FARMINGTON – Saturday, Sept. 21, at Roderick-Crosby American Legion Post 28, veterans gathered together for the Honoring Women Veteran’s Luncheon.

After everyone had had a chance to eat, Nichole Jordan, US Army veteran and president of Women Veteran’s Glamping, started by saying that once out of uniform, women veterans often go unrecognized.

She informed everyone that there now exists a sticker for female veterans that is recognized by Maine State Parks in order to access the parks for free without question.

Jordan started Women Veteran’s Glamping in 2019 after feeling “incomplete” following the end of her service. She created the organization for women veterans to reconnect with each other and focus on their mental health.

Jordan said that there are over two million women veterans, and that once they are out of the service, they lose connections. “Not one more woman veteran needs to take their life due to isolation,” she said.

Next, Jordan and US Marine Corps veteran Teresa Drag presented US Marine Corps veteran Lori Ramsey with a Quilt of Valor. Quilts of Valor was founded in 2003 by Catherine Roberts. Her idea was to wrap veterans with healing quilts. Volunteers take the time to make quilts for nominated veterans. It is seen as an award and thank you for the recipients’ service. There are now groups in all 50 states who participate in the Quilts of Valor mission.

Maine State Commander of the American Legion Tricia Thurston began her speech with her goal to “put it out there that women are veterans too.” She opened the floor for others to share their stories.

Many were quick to have their voices heard. Instances of being met with directions for Auxiliary meetings at VFW [Veterans of Foreign Wars] and American Legion posts, accusations of taking advantage of veteran benefits, and feelings of isolation from being the only women in veteran communities were shared.

“It’s disrespectful,” Jordan said in response.

Drag shared that when she was in the academy for the Marines, she was not only feeling isolated as the only women in the school, but also because she hadn’t received any letters from home. Upon investigation, she discovered that all of the letters sent to her were being returned to sender, told “there are no girls in the Marines.”

Thurston said that women veterans are always fighting assumptions. “It has to stop,” she said.

Jordan also shared her frustrations with not being able to bring attention to these issues. She said that she has tried for years to get coverage and that “they refuse to recognize women veterans on TV.”

She also shared that she reached out to 20 organizations for the Women’s Veteran Luncheon event and that only four responded. Of these organizations, Health Affiliates Maine, U.S Department of Veteran Affairs, Veterans Upward Bound, and Honor Flight Maine were in attendance.

Joy Asuncion from Women’s War Memorial, Honor Flight Maine, and Bangor Troop Greeting presented on the National Memorial, encouraging veterans to submit their stories online. Asuncion said she wanted a way to “make sure [veterans] feel honored, so they know that we won’t forget.”

She said that “we have to do this for our next generation.”

Thurston chimed in saying, “We need to do this until it’s not a need, until we are recognized as veterans.”

Asuncion said that she will often search obituaries for veteran women to see if their story is already logged in the Women’s War Memorial. If it isn’t, she contacts the family of the deceased to record and “preserve” her story.

The final presentation at the luncheon was in honor of National POW [Prisoner of War]/ MIA [Missing in Action] Recognition Day which was the day before. World War II POW veteran Alice Zwicker’s story was told.

Zwicker was from Brownville. She attended school in Bangor to become a nurse and eventually joined the US Army Nurse Corps. She was sent to the Philippines where no one expected any danger as the war was thought primarily to be taking place in Europe. After being evacuated from Bataan to Corregidor due to bombings from Japan, the U.S. was forced to surrender and Zwicker was taken as a POW.

In 1944, after three years living in the internment camp, the U.S. freed the 4,000 people inside of the camp and Zwicker was able to return home in 1945. Her biography, “Angel of Bataan,” was written by Walter Macdougall.

After cake and the 50/50 raffle, Jordan thanked everyone for coming and reminded everyone of the reason why they were there; to honor the women who have served our country.

Copy the Story Link