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Patriotic Service
Citizenship Programs
Flag Programs
Flag Facts & Protocol
Parade of Flags
Young Patriots
Service to Military
Afghanistan & Iraq
Vietnam
World War II
World War I
Spanish-American War
& Arlington Monument WIMSA
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Service to the Military
| 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 |
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.
 We have a unique chance to become more in tune with our fellow Americans in uniform both on the battlefield and here at home. Many of our Societies are doing their part in saying Thank You, but we can always do more.
Care packages are being sent from all over the US to our service people abroad; special Veterans Day Remembrance Services are being held; dinners are provided for troops in training; local Veterans Hospitals are provided with supplies and friendly faces; families of the deployed are being cared for; Christmas Sox are stuffed with fun and needed items for Veterans Hospitals; special dinners are prepared for returning troops and their families; phone cards are provided for troops to call home; books, CDs and books on tape are sent over seas; and many individual Dames show their appreciation by writing letters to our service people.
These are just a few of the many projects being done by the Dames. Many other opportunities are available.
Please check the following website references for additional ways we can help our young men and women and their families. www.moveamerica.org or www.anysoldier.com or www.give2thetroops.org or www.supportourtroops.org or www.supportoursoldiers.com or www.sosamericainc.org or www.opgratitude.com or www.adopt-a-chaplain.org or www.operation-support-our-troops.org or www.woundedwarriorproject.org or www.americasupportsyou.mil or www.operationremembrance.org, or www.troopssupport.com or www.operationuplink.org or www.soldiersangels.org or www.operationfirstresponse.org or www.adoptaplatoon.org or www.freedomisnotfree.com or www.treatsfortroops.com or www.bluestarmothers.org or www.usocares.org or www.redcross.org or www.operationmend.ucla.edu or even www.volunteer.gov/gov.
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| Vietnam War |
| 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 among 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. |
USS Sanctuary off Vietnam |
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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. |
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 Colonial 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 (pictured at right) 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 built from the keel up, began in 1917 but was not competed until after the Armistice. The ship had an illustrious career through World War II.
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| Spanish-American War |
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 servicement from the Caribbean theater back to the United States until after the war ended.
After the war the Dames raised moeny 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 Arlington by a society of women. 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 48 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.
In 2008 another plaque was added nearby on the grounds inscribed:
IN HONOR OF ALL WHO SERVE OUR COUNTRY. |
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.
In 1964 an additional plaque was added:
IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE ARMED FORCES WHO IN THIS CENTURY HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY THAT FREEDOM MIGHT LIVE.
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| Women in Military Service for America Memorial (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 artifcats were colected 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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