Ground broken for new life-sized memorial honoring women veterans’ service dating back to the Civil War.
Ohio Legionnaire Melanie Veal didn’t feel like she and other women veterans received the respect they’d earned when she left the U.S. Air Force in 1985. But she feels like respect has been more freely given as more and more women serve in the U.S. military.
And on Veterans Day in Eden Park just outside of downtown Cincinnati, Veal witnessed what she feels is an even bigger step in that director.
Veal, commander of Greater Cincinnati Women's American Legion Post 644, joined other members of her post for a Veterans Day ceremony that included a groundbreaking for a new women veterans memorial adjacent to the current marker honoring women’s military service. The current marker was installed in the park in 1985 by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Ohio (NSCDA-OH), which is the organization behind the new memorial.
“I think that (respect) is happening more and in a lot of different ways,” said Veal, who joined other members of Post 644 in posting the flags of every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces during the ceremony. “This is one of those ways. I think it has gotten better and will continue to do so, especially with occurring today. I think this is important for women veterans everywhere, not just in the Cincinnati area, that we have something that honors our service to our country.”
Veal said her post also is working to change the view of women veterans. “We are the only female Legion post in the state of Ohio,” she said. “We do what we can to get that recognition they deserve. For us, we are still serving.”
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Eden Park already is one of Cincinnati’s most popular parks, serving as the home to the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and the Krohn Conservatory. The new memorial, titled “Held in Service,” will feature life-sized sculptures of a female service member from the Civil War, member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, a World War I nurse and a contemporary combat veteran. It is scheduled to be erected in time for a planned unveiling on National Women Veterans Recognition Day on June 12, 2027.
Toledo-based artist Austen Brantley designed the memorial and spoke at Wednesday’s event. “When I began developing this sculpture, I thought about the generations of women who have served our country and how to bring their experiences into a shared moment,” he said. “I wanted to create a composition where we could recognize each woman individually, and also feel a connection between them.
“Visitors will be able to approach these figures and move around them. My hope is that those encounters create opportunities for recognition and conversation. A veteran might recognize something from her own experience. A family might remember a mother, a grandmother, a sister or a daughter. A child might ask who these women are or were. And that question might begin a deeper understanding of our history.”
NSCDA-Ohio Second Vice President Kathryn Dierckes praised those in attendance at the ceremony. “The underlying commonality is your service,” she said. “You answered the call of your nation to sacrifice, to dedicate to serve. You chose to be a part of something larger than yourself. It’s true of those who serve in the conflicts today, but also across the generations and eras before us. And today, we say thank you.”
Dierckes then spoke specifically about those who will be honored by the new memorial. “Throughout our nation’s history, women have answered the call to serve in countless ways,” she said. “From the founding of our nation to the present day, they have contributed their skill, courage, ingenuity and sacrifice in times of war and peace. Their service has taken many forms, but much has not been formally recognized or afforded the same standing as male counterparts.
“Yet their contributions to our nation’s history are undeniable. And their service deserved to be remembered and honored.”
The program’s keynote speaker was Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich, who served eight years in the U.S. Air Force. She shared a history of women serving in the U.S. military dating back to the Revolutionary War.
She shared that when she was in the Air Force from 1983 to 1991, leaving as a captain, she repeatedly heard, “Women can’t handle it. I heard that all the time when I was in ROTC. I heard it on active duty. But for 250 years, women have handled it. Women broke through the barriers and established themselves as capable servicemembers.”
- Veterans Day