
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 20, 1995                   TAG: 9505230017
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FEMALE VETERANS' STORIES SOUGHT

More than 200 years ago, Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man to join the Revolutionary army and treated her own combat wounds to keep her secret, says a tract from the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation.

However, the literature warns, Sampson's story - and the stories of the more than 1.8 million other women who have served in the U.S. armed forces - won't be found in most books. So retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Brenda L. Watson Hale isn't looking there.

Instead, next Friday, Hale will hold what she believes is the first organized effort to locate Western Virginia's female veterans and record their military experiences. Information gathered by her and about 1,100 other field representatives nationwide will be included in the foundation's memorial project at Arlington National Cemetery.

Although there are approximately 36,400 female veterans in Virginia, the Privacy Act mandates that the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs keep their records sealed, Hale said, and no other accurate lists of women veterans are available.

Hale hopes to attract active servicewomen; those in reserve and National Guard service; those who received administrative, medical or honorable discharges; and descendants of deceased servicewomen, who may register on their behalf.

In Washington, D.C., a rendering of three nurses in fatigues, plus a wounded male soldier, commemorates women who served in the Vietnam War. But the group's will be the first national monument to all female veterans.

Groundbreaking is June 22 for the memorial project, which will involve restoration of gates and a semicircular structure at the entrance to the Arlington cemetery. It will include a reflecting pool and skylights inscribed with servicewomen's quotations. Within the restored structures will be a bank of computers containing information about registrants.

The memorial's estimated $14 million cost had to be raised through private funds. A spokeswoman said about $1.5 million still is needed.

A suggested registration donation of $25 will be applied toward the memorial's construction. If a servicewoman is unable to pay, a sponsor will be found for her. Women registered before the memorial's dedication, which will be held at its completion, will be listed as charter members.

Local registration and a reception will be Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. in the auditorium, Building 5, of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem. For additional information, contact Hale at 989-2164.

by CNB