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Show Hilltop 4 HILLTOP TIMES S April 18, 2013 Review: RDT performances an emotional ride in benefit for Utah memorial BY MARY LOU GORNY Hilltop Times editor T hink PT is tough? Well, the dancers at the Repertory Dance Theater put it all out there on the stage April 11 as they performed in "Women of Valor ... In the Spirit of Service." If you think a lot is required in your fitness program, these dancers showed momentum, strength and agility as their bodies moved in choreographed juxtaposition across the stage. The event was a fundraiser for the Women's Memorial at Fort Douglas. Two more performances followed April 12-13. The avant-garde music of the first two performance pieces included sounds similar to breaking glass, as if to shake up stereotypes. It also included the sounds of machinery, and then the evening's performances made way for more traditional repertory music. Dancers shined in those main performance pieces, as moving and shifting images, portraying the dichotomy of a divided East and West Berlin, the healing support of women and the resilience of the human spirit in this case set to the background music of "Bolero." Actors narrated interspersing vignettes including one of Madge Lamping Cahill, a major backer and contributor to the first piece of sculpture meant to reside in the Utah Women's Memorial at the Fort Douglas History Museum grounds. The cast bronze sculpture, displayed in the lobby of the Rose WOMEN From page 1 so as nurses taking care of the injured and dying. "These weren't trained nurses like we have today," said Vaught. "They were just women who cared and who learned as they went and did a marvelous job taking care of people through the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the wars in between, through the Spanish-American War." During the Progressive Era, in 1901, the Army Nurses Corps was established. "Now those women came in in a different system than the men," said Vaught. "First of all they were not permitted to be married. They were not given any rank. The reason why was there were male members of Congress who didn't think they ought to order men around," she explained. If the women got married, they were immediately discharged. And there was no retirement plan. In World War I, it was proposed that women join the Army to free up men from administrative duties so they could contribute more to the war effort. These women did receive an enlisted rank, but the nurses did not. "Now when you think about this these women were serving. They raised their right hand and swore to defend the country against all enemies, foreign and domestic, but they could not vote," said Vaught. At the dedication for the Women's Memorial in Washington, D.C., one of the invited guests was a woman from that era. At 101 years of age, she came from California to attend, and in her speech she said, "When I served in the military women couldn't vote." Vaught reports, "You know she sounded like she was still irritated about that." As the Suffrage Movement advanced so did women's rights in the military. War nurses finally received rank in 1925. When World War II broke out women were needed for service in the military in a variety of posts. However, this type of service was only to last until the end of the war plus six months, with no provision for a career in the military to follow. At the end of the war, 216,000 women were serving 4 about 2.2 percent, cornpared to 9.8 million men. They piloted aircraft, served as cryptologists, worked in intelligence, served in control towers and in the motor pool. "What they did was prove there was a place for women in the military," said Vaught. "Without that most of the women serving today could not have served," she said. During the Korean and Vietnam Wars, some women served in Okinawa, Japan, and in Guam, but if they were in Korea or Vietnam they were likely serving as nurses. Vaught said that when she joined the Air Force in 1957, that women still couldn't fly or go to sea in ships. If a woman became pregnant she was discharged from service. And if she married a man who was not in the military he could not receive an ID card, or benefits so he couldn't go to the Commissary. Sharon Frontiero, an Air Force physical therapist sued over the lack of benefits for her husband, upon the advice that she would win. She lost. But the American Civil Liberty Union ALEX R. LLOYD/U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Wilma Vaught speaks at the Hill Aerospace Museum on April 11. took up the case and argued it before the Supreme Court. In May 1973 the Supreme Court ruled that women could get the same benefits as men. More than just women in the military benefitted from that ruling. And the lawyer in that case, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has since remarked to the general on numerous occasions that that was one of the most satisfying accomplishments of her life. Ginsburg now sits as a judge on the Supreme Court. "Did Frontiero do it because she wanted something great for women?" said Vaught. "No, she did it because she needed money." By the time the ruling came down she was no longer in the service and she had divorced her husband. With the advent of the effort to pass the Equal Rights Amendment other cases were pursued. Now women can enter service academies, and can be assigned to aircraft, submarines and war ships. Previously women could not be admirals or generals and at the time Vaught was serving there could only be nine total for all the services for colonels and generals who were women. Women can now be involved in combat. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan helped abolish that because the nature of warfare changed. Anyplace you served could now be part of the battlefield. When Vaught went to basic training she was taught charm school things: how to put on make-up, how to sit gracefully in a chair, and to sit on stage. "I talked to a lot of women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let me tell you it is not easy. It's very difficult. They are proud of what they are doing. If we could get rid of the sexual assaults and the cases of sexual harassment we would be making a major step to get rid of the problem," she continued. "Serving in the military as a woman is the only career field that was created by law that the barriers were primarily removed by lawsuits," she added. "That continues to some extent today." She urged members of the audience to visit the memorial in Washington, and to help register all women who served to get them honored at the memorial. She closed with a quote from a woman who had recently retired from service after 24 years: "There was no one thing I would single out. It was an experience of learning, powerful and with pride in serving my country. It was caring friends, sharing our laughter and sometimes cheers, that would cover our tears. It was travel to places that I would only otherwise have dreamed about. And it was a grand opportunity to be a significant part to something of need. Nothing can compare to the quietness within as we stand at retreat or with the generations in review to the "Souza March." The burst of love in serving our country can never be rationally explained, only felt. If you haven't been there you may not understand. But we were there." Wagner Center, depicts a revolutionary era nurse looking down at a woman dressed in flak jacket, uniform and boots. Cahill's experiences as a WAC were delivered by Betsy West with the humor and characteristic spunk of the 90-year-old woman, seated in the audience. One standout performance must be mentioned which displayed the tenacious drive of a female mechanic. The piece was inspired by an interview with veteran Army Staff Sgt. Regina L. Hewitt. Toni Lugo performed the piece, dancing and speaking at the same time, never getting out of breath, delivering her lines in rhythm to her own movements on stage. Lynne Wimmer, collaborated on the piece, as choreographer. A vignette portraying portions of a speech delivered by Ruth Stonesifer, the national president of Gold Star Mothers, brought several sniffles from the audience and brought home the impact of those who have lost sons and daughters in the service of their country. Anne Cullimore Decker performed that narration. Conflict and the corresponding need to support and heal the effects of conflict were thematic chords throughout the first two leading performance pieces and then served as the foundation for the following pieces on healing and the fluidity and spirit of resilience. The dancers gave powerful performances and those peaceful moments in the third piece, "Commonplace," and the last piece, "Bolero," were a relief. Anyone with sensitivity to loud noise or portrayals of the effects of conflict would have found powerful resonance with the beginning of the presentation. The portrayals wove threads of many colors, moods and directions to weave a compelling portrait of the women who have contributed in many ways to the military, directly and indirectly, what it cost and how it changed their lives. The Repertory Dance Theater is under the direction of Linda C. Smith. MARY LOU GORNY/Hilltop Times Jerime Hooley, sculptor, stands next to the figures he designed and cast which will stand at the Fort Douglas History Museum as a memorial to Utah women in the service of their country. The sculpture was on display in the lobby of the Rose Wagner Center at a performance by Repertory Dance Theater. The sculptures depict a Revolutionary era nurse and a woman in flak jacket, uniform and combat boots. The first performance on April 11 was a benefit for the Utah Women's Memorial at the Fort Douglas Museum. " Hill AFB Job Openings Site Internal civilian announcements are posted on the USAJOBS web site. Announcements for bargaining unit positions are posted any week day. The website is www.usajobs.gov . On the home page type "HILL" in the box titled "What". In the box titled "Where" type "UT" and hit the Search Jobs button. To view all vacancies that are currently open, under "Refine Your Results", top left hand section, select the "Jobs for Federal Employees" bubble. Now in CHUM ONYBURGERS AN D UTA VAN POOL INFO 1917 W 1800 N Clinton Next to Wal-Mart 801-82S-6544 633 E 400 S SLC (Next to Zupas) 801-419-0531 U TA https://www2.hill.af.milftss/carpoolphp so% off ANY Burger or Salad! Not good with other coupons or military discount Code Hilltop Get some some Green this Spring! 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