MILITARY WOMEN RECEIVE SPECIAL RECOGNITION.

Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer

Dressed predominantly in reds, whites and blues, hundreds of patriots gathered at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Hollywood Hills Thursday to honor and remember American veterans who served from Valley Forge to Kosovo.

And while the 40th annual Veterans Day ceremony recognized the country's soldiers, sailors, Marines and Air Force pilots who defended liberty at all costs, it was the thousands of women veterans who earned a special salute.

``Because of the valor women have shown, our children now are learning that mothers can be heroes too,'' said Sheryl Schmidt, the deputy secretary for Women Veteran Affairs in Sacramento.

Schmidt, a former Air Force staff sergeant who repaired ground radio equipment during the Vietnam era, said the legacy left behind by pioneering women veterans helped strengthen the country and secure its freedom.

One of those women was Capt. Lillian Keil, a registered nurse in the Air Force.

The West Covina resident flew more than 250 air evacuations during World War II and made 25 transatlantic crossings, treating wounded pilots returning from combat missions, said KTLA newscaster Stan Chambers, a fellow veteran and master of the day's ceremonies.

Keil, who has said she put herself in harm's way many times but has no regrets because she is part of history, laid a wreath at the memorial park's Court of Liberty on Thursday in memory of fallen veterans.

With their eyes tearing throughout the ceremony, Burbank residents Dorothy Turner, 72, and Joan Rinard, 75, called themselves ``flag wavers.''

The longtime friends, dressed in red, white and blue, attended the event to honor their husbands, who served in the Navy and Air Force during World War II. Both men are dead. Rinard and Turner talked about how much the military has changed.

``You could go for months without knowing where your husband was or if he was all right. When he sent letters, they came with paragraphs blacked out,'' Rinard said.

Today, women, who were not even ranked then, can fly combat missions and are involved in virtually every aspect of the military.

``That's the way it should be,'' Turner said.

Hollywood resident Sylvia Steinberg, 80, went out of her way to shake Schmidt's hand. Steinberg served in the Women's Army Corps from 1943 to 1946 and said she's glad that divisions such as Women Veteran Affairs ensure female veterans get the recognition they deserve.

``We're the ones. If it wasn't for us, (younger women veterans) wouldn't be here,'' she said.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) The Notre Dame band marching band stands at attention as a squadron of planes flies.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(2) U.S. Air Force Capt. Lillian K. Keil, right, salutes the American flag during the Veterans Day ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Hollywood Hills. Keil flew more than 250 air evacuations during World War II and made 25 transatlantic crossings, treating wounded pilots returning from combat missions.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer