MUSKEGON, Mich. — The first all women American Veterans post in the state opened in Muskegon on Saturday.
AMVETS Post 77 was activated and installed. Women veterans from all over Michigan and the country came to attend the event. The post was established with the help of a non-profit organization called WINC, Women Injured in Combat.
This is the second all women AMVETS post in the county. The first was established in California in 2015.
Tracie Walls, the Vice President of WINC said the new all women charter chapter is a historic step forward for women veterans.
"We are no longer being the invisible veteran," Walls said. "When they talk about the invisible veteran, they're talking about women vets. We serve, we fight, we cry, we bleed, we come home. And when they say veterans, they're not talking about women who look like me."
AMVETS represents 20 million veterans across the country with 250,000 members associated with posts.
"It was awesome," Walls said about Saturday's installation, "to actually be seen as being a veteran. I am her. I am the veteran."
Walls said the post means women veterans, like herself, are being recognized for their service.
"We have a purpose, we have a mission, we serve, and we continue to serve, and we have always served whether anybody looked at it or not. Now, we stand tall; we stand proud," she said.
Walls hopes that this post initiates more all women's chapters.
"We would love to have more women chapters pop up all across the nation," she said.
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