93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Legislation designating June 12 of each year as Women Veterans Appreciation Day has been filed by a mid-Missouri state lawmaker.
The issue is important to State Rep. David Tyson Smith (D-Columbia). He’s the bill sponsor.
“You know my grandmother was in the U.S. Navy. And I learned a lot about life from her. She was actually also a private pilot and so she was an amazing woman and so she always, I mean she had models of terrain from World War II. She was in World War II,” Smith says.
Representative Smith tells 939 the Eagle that his bill highlights the growing number of women in the U.S. Armed Forces and the National Guard, including his grandmother.
“She worked on bombers when they came in. And so she was an amazing woman and 50 years ahead of her time. And so, the bill basically says hey let’s appreciate women’s veterans. There’s been disparities sometimes in their recognition and so forth. So let’s celebrate them one day a year,” says Smith.
Smith’s one-page House Bill 212 designates June 12 of each year as Women Veterans Appreciation Day. Missouri’s 2023 legislative session begins Wednesday January 4 at high noon in Jefferson City.
