Lady Vets - Has this ever happened to you?

This happens to me a lot and it gets on my nerves something awful. I called the DAV for an update on my VA claim, so the guy asks me for my husband's social. I tell him that I am a vet and it is my claim I am calling about. He gets all huffy and short with me and finally gives me some cursery answer.

Another time, the VFW was recruiting for members and I was with my dh who is also a vet. They told me "And you can jion the Women's Auxillary!" Like that was something I was supposed to be excited about. I said, "I can join the VFW, because I am a Gulf War Veteran just like he is." I got some mumbling and "We don't allow women in our VFW." Well, needless to say they lost my dh and me both to their organization. It made me wonder what they were doing that women couldn't join in - comparing their winkies????

I have to relate this story, because I thought it was so funny and I admired the old lady's verve. There was a veterans' group was collecting money for disabled vets. They stopped this rather sweet little old lady and asked her for money to help her husband and the men who had served their country. She got really ticked off and started swearing. Then she said, "I'm a veteran and you've never done a damn thing for me!" Her friend seemed mighty ticked off too. She must have been a veteran as well. Those two walked off cussing so bad and so loud that you knew they must have had some military experience.

So I walked up to these men and I asked, "how much of the money you collect goes to help disabled women veterans?" They just said, "Ahhhh... Most vets are men." That's what I thought! None!

This is the 21st Century! There have been women serving in the military for over 50 years and we still get treated like we don't exist! Arghhh! Don't get me started on that! Has anyone else been treated like this?

I think it actually gets worse when you get out. People just assume all veterans are men.

Lynn - I e-mailed the West Virginia Division of Veterans Affairs and I haven't heard back from them. For the rest of you all, West Virginia is building a war memorial to women vets. All 4 of us who are registered with the WV VA voted. I know two of us voted for it to be a military police officer. One woman who works for the federal VA who was a cop and me. So that's what it's going to be. But I dont' know if the scupltor has finished it yet. It's going to be the same size and as prominant as the men's war memorial.

It should be really gorgeous. This is the one for wars of the 20th Century - http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvvets.html. It won't be as large as this one, but it will be exactly the same size as the one for WV firefighters. They've hired the same scupltor to do the Women's War Memorial. It will be on the capital grounds in Charleston, too.

I think it will be on a mable pillar just like Abe Lincoln and Stonewall Jackson. Oh yes, the capital lawn is worth the drive down. Even my mom who thinks everything in kansas is better than in WV was very impressed.