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Testimonial Highlights

You give us a piece of the home we are away from. Thank you so much to all of you who take time from your life to send us these things. Especially when we get cards and letters from school children. It’s a reminder of why I do what I do.

There is a place in Operation Gratitude for everyone to feel wanted, to pay it forward or say thank you regardless of age or physical limitations.

Writing a letter is a meaningful way for Americans to say “Thank You” support for all who serve. It only takes five minutes of your day but will bring lasting joy to the recipients. Operation Gratitude includes handwritten letters in every Care Package sent to Military and First Responders. In these unprecedented times, our heroes need our unwavering support. Taking the time to put pen to paper and share your heartfelt thoughts can be what motivates a First Responder or a service member.

Step 1
Register

Register to write letters to our Military & First Responders!

School teachers

Register to write letters with your students and receive our complete letter writing guide for schools.

Step 2
Read Guide

After registering, we email you a letter-writing guide, printable coloring sheets for children, and instructions for shipping the letters to us. Download and read the guides.

Step 3
Write Letters

Get creative! Write letters, draw pictures, make cards and send your gratitude and support to our Military & First Responders.

Step 4
Donation Form

Fill out the online donation form. This form lets us know when you are ready send us your letters. It also provides you with detailed instructions and labels for shipping. (Postage not included)

Step 5
Ship Letters

Follow the shipping guidelines in the letter-writing guide email you received when you submit an online donation form.

Join Us in Letter Writing

A Gallery

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Writing a letter is a meaningful way for Americans to say “Thank You” support for all who serve. It only takes five minutes of your day but will bring lasting joy to the recipients. Operation Gratitude includes handwritten letters in every Care Package sent to Military and First Responders. In these…

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A participant may be a veteran, an interviewer, or person donating a veteran's collection ( learn more about what we collect). Students in the 10th grade and above may also participate and there are special resources for educators and students.

Take These Four Easy Steps...

1. Print the Veterans History Project Field Kit (required forms)

2. Prepare for the interview

3. Conduct the interview

4. Send your collection to the Library of Congress (Keep a copy for yourself!)

Please note: As of August 13, 2013, Veterans History Project no longer accepts online registrations. Please submit your collection materials and required forms according to the guidelines found in our Veterans History Project Field Kit.

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A participant may be a veteran, an interviewer, or person donating a veteran's collection ( learn more about what we collect). Students in the 10th grade and above may also participate and there are special resources for educators and students.

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Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC

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Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC

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Virtual Tour of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Virtual Tour

Take a virtual tour of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to learn more about The Wall and all of the elements that make up the memorial.

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Virtual Tour & Mobile App - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund

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Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display Virtual Tour of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Take a virtual tour of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to learn more about The Wall and all of the elements that make up the memorial.

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The National WWII Museum's exhibits cover the epic and global scale of the war that changed the world, in a voice that is intimate and personal. Exhibits not only highlight the role of world leaders, but also the everyday men and women who found the strength and courage to accomplish the extraordinary.

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Exhibits | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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Housed in four buildings, each arranged around central themes of the war, Museum exhibits offer visitors an opportunity to experience the war through the eyes of the men and women who lived it. Interactive features, oral histories, and personal vignettes add a meaningful perspective.

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Want to learn more about Intrepid? Sign up for our newsletter.

Follow us on social media to keep up with all the news and events. #intrepidmuseum

Learn about the forces of flight and NASA's journey to the red planet at our taking place throughout the evening. Hear from innovators who are leading the transformation of New York State into a booming hub in the new space economy. 21+ Beer and wine available for purchase with valid ID. Panel discussion featuring Hispanic professionals in the STEM fields. Calling all college students! Head to the Museum for a night of tours, flight simulator rides and trivia while hanging out with friends or making new ones from other schools. Advanced registration required. College students, ID required.

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Want to learn more about Intrepid? Sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on social media to keep up with all the news and events. #intrepidmuseum Learn about the forces of flight and NASA's journey to the red planet at our taking place throughout the evening.

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Find a Veterans Day Event

Set the calendar to November to find in-person or virtual ceremonies, parades, concerts, service projects, and other events happening in national parks in honor of Veterans Day. Find tips to recreate responsibly when visiting a park.

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Veterans Day - NPS Commemorations and Celebrations (U.S. National Park Service)

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Set the calendar to November to find in-person or virtual ceremonies, parades, concerts, service projects, and other events happening in national parks in honor of Veterans Day. Find tips to recreate responsibly when visiting a park.

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Do you know where this local memorial can be found in town?

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Commemorates those who died in the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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The Veteran in a New Field Art Analysis 

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The Veteran in a New Field Art Analysis 

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Memorial honors those who gave their lives or services during World War I.

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Women Aviators in World War II: "Fly Girls"

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Women Aviators in World War II: "Fly Girls"

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Activity 1. Women's Roles in World War II

Begin the lesson with a discussion of women's roles in the 1940s. Provide historical context about working women using the information contained in the "Background Information for the Teacher" section of this lesson.

Explain that, before World War II, women workers were typically young, single, and self-supported. Married women assumed the responsibilities of maintaining a home and raising a family.

During the war, as men were drafted and sent overseas, thousands of married women entered the workforce. Many of them shouldered the dual responsibilities of earning a living and running a household. Some had not worked outside the home before.

Encourage students to think about what life was like for women during the war. Ask them to imagine themselves as women entering the workforce for the first time, with husbands abroad and children at home. Would they be excited? Anxious? Afraid? How would they adjust to their new roles?

Using the World War II Poster Collection at Northwestern University Library, show some examples of posters that recruited women workers during wartime, such as:

Additional posters are at WASP: Women Pilots of World War II:

At Powers of Persuasion: Poster Art from World War II, available through the EDSITEment-reviewed Educator Resources (National Archives) Website, see the following:

As students examine each poster, ask the following questions:

What is the woman in the poster doing?

What type of job is she demonstrating?

What skills might she need to perform this job?

Would she have done this job before the war? After the war?

What does the woman look like in the poster? Does her dress or behavior remind you of anyone? (A celebrity from that time, for example)

What does the poster seem to be saying about acceptable roles for women in wartime? How did women's roles differ in peacetime?

What symbols does the poster use to get its point(s) across?

How might the government have used this poster to persuade women to join the war effort?

These questions are available on the Women in World War II Posters student worksheet.

If time is limited, refer students to the "Fly Girls" Study Activity, which provides links to selected posters and the list of discussion questions. Students may use the Study Activity to work on this activity in class or at home.

Ask students to consider the incentives women had in taking jobs outside the home. Answers might include supporting their country, earning wages for their families, and exploring career opportunities they may not have had before the war.

Conclude the class discussion by emphasizing that women's roles changed again after the war, as men returned home to their jobs, wives, and families. Ask students to consider how women may have felt about giving up their wartime jobs and resuming their homemaking role full-time.

Activity 2. Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs)

Introduce students to the WASPs. The Program Description on the PBS Fly Girls documentary Website explains the history of the WASP program and its importance during World War II. See the "Background Information for the Teacher" and the "Selected EDSITEment Websites" sections of this lesson for additional information.

Point students to the "Fly Girls" Study Activity, where they can access Websites that provide fact sheets, timelines, and statistics on the WASPs. The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) student worksheet also provides these links. As background reading, ask students to review some of these sites, either in class or as homework.

You may wish to print and distribute the Women in the AAF fact sheet from the National Museum of the United States Air Force Website. Alternately, you may ask students to review the WASP Qualifications and WASP Statistics on the PBS Fly Girls documentary website.

Students may take the online WASP History Quiz to test their reading comprehension.

Activity 3. What Was It Like to Be a WASP?

Explain that "fly girls," as women aviators were called, flew fighter planes at a time when few women held driver's licenses or traveled on their own. During World War II, the media made it seem like flying planes was an exciting and glamorous job for women.

If time permits, show clips from newsreels, available on the PBS Fly Girls documentary, and discuss how WASPs were portrayed in the media. Explain that, while exciting, the job of being a WASP was far from glamorous.

Through individual research or small-group work, ask students to explore the hardships WASPs faced during training and wartime work. Recollections of WASPs, such as the following, are accessible from the "Fly Girls" Study Activity:

Ask students to compare and contrast the WASPs' personal recollections with portrayals of women in World War II posters (and newsreels, if applicable). What was it really like to be a WASP?

Distribute the What Was It Like to Be a WASP? student worksheet. Students may select a WASP and write a brief essay about her experiences during the war. Or, you may assign a WASP for each student to research.

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Women Aviators in World War II: "Fly Girls"

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Begin the lesson with a discussion of women's roles in the 1940s. Provide historical context about working women using the information contained in the "Background Information for the Teacher" section of this lesson. Explain that, before World War II, women workers were typically young, single, and self-supported.

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Military Women's Memorial Online Programming

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Military Women's Memorial Online Programming

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Staying true to our mission, our signature program HERstory explores the lived experiences of women veterans throughout American history. Throughout 2021, MWM Phyllis Wilson hosted a new episode with a new story.

Follow our YouTube channel to see the latest episode. Check our previous programs below. You can also see all of our programming on the Programs Calendar.

The Military Women's Memorial is the nation's historical repository documenting all military women's service through both our interactive online registration and our world class collection. HERstory Spotlight takes a short look at some of those stories.

Follow our YouTube channel to see the latest episode. Check our previous programs below.

Gladys Anderson and the 6888th
Debuting February 3, 2022

Gladys Anderson was among the more than 800 women who joined the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only contingent of Black WACs to serve overseas during World War II. The HERstory Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.

Pearl Harbor Nurse

The Military Women's Memorial commemorates the 80 th a nniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 - a date that lives in infamy - through the story of Anna Urda Busby, a nurse who was stationed there and who experienced the attack firsthand. The Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.

Music: https://www.bensound.com

World War I Donuts

Join us as we recreate a World War I donut recipe used by Ethel Ash. Ash volunteered with the YMCA, a uniformed organization that worked alongside the military to boost morale. She served in France where she made hundreds of donuts a day for soldiers, with limited ingredients available to her. The Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.

Recipe:

1 cup water

¼ cup butter

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ cup self-rising flour

½ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we spoke with SGM Danyell Walters. In January 1997, she became the first ever Black woman, and only the second woman, to be a tomb guard. Walters sat down with our Community Engagement Manager Lachrisha Parker to reflect on her time as a tomb guard and her career.

Marilla Cushman, LTC, USA Ret.

Phyllis sits down with our very own Marilla Cushman, Senior Advisor to the President. Marilla shares her story of her years of service in the Army, her part in the popular "Be All You Can Be" advertising campaign and how Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught recruited her to work at the Military Women's Memorial. Phyllis and Marilla also discuss our 24 years of telling HERstory.

Summer With The Arts

As part of our Summer With The Arts series, this month's HERstory highlights two women, both featured in the current exhibit created in partnership with UnitingUS. Military Women's Memorial Collections Manager Amy Poe sits down with Gail Belmont and April Goodwin-Gill. Gail and April discuss how their military service played a central role in shaping who they are and how it has influenced their work as artists. Gail and April have found healing and comfort in their art and use it to inspire other veterans, service members, and their communities. Listen to the powerful stories of these veteran artists and learn about the meaning and creative process behind their art.

April Goodwin-Gill is an Army veteran who worked as an Ammunition Weapons Specialist in the 1980s. April served in Colorado, Italy, Texas and Alabama. She has turned to art as a therapeutic way to express herself.

Gail Belmont is a former WAC (Women's Army Corp) who played trumpet in the WAC band during the Vietnam War. She served both on active duty and in the reserves in the late 60s and 70s, and then spent 25 years working as an Army civilian for the Department of Defense as a data administrator. In her role in the WAC band, she performed Taps at military funerals which was an emotionally taxing responsibility. In turn, she turned to quilting as a form of art therapy to help her manager her PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).

Summer With The Arts was created in partnership with UnitingUS and the presenting sponsor is OptumServe.

Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, USAF (Ret.)

MWM President Phyllis Wilson sits down with Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, USAF (Ret.). Not only did Helms serve in the U.S. Air Force, but she was also a NASA astronaut. She has been to space five times for a total of 211 days. She graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1980 and became a weapons separation engineer and test pilot before joining NASA. She returned to the Air Force in 2002 to work at the HQ USAF Space Command. Helms also served as the 45th Space Wing Commander and was responsible for processing and launching government and commercial satellites. While with NASA, she flew aboard the Space Shuttles Endeavor, Discovery, Columbia and Atlantis, and served aboard the International Space Station. She held the world record for longest space walk at 8 hours and 56 minutes.

Helms graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1980, and was in the first class to admit women into the cadet corps. She served as an F-15 and F-16 weapons separation engineer, and as an assistant professor in the Department of Aeronautics of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Helms was then selected to attend the USAF Test Pilot School Flight Test Engineer Course. Upon graduation as a Distinguished Graduate, she served as project officer on the CF-18 as an exchange officer with the Canadian Air Force at the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment, Cold Lake, Alberta.

In January 1990, then-Major Helms became a NASA astronaut and in 1993, became the first U.S. military woman in space. She flew on five human spaceflight missions, including a tour as a member of the International Space Station Expedition 2 crew. Helms logged 211 days in space and accomplished a spacewalk of eight hours, 56 minutes, a world record that stands today.

After 12 years at NASA, Helms transferred to Air Force Space Command. She commanded the 45th Space Wing at Cape Canaveral, and held positions at Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Air Education and Training Command, and U.S. Strategic Command. Upon promotion to Lieutenant General, she commanded the 14th Air Force (Air Force Space Command) and the Joint Functional Component Command for Space in a dual-hat role. Lt. Gen. Helms retired from military service in 2014.

Helms currently serves as a member of the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, and was appointed by President Obama to the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center (2014-2016). She is also a board member of the Association of Space Explorers, and has established her own consulting company, Orbital Visions, LLC, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Among Helms' many awards are the Gen. James V. Hartinger Award, Thomas D. White Space Award for Outstanding Contributions to Space, Dr. Kurt H. Debus Award, Women in Aerospace Outstanding Achievement Award, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, and induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Helms earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1980, and a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University in 1985. She completed the Air Force Flight Test Engineer course at USAF Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base in 1988, and the Senior Executive Course, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in 2005.

9.11 | We will NEVER forget

Staying true to our mission, our signature program HERstory explores the lived experiences of women veterans throughout American history.

September 11, 2001- a day we will never forget. To mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11, MWM President Phyllis Wilson sat down with women and asked them to share their 9/11 HERstories, their "where were you when" moments.

Melissa A. Washington

April 2021
Melissa A. Washington sits down with MWM President Phyllis Wilson to discuss her service in the United States Navy, her decision to leave the military, the challenges of balancing a civilian career and being a military spouse and the importance of community.

Award-winning advocate, speaker, author, entrepreneur, CEO, and proud Navy veteran Melissa A. Washington wears many hats. Yet woven throughout her diverse pursuits is a mission of service-and a passion to empower her fellow women. The founder and CEO of Women Veterans Alliance -a national organization that seeks to empower and positively impact the lives of women veterans. She also oversees WVA's non-profit division, Women Veterans Giving.

Melissa serves as an advisor to the American Veteran Organization of Women's AVOW Magazine. An in-demand speaker and author, who has appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, SiriusXM, ABC, NBC, and Fox, among others, Melissa was featured in VAntage Point -the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' official blog. She has also been recognized by a variety of organizations, including the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Center for Women Veterans, who honored her with the 2019 Trailblazer Award.

Dr. Mylène Huynh

May 2021
Dr. Mylène Huynh sits down with MWM President Phyllis Wilson to discuss her service in the United States Air Force, how her childhood in Vietnam during the war impacted her choice to join the Air Force, and how her early exposure to her parent's medical background influenced her current medical practice.

Dr. Mylène ("Mee-lenn") Huynh ("Winn") is board certified in Family Practice and Preventive Medicine with over 20 years experience in integrative health and medical acupuncture. Dr. Huynh's passion is health and healing with a life mission to promote healthier communities. She is a functional medicine practitioner with special interest and training in clinical nutrition, lifestyle medicine, mindfulness meditation and evidence-based approaches to reversing chronic diseases.

Dr. Huynh obtained both her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She completed a 21-year US Air Force career as a flight surgeon, family medicine academic faculty, clinic director, consultant to the USAF Surgeon General on preventive medicine and global health. In addition toTruPoint Health, she serves as an integrative health physician at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Dr. Huynh holds appointment as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.

Presenting Sponsor for The Color of Freedom: Honoring the Diversity of America's Servicewomen is Comcast NBCUniversal, with additional support from GEICO Military, Northrop Grumman, Tito's Handmade Vodka and Cerner Corporation.

LTG (Ret) Patricia Horoho

June 2021
LTG (Retired) Patricia Horohosits down with MWM President Phyllis Wilson to discuss her service in the United States Army and her time as the 43rd U.S.Army Surgeon General. She will also talk about the upcoming Women Veteran appreSHEation Day on June 12.

LTG Patricia (Patty) D. Horoho, Retired, is the Chief Executive Officer of OptumServe, the end-to-end federal business of Optum and UnitedHealth Group. Since forming OptumServe in 2017, Patty has grown the business by nearly 90%, resulting in an annual growth rate of 25%. This growth includes securing the $55 billion Veterans Affairs Community Care Network Third Party Administrator contract. Patty is a values-based servant leader whose life's calling is to improve the U.S. health care system, focused in the areas of health care delivery and health disparities.

Under Patty's leadership, OptumServe emerged as a nationally recognized thought leader for its expertise in the management of COVID-19 testing; and now serves as the operational arm for UnitedHealth Group's philanthropic support to citizens living in vulnerable communities.

In addition to its COVID-19 services, OptumServe continues to grow and expand its support of technology, health services, data analytics and consulting initiatives for customers that include the Defense Health Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies.

Patty's distinguished professional career includes 33 years with the U.S. Army, retiring as a Lieutenant General, the 43rd Army Surgeon General and Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command. She made history being the first woman, first nurse and non-physician to hold these posts. In these roles, Patty led the third largest health care system in the world, a global logistics, research and care network across five continents, with a multibillion-dollar budget and staff of more than 156,000. An expert in health care transformation, Patty moved the entire Army Medicine organization from a disease model of care to a system for health. She implemented groundbreaking and long-lasting initiatives around behavioral health, while improving health care considerations and force protection measures for military women. Patty has been humbled to serve and lead during pivotal moments in Army Medicine and in defense of the nation, including serving in the emergency room during the Green Ramp Disaster in 1994; standing up triage at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001; transforming care at the Walter Reed Health Care System from 2007 to 2008; and serving as the Special Assistant to the Commander, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, Afghanistan.

Prior to joining Optum, Patty led Accenture's military health business as the client account lead and managing director for military health.

Currently, Patty holds positions on the UnitedHealth Group Equity Advancement Board, Schultz Family Foundation Board of Trustees, University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees and Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Home Base Honorary Board and Leadership Council, CLF Veterans Advisory Board, and CADA. Patty is also a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, Women of Impact and a member of the international Women's Forum.

Patty is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her Master of Science degree as a clinical trauma nurse specialist from the University of Pittsburgh. Patty has served as a Distinguished Professor at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences Graduate School of Nursing, and holds a Master of Science degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Patty holds five honorary doctorates and has received numerous recognitions from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina, including a distinguished alumni and fellow award and a scholarship in her name.

Patty's military awards and citations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, France's National Order of the Legion of Honour Chevalier (Knight), Japan's Defense Cooperation Award Second Class, and the President's Lifetime Achievement award.

Shannon Huffman Polson

January 2021
Shannon Huffman Polson sits down with Military Women's Memorial President, Phyllis Wilson, to discuss her experience as a woman in the Military.

At graduation from Duke University, Shannon was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in Army Aviation where she became one of the first women to fly Apache helicopters, serving on three continents and leading two flight platoons and a line company. Following her service in the Army, Shannon joined the corporate world.

Today, she is the founder of The Grit Institute and author of the new book The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience, and Leadership in the Most Male-Dominated Organization in the World  where she tells the tales of trailblazing women who learned to lead at the highest levels and how they overcame adversity and learned from their experiences.

Get the book here.

Denise Rucker Krepp

February 2021
Denise discusses her time in the military as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Denise works for the Naval History and Heritage Command and is also a locally elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner representing the Hill East community in Washington, D.C. She began her career as an active-duty Coast Guard officer. After September 11, 2001, she helped create the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. She also served as Senior Counsel on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee. During President Obama's first term, she was the Maritime Administration Chief Counsel and Special Counsel to the U.S. Department of Transportation General Counsel. Krepp's family has long served in the military, including her husband, mother, father, uncles, grandfather, great uncles, and the generations before them. Denise has also done extensive research on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and shares her insights and stories in this wide-ranging discussion. This conversation is part of a year-long partnership with the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tomb.

Dr. Betty Moseley Brown

March 2021
Dr. Betty Moseley Brown sits down with MWM President Phyllis Wilson to discuss her service in the United States Marines as well as her upcoming book Leadership Lessons: Personal Reflections From a Woman Marine.

In May 2018, Dr. Betty Moseley Brown joined the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) whose mission is to enable VA to be the leading customer service organization in government. Dr. Moseley Brown is currently the Designated Federal Official for the Veterans' Family, Caregiver and Survivor Federal Advisory Committee. Prior to this position, she was the Associate Director, Center for Women Veterans since November 2004. Dr. Moseley Brown's passion for Veterans began during her United States Marine Corps service from 1978 - 1992. Her VA career, spanning decades, began in the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) in San Diego. She served in various positions, to include a Veterans Benefits Counselor, management analyst in Compensation and Pension Service, and later working for the Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Policy and Program Management in Washington, DC. Dr. Moseley Brown earned a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Sarasota. She is an avid Toastmaster, achieving the highest level in public speaking of Distinguished Toastmaster in January 2011. Dr. Moseley Brown is a 2004 Leadership VA (LVA) alumnus and 2009 graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. From September 2012 - September 2018, she served as the 19 th National President of the Women Marines Association (a non-profit charitable organization comprised of women who have served or are serving honorably in the United States Marine Corps regular or reserve components and Navy women meeting the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) designation and have earned the Warfare Device/Service Ribbon with the Marine Corps device. In September 2016, Dr. Moseley Brown was awarded the Dickey Chapelle Award; honoring the memory of the late Dickey Chapelle, an American foreign correspondent who first covered Marines in combat at the Battle of Iwo Jima and was killed while on patrol with a Marine Corps infantry unit engaged in combat operations against enemy forces during the Vietnam War. The award was established by the Marine Corps League to extend recognition to a woman who has contributed substantially to the morale, welfare and well-being of the officers and men and women of the United States Marine Corps.

Presenting Sponsor for The Color of Freedom: Honoring the Diversity of America's Servicewomen is Comcast NBCUniversal, with additional support from GEICO Military, Northrop Grumman, Tito's Handmade Vodka and Cerner Corporation.

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Staying true to our mission, our signature program HERstory explores the lived experiences of women veterans throughout American history. Throughout 2021, MWM Phyllis Wilson hosted a new episode with a new story. Follow our YouTube channel to see the latest episode. Check our previous programs below.

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Lesson plan: Veterans Day and the meaning of sacrifice - PBS NewsHour Classroom

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Lesson plan: Veterans Day and the meaning of sacrifice - PBS NewsHour Classroom

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Use this PBS NewsHour lesson plan to help students understand the significance of Veterans Day and the meaning of sacrifice. Students will identify important veterans in their lives, examine an interactive timeline of military history and study issues facing veterans today. For a google doc version of this lesson, click here.

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Use this PBS NewsHour lesson plan to help students understand the significance of Veterans Day and the meaning of sacrifice. Students will identify important veterans in their lives, examine an interactive timeline of military history and study issues facing veterans today. For a google doc version of this lesson, click here.

Subjects

World history, government and civics, U.S. history, geography

Estimated Time

One 50-minute class

Grade Level

Middle and high school
Warning: Due to the large number of students who either have friends or family that serve in the armed forces please take care and be sensitive when discussing Veterans Day.
Warm Up Activity

1. Start class by asking students what they know about Veterans Day and give them the and then go over the with them.

2. Watch "Bet You Didn't Know - Veterans Day" from the History Channel (below) as a class.

3. Watch Student Reporting Labs' Veterans Day video featuring students from military families living here in the U.S. and around the world.

Background on U.S. Wars

Share this interactive timeline with students and watch videos associated with U.S. wars. You may choose the wars your class knows the least about or play what you have time for. Click on the timeline to scroll through to each event, and click on the images above the timeline to watch short videos on the war.

Main Activity - Special Issues for Today's Veterans

1. As a class, brainstorm the risks and benefits of being a soldier today and write answers on the board. Let the class know that they are going to take a closer look at some of the issues that veterans face today and how these challenges are being treated.

2. Read to students: With new medical and life-saving technology more troops are surviving traumatic injuries that would have sealed their fate just decades ago. The effects of the increase in soldiers dealing with severe injuries such as losing limbs, traumatic brain injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has taxed the Veterans Administration (V.A.) at unprecedented levels leaving response time to disability claims anywhere from months to years. Further, both an increase in an aging veteran population as well as female veterans brings new challenges to the V.A. Let's look more in depth at the issues facing today's veterans.

Part 1 - Waiting for benefits

1. Watch the above video clip, "Veterans' Disability Delayed."

2. Read the Center for Investigative Reporting article "For Disabled Veterans Awaiting Benefits Decisions, Location Matters" by Aaron Glantz.

Part 2 - How phantom limbs are successfully being treated today

Watch the TED Talk "3 clues to understanding your brain" by VS Ramachandran (in particular, highlight the excerpt from 9:15-17:45).

Part 3 - Unique challenges that women veterans face

Watch the PBS NewsHour report "Women Veterans Face Unique Obstacles, Needs."

Part 4 - Veterans and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

1. What is PTSD? How does it manifest in veterans? Read the story of one veteran.

2. How is PTSD diagnosed? Look at the Diagnostic Statistical Manual V Criteria for PTSD or Self-Report Questionnaire for PTSD.

3. How is it treated? Hear about treatment options from the Veterans Association.

Writing Prompts

1. Write a Veterans Day thank you note. Use this lesson plan to help your students identify and understand important veterans in their life.

2. Write an argument to either support or reject claims that veterans today face challenges that veterans in the past did not using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

3. Choose one of the wars that was featured on the interactive timeline and write three short narrative-snap shots including one day in the life of that veteran before, during, and after the war using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.

By Katie Gould, former NewsHour Teacher Resource Producer. (An additional thank you to Susan Dickson for contributing photographs for the story. A special thanks to my grandfather, Joe Sidor, pictured in the writing prompts section, for his many years of service as a Marine during World War II, his work in China after World War II and the Korean War.)
Standards (CCSS)
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.7 Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium's portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

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Lesson plan: Veterans Day and the meaning of sacrifice - PBS NewsHour Classroom

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Use this PBS NewsHour lesson plan to help students understand the significance of Veterans Day and the meaning of sacrifice. Students will identify important veterans in their lives, examine an interactive timeline of military history and study issues facing veterans today. For a google doc version of this lesson, click here .

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History of the Holidays: History of Veterans Day | History

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Thank you, Soldiers! Sound and lyrics, no singing