Okaloosa Names June 12th Women Veterans Day

Christopher Saul

Mid Bay News

USO: More than 300,000 women have served in US Armed Forces

Okaloosa County will have a special day set aside – Sunday, June 12th, 2022 for Women Veterans.

The Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution that encourages residents to honor women veterans in our area.

It shouldn’t be too hard to find a woman veteran in our area: Okaloosa County has 6,527 female veterans – 4% of Florida’s total woman veteran population.

A total of 1.5 million veterans live in Florida. About 162,000 of those veterans are women.

“Woman Veterans Day in Florida is an opportunity for the citizens of Okaloosa County, the State of Florida and Americans to recognize the caliber of character and courage of all women who have served, and continue to answer, the call to serve in defense of the freedoms and values our nation holds dear,” the resolution said.

The resolution was brought in front of the Okaloosa County Commission by Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel.

Women Honored in Women Veterans Memorial Walk

There are eight women honored in the Women Veterans Memorial on Okaloosa Island.

They are

Margaret Corbin | Army – Revolutionary War
Cathay Williams | Army – Civil War
Lenah Higbee | Navy – World War I
Jacqueline Cochran | Air Force – World War II
Jonita Ruth Bonham-Bovée | Air Force – Korea
Sharon Lane – US Army Nurse Corps Reserve – Vietnam
Leigh Ann Hester |Army National Guard – Persian Gulf War
Naseema | Air Force – Afghanistan

Interestingly, the only woman to ever receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, is not among the individuals immortalized in bronze on the sands of Okaloosa Island. The eight women who were chosen were selected by a committee made up of female military veterans and other locals to Okaloosa County.