Vegas parade recognizes work of women veterans

Thursday, Nov. 11, 1999 | 12:34 p.m.

At the start of this century, women, for the most part, relied on men as warriors to defend them.

This morning, on the last Veterans Day of the 1900s, the women who have served as soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen were saluted in Las Vegas for their contributions to defending our nation.

"As the saying goes, we've come a long way, baby," said Mary Knapp, a World War II Marine veteran who in today's parade on Fourth Street was to ride in a motorcycle sidecar for the first time in her life.

For 15 years the former captain marched in the annual downtown event, but time has robbed her of the ability to walk such distances. Still, she could not pass up such a moment of recognition and thanks from the community.

"It's long overdue," she said. "We have always had to fight for our rights. And I think we have done quite well, especially in the military."

Pamela Robinson, an Air Force veteran of the Persian Gulf War whose father was a Vietnam Air Force veteran, said she admires women like Knapp who blazed a trail.

"I take pride in not only what my generation of women has done, but also what women have done in the military in Vietnam, Korea, World Wars I and II and before that," said Robinson, the first female co-chair in the 35-year-plus history of the Las Vegas Veterans Day Parade. "A lot of people don't know that a woman earned the Medal of Honor in the Civil War."

That woman was Dr. Mary Walker, a Union battlefield surgeon who was captured by the Confederacy and later was decorated with the nation's highest military honor by President Andrew Johnson.

Walker's citation reads that she, "faithfully served as contract surgeon in the service of the United States and has devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to sick and wounded soldiers ... to the detriment of her own health."

Walker's spirit lives on in medical personnel like Nancy Cormier, an Army nurse who during the Vietnam War treated wounded soldiers when they returned stateside.

"We had to treat not only their physical wounds, but also their psychological injuries and their spiritual needs," said Cormier, who served as co-grand marshal of this year's parade with Navy veteran Judy Cossneer, widow of Joel Cossneer, who for many years was co-chairman of the local Veterans Day parade.

"It's such a great honor, especially for a farm girl from Indiana who just wanted to help defend her country," said Cormier, the first woman commander of American Legion Post 8 and the wife of Vietnam veteran Chuck Cormier.

Robinson, the Veterans of Foreign Wars women's advocate, served as a radio operator and flight engineer during the Persian Gulf War, flying missions over combat zones. She believes future generations of women military personnel will get even closer to the fighting.

"I believe that there is a role for women in combat, if they are capable of it," said Robinson, who served 11 years. "When I went to flight engineer school there was a high washout rate. I told them don't put me in the seat unless I deserve it."

The Pentagon changed its rules in 1993 to allow women to take combat-related jobs except for ground combat.

Robinson is scheduled next year to take over the chore of directing the more than 1,500 participants in the parade. That assignment today was handled by longtime parade co-chairman Bob Bergsten.

Robinson, who had two brothers who served in the Navy and a stepbrother in the Marine Corps, said while the recognition of her community is important to her, the recognition she received from her father, Edgar "Hondo" Robinson, at a VFW meeting in Holland, Mich., three years ago, holds a special place in her heart.

"After the men introduced their sons at the VFW meeting, my dad, who was a past commander of the post, stood up and said such wonderful things about me I almost cried," Robinson said.

"All I ever wanted was to serve my country and do my job to the best of my abilities. It shouldn't matter if you are a man or a woman. I'm just a veteran."