Miller-Meeks introduces resolution to honor women who served in WWII, ahead of Memorial Day Weekend

(KWWL) -- On Friday, May 28, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks introduced a bipartisan resolution to honor all the women who served in World War II.

Among the women who served in WWII, Miller-Meeks wants to recognize former Representative Edith Nourse Rogers, who 1942, established the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and the Women's Army Corps (WAC).

The WAAC would ensure that all the women who served in the Army would receive the same recognition and benefits as male soldiers.

In 1943, the Army removed the auxiliary stats of the WAAC units, meaning, they no longer would recognize women as additional help and support, but rather as equals.

Miller-Meeks, a retired Army Lt. Colonel and member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said:

"For too long, the WAAC and WAC have gone unrecognized and unappreciated. It is about time we change that by acknowledging the incredible contributions of the Corps, and by the woman who led the effort to create them, the late Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers. As a 24-year Army veteran, I understand the sacrifices these women made in service to our country. I am proud to join such a bipartisan group of my colleagues in this effort.”

Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

Alongside Miller-Meeks, members of the House, who also introduced the resolution were: Reps. Katherine Clark (MA-05), Don Bacon (NE-02), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Liz Cheney (WY-At Large), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), Jackie Speier (CA-14), and Ann Wagner (MO-02).

Together, the members collaborated and wrote the following joint statement:

“By the end of the War, more than 400,000 women had served the United States in military capacities. Those women who served, despite their merit and the recognized value and importance of their contributions to the effort of the United States during the War, were not given status equal to their male counterparts; and struggled for years to receive the appreciation of Congress and the people of the United States. Those women helped to catalyze the social, demographic, and economic evolutions that occurred after the War and that continue to this day… and are owed a great debt of gratitude for their service to the United States.”