Governor Proclaims Combat Female Veterans Day 2024

COMBAT FEMALE VETERANS DAY

2024

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, a combat female veteran is a term that encapsulates the diverse and significant contributions of women in military service; and

WHEREAS, according to the United Stated Department of Veterans Affairs, there are approximately 2 million female veterans nationally and roughly 70,000 living in North Carolina, the sixth largest population of female veterans in the nation; and

WHEREAS, of the 70,000 female veterans in North Carolina, approximately 45,000 served during a conflict era, including service in conflicts such as World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and more recent engagements in the Middle East; and

WHEREAS, on May 23, 1782, 21-year-old Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man named Robert Shurtliff and enlisted in the Continental Army under the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, making her one of our nation’s earliest combat female veterans; and

WHEREAS, Colonel Lorna M. Mahlock became the first African American woman to be nominated for the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Marine Corps in 2018; Mahlock now serves as Major General, Commander of the Cyber National Mission Force; and

WHEREAS, General Ann E. Dunwoody holds the distinction of being the first woman in United States Military history to achieve the rank of four-star general; Dunwoody's career spanned over 37 years, during which she held numerous command positions, including Commanding General of the U.S. Army Materiel Command; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs recognizes and appreciates the brave women veterans who have served our country with honor and distinction; and

WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina and our nation are grateful for the vital role that women have played and continue to play within the armed forces;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 23, 2024, as “COMBAT FEMALE VETERANS DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

________________________________________

Roy Cooper

Governor

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-third day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.