Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska -- The Alaska Women Veterans Program hosted a Women Veterans Recognition ceremony at the Alaska Aviation Museum Nov. 9.
This event recognized and highlighted the contributions female veterans made and continue to make in the military, said Laura McKenzie, Women Veterans Program manager for the Alaska Veteran Affairs healthcare system. The program advocates for outreach events and assure the same quality of healthcare with the Alaska VA community.
The special guest speaker for this event was Suellyn Wright Novak, a retired Air Force colonel and Alaska Veterans Museum president, who dressed up as the first officially recorded woman who fought in an American war, Deborah Sampson also known as Robert Shurtlieff, who enlisted in 1781.
She spoke about the history behind the women who served in the military during the Revolutionary and Civil wars openly as nurses and aides – and undercover as men – on the battlefields.
Another guest speaker was Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, who reminded attendees that Alaska should be proud for having the highest percentage of veterans in the United States. Approximately 10 percent of Alaskans are veterans (73,163) and of that percentage, 14 percent are female (10,283).