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American Legion Post 204 is for female veterans

Every GI is not a Joe

Air Force veteran Elizabeth Bissett, public affairs officer and historian of American Legion Post 204 “Service Girls,” wants female veterans to consider joining the American Legion. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson

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American Legion Post 204 "Service Girls" is clearly not your father's American Legion.

Chartered in 1946, the post has been welcoming female veterans from all branches of the Armed Forces.

Although the American Legion has accepted women since its inception in 1919, some women veterans sought to form their own posts due to the attitudes of many male veterans.

One is Air Force veteran Elizabeth Bissett, the public affairs officer and historian for Post 204.

"I learned about the American Legion from my brother," she began.

When she explored the possibility of joining a post, she was told to talk to the wives of the male members, to consider joining the Auxiliary.

"I was offended, insulted and angry - my service was as valuable as any male veteran," Bissett said.  "I wasn't even asked if I was a veteran."

Not surprisingly, the woman who first underscored the service and pride of female soldiers was Doris Gross, a Navy veteran who in 1946 encouraged "former service women are interested in joining the American Legion are urged to join Post 204 which is a Service Girls' post. ... "

Service Girls?

"That is based in the World War II belief that ‘The best man for a job was a girl,'" continued Bissett.

"It is a connection with the past concerning the contributions women have made up until the present.  We too are veterans helping veterans," added Carrol Stripling, Post 204's commander.

By 1978, Gross was elected the first woman in Legion history to serve as Commander of the Washington State Department of the American Legion.  

"They didn't want a woman," Gross commented during a 1979 interview.  An early advocate for women serving in combat, she added, "In a war situation, on a battlefield, women could do it."

In 2013, then Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta directed the military to lift its ban on women serving in combat.   Full implementation of this directive will occur by the end of 2015.

"There is a common thread for us," continued Stripling.  

"We all have a common experience that we can all relate to, and women veterans can and do help all veterans."

Both Stripling and Bissett said that Post 204 is welcoming all female veterans, particularly those involved in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We can make their transition to civilian life a bit easier," said Bissett.

"We are proud to be veterans, and Post 204 gives us an opportunity to show it."

For more information on American Legion Post 204, contact Bissett at fleigen@hotmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/americanlegionpost204servicegirls.

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