want to point out that we recognize women all year round,
not just during Women's History Month.
The main thing, you're honoring those women veterans.
Again, it's all eras and all services
and all the eras out there.
- For more information,
you can visit the web site on your screen.
- Back in 1942, Captain Dorothy Stratton
became the first woman to serve as an officer
in the Coast Guard,
an achievement recognized here at WMSA
with an exhibit in her honor.
It reminds visitors that when it comes to providing
equal opportunity for women in military service,
the United States Coast Guard has often led the way.
As you are about to see, many courageous women
have served before Dorothy Stratton
and legions more have followed in her wake.
- Passing to the left...
- Before you can fully appreciate
what women have achieved in today's Coast Guard,
it helps to look back on the role women have played
in the history of our nation's coastal defense.
- The U.S. Coast Guard is the oldest continuously operating
sea service in the United States,
was the first one that was enacted after the Constitution.
- Coast Guard historian William Thiesen
says women were a part of things almost from the beginning,
serving in coastal defense posts
as part of the Lighthouse Service,
a predecessor of the Coast Guard.
- So, actually, the U.S. Coast Guard pioneered
the role of women not only in a military service,
but in the federal government, as well.
- By the early 1940s,
women had made their presence known
throughout the Coast Guard,
both as civilians and in the uniformed service.
- Oh, there were about 10,000 women
that served in the Coast Guard in World War II,
and it's really just grown since that time.
- Interest really took off in 1976
when the Coast Guard Academy became America's
first service academy to accept female applicants.
In 2011, Rear Admiral Sandy Stosz
took over as superintendent, becoming the first woman
in the nation's history to run a military academy.
- So, the Coast Guard really pioneered that, as well--
bringing women to the academy in the late Seventies,
integrating them onto ships in the Eighties.
- The trend towards full-service integration
continued through the 1990s and on into the following decade
when Operation Iraqi Freedom created a demand
for combat support from the Coast Guard.
- They were serving, actually, as force protection
for larger coalition assets, such as warships,
and a lot of times, they were serving
further into enemy territory during combat operations
than any other vessels.
- One of them, Coast Guard Cutter Aquidneck,
was commanded by Holly Harrison, the first female commander
of a Coast Guard vessel in a combat zone
and the first to receive a Bronze Star.
- We were escorting humanitarian aid
up to the port so that that could then
be further distributed into Iraq.
So you're trying to keep the Iranians out of Iraqi waters.
They were harassing Iraqi fishermen in Iraqi waters.
Basically, we needed to make sure
there were no al-Qaeda on board,
there were no Iraqi leadership on board,
no wealth of the nation escaping and being taken elsewhere.
So, we had to screen all these vessels
just pouring out of the river.
Right now, the way it looks,
we're gonna move the ship on Sunday.
Big week for us is really the second week.
Monday morning, we're gonna get underway.
- I don't think gender really matters to her.
It was really just getting the job done.
She's another coastguardsman and a cutterman,
and she was there just to get the job done,
and I don't think anybody else in her crew
felt any different, either.
- Make sure that you have the up-to-date information
so they when you update the Excel,
we can knock off as many of those discrepancies as possible.
You know, it's funny.
I get asked a question about being a woman in the military
quite a bit because people see it as a novelty,
but I never have.
It was a complete nonissue for the Coast Guard,
which is actually how I prefer it.
- As Commander Harrison sees it,
there's something of far greater significance
than gender that characterizes the men
and women she serves with.
- I think Coasties are doers.
That's why we joined the Coast Guard.
We don't want to sit in an office.
We don't want to sit behind a desk.
We're here to make a difference, and whatever way
that we contribute to doing that--
and particularly, you're talking here on a ship, cuttermen--
we're out there to get the mission done.
- During World War II, a select group of young women pilots
became pioneers, heroes, and role models.
They were the Women Air Force Service Pilots, or WASPS,
the first women in history trained to fly
American military aircraft.
This video is a tribute in their honor.
- There was a great need for pilots
in the dark days of 1942.
- Everyone wanted to do their patriotic duty.
These young women had a passion to fly.
- 25,000 women applied.
1,074 of us earned our wings.
- I have flown 43 different types of aircraft.
- I flew both the B-17 and the B-26,
which was the Marauder.
- The actual name WASP--
it's Women Air Force Service Pilots.
- Well, I think there were a lot of men
that didn't believe women could learn to fly military planes,
but we showed them.
- The whole country had to be revitalized, educated,
had to participate in this huge event
of defeating the Axis powers.
Jacqueline Cochran thought that she could help
if she could train women pilots to fill the need.
You can't have a pilot overnight.
She promoted an idea to General Hap Arnold.
She could recruit women from around the United States,
and they could fill a need for the flying jobs in America
and then let the trained pilots, male pilots, go overseas,
and Hap Arnold agreed to this idea.
How to do it was the question.
- Well, Jackie Cochran in Washington got a list,
somehow acquired a list of all the women pilots,
licensed pilots, in the United States,
and she tracked me down, and she called me and asked me
to be in her first class.
So, I was excited, and I got on a plane and flew down there.
- The first class came to Houston, Texas.
That's where the training program was begun.
No one was prepared to deal with 29 women
who were brought in to do who knew what.
- Was assigned to the 1174th Squadron,
and Major Freddy Wilson welcomed us,
and he had received a telegram just two days before
to expect 17 women pilots, and he said,
"My God, what am I gonna do with 17 women pilots?"
and he said, "Aha, I know.
"I will assign them to my 3 married instructors,
for they will know how to handle women."
Ha ha!
- To be accepted as a WASP,
each girl had to have 35 hours in the air beforehand,
enough to know men's airplane talk when they hear it.
The WASPs are willing to plow into as rugged a 6-month stretch
as anything handed to women in the whole war effort--
not reading and physics, navigation and code
with strict AAF exams in each, too.
For men, it would be tough. It's tough for girls, too.
- Well, I think there were a lot of men
that didn't believe women could learn to fly military planes.
I think we had to prove ourselves.
We were called the guinea pig class
because they weren't sure we were ever gonna make it,
but we showed them.
- I'm a member of the fifth class, 43-5,
and by this time, the program was settled
in Sweetwater, Texas, and it's very hot, 100 degrees--
the wind is blowing-- 120, you know?
We lived 6 to a bay, had military regime,
and the lights were turned out at 10:00.
We had a flashlight bed check.
We had lots of regulations, and we marched.
We marched to class. We marched to mess.
We marched to the flight line.
We marched to PT, and we sang songs.
- ♪ Zoot suits and parachutes ♪
♪ And wings of silver, too ♪
- ♪ Zoot suits and parachutes and wings of silver, too ♪
- ♪ He'll ferry planes like his father used to do ♪
- All of our flight equipment--
the flight suits, everything-- were hand-me-downs from the men.
So, the legs were rolled up and stapled,
and the sleeves were rolled up, and then I took the belt
and just put it on me and pulled everything up here.
I looked like a mushroom walking around on that base.
We went through the same training that the men did:
ground school in the morning and fly in the afternoon--
primary, basic, advanced,
night flying, and instrument flying.
I think the hardest part is always the check flight
with the Army pilots because, oh, they were rough on us.
My class started out with 150 girls.
49 of us got our wings.
That's all that made it.
- Jacqueline Cochran came for my graduation,
and she wore a flowered dress and flowered hat...
and when she handed me my wings, they were cold,
and I remember squeezing them, and I shook hands.
Then I said, "I did it."
That was the most wonderful saying you can ever,
those 3 words--"I did it."
- The big advertising slogan to attract women
to go into the service
was "Free a man to fight."
Now, that didn't start in World War II.
It also--it was a slogan for World War I,
and many women responded to that.
There were many women who responded
because they were the only woman in their family
who could go defend the country and represent the family.
There were others who went in because
they had a brother who was killed
in one of the early conflicts.
But by and large, most of them went in
because they were good, patriotic Americans,
and they wanted to help defend this country.
Some 400,000 women served during World War II,
and they are such wonderful people,
and they are so proud of their service,
and so many have said, in their memorable experience,
"I would do it again if my country needed me."
Now, at age 90, I'm not sure how much their country
needs them today, but that was their attitude,
and many of them said it was the single most exciting
or most meaningful thing that they ever did in their life.
So, it's--it was a good thing, and had they not done well,
then those of us today would never have probably
had an opportunity to serve,
but they did well and as a result,
two years after the end of the war,
legislation was passed saying that women would be
a permanent part of the armed forces.
- That concludes this edition of "The American Veteran."
The Department of Veterans Affairs is honored
to bring you this program.