CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Today marks Women Veterans Day, honoring the service and sacrifices of women who have served in the United States armed forces.
Earlier this year, the USS Lexington Museum opened a new exhibit celebrating women in the Navy. The USS Lexington made history in 1980 when it became the first Navy aircraft carrier to have women serving permanently as part of the crew.
"You can get through here chronologically from the Nurse Corp in 1908 when women could only be nurses into eventually World War One when there were some clerical jobs, World War Two the WAVES expanded greatly the roles of women but it was still in the reserves," Steve Banta said.
Banta is the Executive Director of the USS Lexington Museum.
The role of women in the military changed significantly in 1948 when President Harry Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, allowing women to permanently serve in the regular armed forces.
Women Veterans Day commemorates the anniversary of this historic signing.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
