HONORING THOSE WHO SERVED; WOMEN VETERANS URGED TO ANSWER CALL FOR MEMORIAL.Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer As she watched her fellow Americans ship off to fight in World War II, Nikki Campbell-Smith, a college junior in 1942, often anguished over the possibility that no family members would end up serving their country. Campbell-Smith's older brother suffered from polio polio: see poliomyelitis. , making enlistment out of the question. The Encino resident's younger brother Wiki is aware of the following uses of "'Younger Brother":
So with just one year to go at the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission , Campbell-Smith left school and joined the Navy, which sent her to a military hospital in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. to treat sailors injured in the Pacific. ``I just felt it was up to me,'' said Campbell-Smith, now 78. ``My family needed to be represented. It was a very patriotic thing to do.'' Campbell-Smith, along with the nearly 2 million other women who have served or are now serving in the armed forces, will be honored by the first major memorial for women veterans under construction near Washington, D.C. The former pharmacist's mate second class, who is a representative for the Women in Military Service For America Memorial The Women in Military Service for America Memorial is located at the Ceremonial Entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and honors all women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. , has spent the past year tracking down women veterans so they can be included on a special registry. ``So many women died and this is the most glorious way I know to honor those who have died,'' said Campbell-Smith, who served between 1942 and 1944. Only about 14,346 women veterans of an estimated 151,000 in California have given their names for a computer registry that will display information on the servicewomen at the $21.5 million memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery, 420 acres (170 hectares), N Va., across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.; est. 1864. More than 60,000 American war dead, as well as notables including Presidents William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy, Gen. John J. . Campbell-Smith and others are currently calling on all women veterans to come forward and be recognized before the memorial, with its terraces, education center and reflecting pools, is dedicated Oct. 18. ``They went into (the services) giving their lives just like the men did,'' said Clairbell Charles, a 75-year-old Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. resident and memorial booster, who is not a veteran. ``A lot of them were killed and I think it is very important that women are honored just as men are for protecting our country.'' Charles estimates that she has put more than 100 women veterans in touch with memorial representatives by attending veterans organization meetings, getting the word out in the community and contacting old friends. ``Each and every one of these women is a part of our history,'' she said. The makeup of the nation's military has changed dramatically since the early part of this century with 90 percent of all career fields in the armed forces now open to women. Designed by a team of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of architects, the curved, granite memorial serves to commemorate the role of women in national defense and will also feature scores of exhibits and archives in a 33,000-square-foot underground space. Sarah Davis, who was stationed near the Arlington National Cemetery while serving in the Marines during World War II, said she feels proud that the memorial is being built to honor women in the armed forces. ``It is nice to have the recognition,'' said the 74-year-old Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe Springs, city (1990 pop. 15,520), Los Angeles co., SW Calif., inc. 1957. The city lies in an oil and natural gas region and has diversified manufacturing. resident, who worked in an office that issued checks for the families of Marines. For more information on the women's memorial, call 1-800-4-SALUTE. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: World War II veteran Nikki Campbell-Smith is trying to track down other women vets so they can be included in a new memorial. David Sprague/Daily News |
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