Women at War - in Memoriam

This week's Newsweek includes an article about Emily Perez, the first West Point graduate and the 64th woman to die in the current Iraq war.

War memorials can be powerful things. They are complicated too, needing to address many facets of honoring the dead such as inspiring pride in patriotism (raising the flag at Iwo Jima); inspiring awe (the smoke stacks of the USS Arizona); inspiring perpetual gratitude and perpetual remembrance (the perpetual flame of the Australian War Memorial); giving closure to the living (any Tomb of an Unnamed Soldier); and naming the dead (the inimitable Vietnam Veterans Memorial).

Whilst in London this summer, I came across a memorial to The Women of World War II. I think the design is brilliant in the way the artist used fashion - something that women are known for, and often ridiculed for - to illustrate the many roles that women filled during the war. Right down to the hat or bag that went with the job.

It made me appreciate the versatility of the "weaker" sex as they stepped up to help out. It makes me appreciate it still today as I watch the women folk in my life juggle so much (and please understand that this is said with no disrespect to the lot of today's men).

So this one is for the ladies, those here and those gone. Thanks for making me proud to be a woman.