http://www.wickedlocal.com/fall-river/news/x688582468
Fall River - ?Are you a girl with a Star-Spangled heart?? the Army Corps poster questioned at the new and almost completed ?Women Protecting U.S.? exhibit at Battleship Cove.
Another World War II era-poster appealed to women's softer side: ?Fighting men need nurses,? it said over a picture of a soldier with a bandaged-up head, a nurse standing by his side.
The exhibit, which will officially open in August, will be unveiled this weekend at the second annual Female Faces of War conference. The conference recognizes International Women?s Day, commemorated on Sunday.
Saturday events include speaking presentations, a luncheon, an afternoon tea, a tour of the ships and a first look at the exhibit aboard the Battleship Massachusetts.
The exhibit will remember the many women who served in the U.S. military, most of whose stories have gone untold. Some 300,000 women enlisted in the military during World War II.
?I think this is a really big step for women,? said Laurie Carlson, exhibit coordinator.
Carlson, who has been working on the exhibit for more than a year and researching for about eight years, said ?Women Protecting U.S.? will present a more gender-balanced view of military service. It will also herald that the women who served did so with bravery.
Besides wanting to serve their country, women joined the military for other reasons, too.
?For this age group, a lot of young women joined because that?s where the boys were,? Carlson said.
?Women Protecting U.S.? will showcase about two dozen military and Red Cross uniforms worn by women and donated to Battleship Cove. They include canteen dresses, hospital dresses, a captain?s jacket, a candy striper jumper and more.
A woolen coat lining is on display. The women would decorate the lining of their coats, which they also used as robes and leisure wear. This particular lining belonged to a nurse. It was covered with military badges from her patients, each one meticulously sewn on.
?They would embellish and give it some personality,? Carlson said. ?(The badges) were given to her as a souvenir.?
The exhibit will also feature posters, two woven tapestries, artifacts and a life-sized Rosie the Riveter and Winnie the Welder. A television set will play an oral history presentation.
Much of the work has been done by Carlson, along with a group of YAGR?s Radar Picket Ship volunteers. The group erected partitions, installed lighting and have painted the walls.
Carlson said the weekend?s unveiling will merely be a ?dress rehearsal.?
For Carlson, who has spent so much of her time creating the exhibit and gathering the items to be displayed, she is seeing it finally all come together.
?I equate it to planning a wedding,? Carlson said. ?Suddenly, the day happens, and the day goes by so fast.?
Saturday?s conference will include presentations by Donna Mac, host of ?Vital Women? on 96.1 FM; Capt. Thomas G. Kelley of the Women?s Veterans Network; Margaret Orgelsby, a National Guardswoman for 25 years; Lt. Mary Louise Cummings, one of the U.S. Navy?s first female fighter pilots; Navy Master Chief Cindy LaPorte; and National Guardswoman, Dr. Shakti Sabharwal, who served 10 miles north of Baghdad.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The fee for the day, including Continental breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea is $55. To register, call Paula Hague at Battleship Cove at 508-678-1100, ext. 101, or Laurie Carlson, ext. 133. A limited number of tickets will be available aboard the ship on Saturday.
E-mail Deborah Allard at
dallard@heraldnews.com.
