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Patriotic Service Projects
American Indian Nurse
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Parade of
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Young
Patriots(TM)
Scholarships and
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Service to Military
Afghanistan and Iraq
Spanish American War
Arlington
Monument
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Application
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Overview
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Winning Essay
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| Service to the Military
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| For over one hundred years
since the founding of the NSCDA in 1891, the Dames have taken as their
mission the promotion of an appreciation of America's history. In
periods of war, the Society has demonstrated its strong sense of
patriotism through significant contributions to the war efforts.
Additionally, hundreds of members have volunteered for war time
service. One particularly
noteworthy Dame is pictured at right, Col. Ruth Cheney Streeter.
In 1943 this Dame was appointed by President Roosevelt to become the
first Director of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve. After World War II,
she served as President of the NSCDA from 1948-1952.
Dames have been active
supporters of our military during the Spanish American War,
World War
I, World War II,
Vietnam and the more recent conflicts in
Afghanistan and
Iraq. In 2001 the Dames sponsored an exhibit at Arlington
National Cemetery of Women in Military Service for America
(WIMSA). |
Col. Ruth Cheney Streeter,
World War II
(1895-1990) |
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Afghanistan and
Iraq War |
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At no time in our history have we been
more aware of the sacrifices that our young men and women serving in
the military are making for our country. The opportunity for outreach
endeavors by the Colonial Dames has never been greater.
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Veterans History
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A few years ago, NSCDA made a national commitment to involvement with
the Veterans History Project (www.loc.gov/vets),
which coordinates the interviewing of veterans of all generations and
all branches of service in order to collect and preserve first-hand
stories of troops, war industry workers, medical volunteers and even
civilians who have lived through such extraordinary times. Just offer
you time and energy and they will put you to work.
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Vietnam War |
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| During the Korean War, the
contributions of the NSCDA to the Armed Forces was small, but in
the Vietnam War the Society returned to its role of serving Navy
hospital ships. Mrs. Ruth Cheney Streeter chaired the committee
which developed the program to support USS Sanctuary and USS
Repose stationed off the coast of Vietnam. The Society
contributed over $100,000 to the ships and made over 24,000
ditty bags. Musical instruments, cameras and tape recorders were
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USS Sanctuary off Vietnam |
| the items purchased.
In one innovative program thousands of tapes were furnished to
patients so that they could record messages for their next of
kin in the States.
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World War II |
Dumbarton House
during WWII. Only a month after the United States entered
World War II, the NSCDA offered its headquarters, Dumbarton
House, to the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Red
Cross. The Red Cross gratefully accepted the offer, and part of
the house was quickly turned into classrooms where 750 students
were trained between 1942 and 1945. In other rooms, seamstresses
sewed garments for the war effort, and volunteers packaged
surgical dressings which totaled over 200,000 before the end of
the war. |
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Dumbarton House during World War
II |
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| USO Club in
Ketchikan, Alaska. The NSCDA contributed almost
$150,000 to maintain recreational facilities for servicemen in
the USO Club at Ketchikan, Alaska. State Societies across the
country shipped boxes of supplies such as books and cameras. The
California Society gave an annual Christmas dinner. During the
operation of the club between 1941 and 1946 the Dames provided
good food, recreation and entertainment |
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| Dames in Uniform.
Dames across the country joined the Armed Forces, including the
US Public Health Service; the Civil Air Patrol; and the American
Red Cross. Two such women were Colonel Ruth Cheney Streeter and
Captain Mildred McAfee Horton who headed the newly formed Marine
Corps Women's Reserves and the WAVES, respectively. The wartime
contributions of its members reflect the high degree of
patriotism which has always been the hallmark of the NSCDA.
After the war, Colonel Streeter resigned her commission and
returned to civilian life, later serving as a National President
of the NSCDA.
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World War I |
Following the tradition
established during the Spanish American War, the NSCDA
contributed money to help outfit three hospital ships for the
Navy. The NSCDA raised $50,000 for USS Comfort, USS Mercy and
USS Relief. Mercy and Comfort were acquired by the Navy
from the War Department in the first months of the war and
served in the New York and Norfolk areas respectively before
making several cruises to Europe to bring back wounded soldiers.
Construction of USS Relief, the first Navy hospital ship |
USS Mercy
US Navy Photo |
built from the keel up, began in 1917
but was not completed until after the Armistice. The ship
had an illustrious career through World War II.
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Spanish-American War
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| During the Spanish-American War the Dames inaugurated the tradition of outfitting
hospital ships in times of war. After the Navy acquired Solace from
the Cromwell Steamship Lines in 1898, the NSCDA contributed more than
$18,000 to help convert her to military use. The ship carried wounded
and ill servicemen from the Caribbean theater back to the United
States until the war ended. After
the war the Dames raised money to erect a monument (pictured at right)
in Arlington National Cemetery as a memorial to the soldiers and
sailors who gave their lives for their country. This monument stands
as the first ever built and dedicated in this beautiful spot by a
society of women, The NSCDA. It was unveiled on the afternoon of
May 21, 1902, on the eve of Cuban independence. President Theodore Roosevelt made the address.
The
inscription on the monument is shown at right. The memorial is a
44-foot tall Corinthian column of granite supporting a globe and eagle
with wings outstretched. The globe is banded
with thirteen stars, for the thirteen Colonies, while around the base of
the monument is a bank of forty-eight stars - one for each state
in the Union at that time.
On Sunday during
The NSCDA Biennial
Council meetings in Washington D.C., a Memorial Service is held at this
monument. The National Patriotic Service Committee and the
National Historical Activities Committee are responsible for this
service during alternate Biennials. Back
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To the Soldiers and Sailors
of the United States
who gave their lives for their country
in the War of 1898-99 with Spain.
This monument is dedicated
in sorrow, gratitude, and pride
by
The National Society
of The Colonial Dames
of America
in the name of all
the women of the nation
1902.
Additional plaque added
in 1964:
To the Glory of God
and
in Grateful Remembrance of the
MEN AND WOMEN
WHO IN THIS CENTURY
GAVE THEIR LIVES
THAT LIBERTY MIGHT LIVE. |
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WIMSA |
The NSCDA co-sponsored an exhibit
at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial (WIMSA) at
Arlington National Cemetery in May of 2001. It was called Dressed for Duty and showcased
uniforms worn by American servicewomen from 1917 to the late 1990s.
This exhibit was formerly on permanent loan at the Women's Memorial
at Arlington National Cemetery.. Later, the Women's Memorial
Foundation acquired most of the uniforms and artifacts featured in the
exhibit. Both were made possible through the generous financial
support of the NSCDA. The uniforms and artifacts were collected by
Jill Halcomb Smith, author of the book, Dressed for Duty: America's
Women in Uniform, 1898-1973, a detailed history of women's
uniforms, insignia, and artifacts that also places military and
civilian women in the context of our country's national emergencies
during this period. |
Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Vaught USAF Ret. President WIMSA
Photo Courtesy Orion Photography |
A Dames in Uniform exhibit was
sponsored by the NSCDA at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. in
1995. The opening of this exhibit coincided with the groundbreaking of
WIMSA on June 13, 1995. Many
of the images on this web page were taken from the Dames in Uniform
exhibit brochure.
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