WOMEN TO BE HONORED; FOUNDATION SEARCHING FOR VETERANS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

When the Women in Military Service Memorial in Arlington, Va., is dedicated in October, Quartz Hill resident and veteran Jeanne Hampton will be among the thousands of honorees.

An Air Force veteran who served in the 1960s, Hampton is also making sure other female military veterans get their due recognition.

``I am very fond of people in the military, and women do not get the recognition, especially the World War II veterans. For every generation of women veterans, it makes it easier for the next generation,'' said Hampton, 52.

``This is something for women that has never been done in the history of anything. Ours is the first country to honor the women. I think it's really important, not just for me personally but for anyone who has served or who has had relatives (in the service) who are deceased.''

Hampton is among 1,700 field representatives worldwide of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation. They are searching for information about women who have served in the United States military from the Revolutionary War to the present.

The memorial, being built at the main entrance to the Arlington National Cemetery, will have a computer register featuring the photographs, service records and memorable stories of women in the military.

The foundation seeks to register 1.8 million U.S. women veterans and other women who have contributed to the nation's military efforts. So far, 200,000 have been registered.

Hampton, a dental assistant after she left military service, said she has helped register dozens of female veterans in the past five years. She has approached women who are total strangers to ask if they are veterans or know of any women who are or were.

``I just go about trying to get as many people as I can to sign up,'' Hampton said. ``It doesn't matter where I am - in line at a grocery store, at a hospital. I always ask people, do you have anyone in the military? I get very good reactions. Some don't know this exists. They say, `You know, my grandmother was.' ''

Hampton also has sought corporate donations for the memorial, and she plans to visit local posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion to publicize the memorial.

Hampton worked as a computer operator at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, while she was in the Air Force in 1963-64, but had to leave military service after she became pregnant. Hampton's husband retired from the Air Force after serving 28 years. He now works for Sverdrup Corp. at Phillips Laboratory.

Hampton's twin sister also served in the Air Force. The sisters' listings in the memorial's computer register will note they were the first female twins from El Paso to enlist in the Air Force.

Hampton said the memorial site also will feature a reflecting pool, an education center and a theater.

``I've been waiting for this for so long,'' Hampton said.

The memorial fund-raising effort includes sale of a commemorative silver dollar, the only coin ever issued by the United States to honor military women. To order a coin, contact the foundation at [phone].

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PHOTO (color) Jeanne Hampton holds a photo of herself when she was in the U.S. Air Force in the '60s.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News