Regional Industry & News

East Texas women veterans honored at Military Women’s Memorial, heroes visit military memorials

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KLTV) - Three East Texas women traveling with the Brookshire Grocery Company Heroes Flight were honored at the Military Women’s Memorial at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery — the country’s only national memorial dedicated to women who have served in the military.

The veterans were recognized at a special ceremony inside the museum thanking them for their service and sacrifice. Their stories will be added to the memorial’s registry to preserve them for future generations.

KLTV 7’s Blake Holland spoke with the three women about serving in the military and the unique challenges they faced:

- Army veteran Joan Fudala of Longview, Air Force veteran Anesha Jennings of Longview and Air Force veteran Gloria Bush of Longview are on the trip.

“The Army, military, doesn’t care that you’re female, doesn’t care that you have a family, doesn’t care that you have children,” Fudala said, describing long hours, 12-hour shifts and time away from her children. “The mission is first.”

“It was amazing. But it was also validation, that women do matter. Because so many times as a woman in the military, you get looked over,” Bush said. “Where we’re put in the forefront, and celebrated like that.”

“I never thought that my service was that exceptional. I felt like I was just a cog in a big machine,” Fudala said. “I just didn’t think it was anything special.”

Today, there are some 350,000 women in uniform and nearly 3 million U.S. women veterans, Holland reported. They all have one thing in common: they all volunteered — no woman has ever been drafted into the U.S. military.

Also on Tuesday, the veterans visited memorials honoring three of the six branches of the U.S. military, leading to emotional discussions among some of those in attendance.

Find all Heroes Flight stories and videos under the Heroes Flight tab at kltv.com.