Martha Dandridge Washington Chapter, NSDAR Recognize Local Veterans
Korean War veteran James Ritter, Sr., and Vietnam Era veterans Walter Nicholson, Gerald Suttles, and Jimmie Harris were recognized for their military service by the Martha Dandridge Washington Chapter, NSDAR.
Although women were prevented from serving officially in the U.S. military for more than a century after the birth of the United States, American women have actually served the nation on the battlefield since the Revolutionary War. Chapter members and guests learned that from the presentation by Regent Jane Chambers at the Veterans Day recognition program at the November 14 meeting of the Martha Dandridge Washington Chapter (MDW), National Association Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), at the Jefferson City Library.
Second Vice Regent Janet Guyett, herself a US Navy veteran, welcomed attending veterans or their representatives and guests.
In the presentation “Influential Women in the Military,” Regent Chambers, a US Army veteran, revealed the eye-opening stories of Deborah Sampson, Sarah Emma Edmonds, Elsie S. Ott, Grace Murray Hopper, Ann E. Dunwoody, and Eileen Collins.
Deborah Sampson, a former indentured servant who craved adventure, cross-dressed so that she could experience the freedoms assumed by men in colonial America. She enlisted in the Continental Army as Robert Shurtliff in 1781, was shot in the thigh, and removed the bullet herself to keep her identity hidden. Once her identity became known, General John Paterson, her commanding officer, supported her actions, and granted her an honorable discharge. She was pensioned for her service and later wrote her biography titled The Female Review.
The American Civil War saw the service of Sarah Emma Edmonds who enlisted in the Union army as Franklin Thompson in order to escape her abusive father. She spent most of her time in the saddle carrying mail between the Union command and the front lines. Edmonds documented her experiences in her memoir Nurse and Spy in the Union Army and was the first woman admitted into the Grand Army of the Republic.
Third, Elsie S. Ott as a military nurse for the U.S. Air Force pioneered the procedures for air evacuation of the wounded during World War II.
Fourth, Grace Murray Hopper served the U.S. Navy in various capacities during World War II and until she retired in 1986 at the age of 79. She had a Ph.D. in mathematics and worked with Mark I, II, and III computers at Harvard University. As a result of her illustrious work, she received the National Medal of Technology in 1991.
Fifth, having grown up in a military family, Ann E. Dunwoody joined the U.S. Army where she garnered several firsts. The chief one was being promoted to Four-Star General at Fort Bragg, NC, in 2008. Her experiences fill the pages of her book, A Higher Standard: Leadership Strategies from America’s First Female Four-Star General.
Finally, Eileen Collins made her mark in the US Air Force where she became the first female flight instructor. In 1995, she became the first female astronaut to pilot a space shuttle mission, and by 1999, she advanced to be the first female space shuttle commander.
Following the presentation, Corresponding Secretary Jane Busdeker read the poem, “The Noble and the Brave: A Veteran’s Day Tribute” by Joanna Fuchs.
Chapter member Becky Bolin Anderson lights the Patriot Candle for patriot ancestors of chapter members and the Hope Candle for all service members who are missing.
Becky Bolin Anderson, a US Army veteran, conducted the candle lighting ceremony in which she lit one candle representing the Revolutionary War patriots from which the members of the MDW chapter are descended and a second candle representing all veterans who are missing and symbolizing the hope of reunion.
Next, DAR Service for Veterans Chairman Carolyn Mitchell presented a certificate and a pin to the Vietnam War Era veterans. The MDW chapter is a 50th Anniversary Vietnam Commemorative Partner and is committed to recognizing as many service members as possible who served during the Vietnam War Era from November 1, 1955, through May 15, 1975.
The following are the veterans or their representatives who attended in person: Jimmie Lee Harris, US Army; Gerald Lee Suttles, US Army; Walter Herman Nicholson, US Navy; James Thomas Ritter, Sr. (representing his brother John Erven Ritter, US Navy); and Becky Anderson (representing her late brother Hobart Tilman Bolin, US Navy/Army, and her late brother-in-law James Earl Henderson, US Army).
Since attendance was limited by the Covid-19 virus and the need for social distancing, the following veterans attended by Zoom: Ralph Oliver Haynes, US Navy, and Johnny Shults (representing her late husband Clyde Edward “Eddie” Edmonds, US Army)
Other veterans who have been honored or will be honored by receiving their certificates and pins individually, or by mail, include: Herbert Larry Dean Oaks, US Army; Ronald F. Watson, US Army; Walter Henry Mills, US Army; Joseph Martin Shults, US Navy; Sanford M. Wood, US Navy; John N. Younker, US Navy; Ronnie Harrison McCoy, US Army; Paul Wayne Mullins, US Army; Robert J. Hager, US Air Force; Arthur Robert Lee, US Army; Keith George Barrier, US Navy; Robert Lynne Long, US Air Force; Jack Claire Null, US Army; Kenneth Gerald Schafer, US Air Force; Denny Lanier Williams, US Army; Dennis Wayne Burch, US Navy; Andrew Burchell, US Army; Steve Allen Hodge, US Army; Donald A. Nance, US Army; Keith Lamar Settlemoir, US Air Force; and Hank E. Murphy, US Marine Corps.
A special presentation was made to James Thomas “Tommy” Ritter, Sr., US Army, who served during the Korean War. Ritter was accompanied by Margaret Moran, who worked at the Department of Defense in the White House during the Kennedy Administration.
To conclude the ceremony, Second Vice Regent Guyett expressed gratitude for those in attendance, and Chaplain Elizabeth Finchum offered a closing prayer.
For information about the DAR, contact Registrar Karen McFarland at (865) 258-8670 or Regent Jane Chambers at (865) 591-3857.
