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Military Nurses Honored at Arlington Ceremony
(September 17, 2009) |
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Participating in a
wreath-laying ceremony at the Nurses Memorial at
Arlington National Cemetery are, from left,
Clayton Jones, senior vice commander of the
Military Order of the Purple Heart; Air Force
Maj. Gen. Kimberly Siniscalchi, assistant Air
Force surgeon general; Jim Sims, commander of
the Military Order of the Purple Heart; Navy
Rear Adm. Cynthia Dullea, deputy commander of
the Navy Medicine National Capital Area; Army
Col. Victoria Ransom, deputy commander for
nursing at Fort Meade, Md.; and Gwendolyn
Gilliard, president of the Ladies Auxiliary of
the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Courtesy
photo |
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2009
– Army, Navy and Air Force nurses participated
yesterday in a wreath-laying ceremony at
Arlington National Cemetery’s Nurses Memorial to
honor their comrades who gave their lives in the
line of duty.
Members of the Military Order of the Purple
Heart laid a wreath at the memorial, which pays
homage to the dedication and sacrifice of
military nurses from all services and through
the ages.
Jim Sims, national commander of the veterans’
service organization, noted in his opening
comments that the annual event provides the
opportunity to salute not just nurses, but all
military medical personnel.
Sims paid tribute to “all of those who made it
possible for us to be nurtured back to health
and made it possible for us to come back home.”
He also lauded “nurses in field hospitals, on
field ships, or manning evacuation aircraft; the
hospital corpsmen and medics in the field,
taking care of wounds or injuries, or performing
lifesaving measures to get soldiers, Marines or
airmen back to duty or ready for evacuation; the
doctors who patched us up; the lab and X-ray
technicians and pharmacy personnel who helped
ensure diagnoses were complete and accurate.” |
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Air Force Maj. Gen. Kimberly A.
Siniscalchi, assistant Air Force surgeon general, urged
those at the ceremony to pause in a moment of
silence to remember the “sacrifice, dedication
and devotion” of military nurses. |
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“Nurses have had a lasting impact and presence in all
military conflicts, from the beginning of the American
Revolution through today, as we continue to serve our
warfighters,” she said. “We are valiantly performing in
combat operations, natural disasters and responding to
humanitarian calls. We are the nation’s health care
ambassadors across the globe.”
The Nurses Memorial is nestled on a hill in Arlington
National Cemetery’s Section 21, known as the “Nurse’s
Section.” A 10-foot-tall, white marble statue of a military
nurse looks out over rows of headstones that mark the final
resting place of Army, Navy and Air Force nurses.
Among them is Dr. Anita Newcomb McGree, who helped found the
Army Nurse Corps and became a leader in the movement to have
the monument built, then placed in Arlington. The statue was
unveiled at the cemetery in 1938.
The Military Order of the Purple Heart of the USA is a
congressionally chartered service organization formed in
1932 to represent servicemembers and veterans who have
received the Purple Heart medal after being wounded in
combat. | |
Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2009
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