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Patriotic Service Projects
American Indian Nurse
Scholarship Awards
Citizenship Programs
Flag Programs
Flag Facts and Protocol
Parade of
Flags
Young
Patriots(TM)
Scholarships and
Educational Awards
Service to Military
Afghanistan and Iraq
Spanish American War
Arlington
Monument
WIMSA
World War I
World War II
Vietnam
Washington Workshops
Congressional
Seminars
Application
Information Sheet
Overview
Student
Experiences
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). |
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Col. Ruth Cheney Streeter,
World War II
(1895-1990) |
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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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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 |
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USS Mercy
US Navy Photo |
USS Relief, the
first Navy hospital ship 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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World War II |
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| 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
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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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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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Afghanistan and
Iraq War |
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Dames across the country have been supporting our troops in Iraq in
many different ways. The NSCDA/PA hosted a
large picnic in July 2007 for 90 soldiers and their families
getting ready to deploy to Iraq. Florida Dames have sent over 700 phone cards,
first to those in harm's way and then to others in operations. Iowa
Dames raised funds to send Christmas stockings to soldiers in Baghdad.
Oklahoma Dames have sent money to the Blue Star Mothers of America (a
support organization made up of mothers of present and former
servicemen and women) and have also written letters of support and
encouragement to service personnel in combat from their state. Several states have sent care packages to
troops and school supplies to students.
| Dames
from the Georgia Society (pictured at right) have collected
5,000 paperback books for their Paperbacks for Patriots
project. Working with the American Red Cross and the USO, they
have sent 3,000 books to Afghanistan and Iraq, 250 to the Army
and Coast Guard in Mississippi and Louisiana during Hurricane
Katrina, 200 to the libraries at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army
Airfield and a great number to soldiers and their families
through the USO booth at Savannah-Hilton Head International
Airport. Both the Savannah Dames and the soldiers have
enthusiastically supported the project. The Savannah Dames also
admit servicemen and women free to their museum house, the
Andrew Low House. The
Louisiana Society received a flag flown over Iraq in recognition
of its project of sending phone cards to our troops stationed in
Iraq.
Illinois Dames have worked
closely with their local USO office to supply items needed there
(including a karaoke machine and CDs) and to underwrite and serve
No-Dough dinners to boot camp troops at the end of each pay period
when the soldiers' cash is low. |
Dames and their
family members helping to collect books (above)
which are then
distributed to soldiers (below) in conjunction
with the American Red Cross.
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The D.C. Dames had a party in honor of the
residents of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington at
Dumbarton House in April. Dames themselves served the tasty goodies
and punch and a swing and Dixie jazz band and vocalist contributed to
the festive occasion. The Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington,
formerly known as the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen's Home, is one of only
two of these enormous facilities in the U.S. The other one was located
at Gulfport, Mississippi. It was devastated by Katrina and many of the
residents from Gulfport are now living in the Washington center. Many
of those who came to the party were from Gulfport and most were
veterans of World War II. The DC Dames also have just contributed
$1,000 to Fisher House at Walter Reed and are planning to pursue
active volunteer programs through Walter Reed Hospital and the Armed
Forces Retirement Home in the upcoming year.
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| Washington State Dames had great fun
stuffing US Postal Service Priority Service boxes full of magazines,
candy, food, beauty supplies etc. for our Iraq troops that reached
them in time for Christmas. In addition to some written thank you
notes, they received the photo at right thanking them for their
care packages! The Indiana Dames have collected
comfort items for Hoosier Veterans and donated them, along with cash
donations, to the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation. |
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The Hawaii Society has sent numerous
boxes of magazines and the New Mexico Society has begun to
collect items for Blue Star Mothers.
The DC and Ohio Societies have provided
support for the wounded coming home through Walter Reed Hospital and
Bethesda Naval Hospital. The DC Society donated funds to The Fisher
House Foundation, which helps families of wounded service men coming
home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Ohio Dames raised funds to buy new
sweat pants and shirts for the wounded at Walter Reed.
Many individual Dames across the
country support our troops without an organized effort by their
societies. They write letters to service men and women and their
families; take blankets to Veterans clinics; send school supplies to
Iraq; organize school children to write letters; and send phone cards
to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed.
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WIMSA |
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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
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Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Vaught USAF Ret.
President WIMSA
Photo Courtesy Orion Photography |
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women in the context of our country's national emergencies during this
period.
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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