Remembering Women Vets on Memorial Day

In my mind, Memorial Day is an inherently pro-peace observance, since it's a day to reflect on the human costs of war.

As Women's eNews reports in its cover story this week, women represent an increasing percentage of war casualties and deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan:

Women make up almost 15 percent of all active duty U. S. military personnel.

Women are excluded by the Pentagon from front-line combat units, but improvised explosive devices, roadside bombs, and small arms fire have struck them and their vehicles from all sides.

U.S. military action in Iraq has caused 2,460 U.S. military fatalities, according to Friday figures on Iraq Coalition Casualties, which operates a Web site that posts lists derived from deaths reported by the Department of Defense.

That death toll includes 52 U.S. servicewomen who died in the Iraqi conflict, 34 by hostile fire. Seven more died as a result of operations in Afghanistan. One died on duty in Djibouti. These 60 deaths outnumber female fatalities in Korea, Viet Nam, and the first Iraq War combined.

The numbers of wounded women and female amputees, meanwhile, are considerably less than their male counterparts--at least 378 wounded versus 17,490; 11 amputees versus over 400--but they are historic for modern day warfare.

Also this week, former Wisconsinite and National Guard Specialist Katherine Jashinski was denied conscientious objector status. The Associated Press reports:

Jashinski was said to be the first female soldier to seek conscientious objector status in a stand against fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Army denied her application for a discharge and she was court-martialed for refusing to train with weapons. ...

She said in past interviews that her opposition to war developed during her first two years in the Guard, as she watched television and computer reports about the fighting in Afghanistan and then Iraq, met people from other parts of the world and did more reading in history and philosophy.

She said she now disagrees with war of any sort.

Jashinski received a dishonorable discharge and 120 days' imprisonment at Fort Benning, Georgia (home to the infamous School of the Americas / WHINSEC). Minus time already served and a sentence reduction for good behavior, she'll spend another 47 days behind bars -- which seems well worth her principled stand and the ability to avoid death, dismemberment, rape or other war trauma.

Note: Madison Women for Peace has a new meeting location -- Escape Coffeehouse at 916 Williamson Street. Meeting time (6:30 pm) and days (1st and 3rd Monday of the month) remain the same.