Grand Marshal retired US Army General Ann Dunwoody, the first...

Grand Marshal retired US Army General Ann Dunwoody, the first female four-star general, marches with US Senator Charles Schumer during the annual Veterans Day Parade on Fifth Avenue. (Nov. 11, 2013) Credit: Getty Images

Newsday's Veterans Day editorial cartoon [Nov. 11] contains a big blooper and is a gross insult to any woman who served in the U.S. armed forces. The cartoon caption says, "Thank a real hero today," and the drawing depicts a superhero saying, "Gentlemen, thank you!" to four male soldiers, whose uniforms suggest they represent soldiers from the two world wars, the Vietnam War and modern Middle East conflicts.

Many women served in the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some were killed or injured, just like their male comrades.

The Veterans Day Parade in New York City, billed as the largest in the nation, was led by Gen. Ann Dunwoody, the nation's first female four-star general.

Further, it is well known that women served in the U.S. Navy as WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in World War II. The WAVES worked as aviation mechanics, control-tower operators and intelligence personnel to aid the war effort. There are also many female cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy and the Air Force Academy, colleges that produce some of the future elite leaders of our military.

Joyce W. Behr, Farmingdale
 

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