This past Veteran’s Day, November 11, Okaloosa County unveiled Women Veterans Monuments, honoring women who have served and made significant contributions in the U.S. Military throughout history. The life-size, bronze monuments are arranged along a picturesque trail of the 17.5-acre Veterans’ Park on Okaloosa Island and have been sculpted in honor of women who sacrificed for our country as true patriots. Each represents a woman veteran who made a significant military contribution during one of many major conflicts throughout U.S. history, from the Revolutionary War to the War in Afghanistan.
Home to native wildlife and vegetation, the park is situated on the Choctawhatchee Bay coastline and pays homage to the military, which has played an integral role in forming our community. Second only to Washington, D.C., Florida is home to one of the largest populations of women veterans in the nation.
Honorees chosen by the Women Veterans Monument Advisory Committee and approved by the Board include the following:
Margaret Corbin – Revolutionary War, Army
Cathay Williams – Civil War, Army
Lenah Higbee – World War I, Navy
Jacqueline Cochran – World War II, Air Force Reserves
Jonita Ruth Bonham – Bovée, Korean War, Army Air Corps / Air Force
Sharon Ann Lane – Vietnam War, US Army Nurse Corps Reserve
Leigh Ann Hester – Persian Gulf War, Army National Guard
Naseema – War in Afghanistan, US Air Force
Like the men and women in uniform—past and present—the honored women veterans “kept their promise to bear any burden and endure any hardship for the cause of freedom,” said Air Force Colonel Allison Black, 24th SOW Vice Commander, Hurlbert Field, speaking during the Veterans Day ceremony. “The nation will be proud and residents along with guests will embrace the detail, quality and effort that has gone into honoring women who have given such dedication to our country,” said Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners Chairman Carolyn Ketchel.
When you visit, you arrive at a dedication plaza where a path encircles a flying U.S. flag, a POW-MIA flag, Florida and county flags. Military and Coast Guard flags fly from poles on the perimeter. The first statue you encounter is representative of Revolutionary War hero Margaret Corbin. In November of 1776, while defending Fort Washington in New York, her husband, a soldier in the Continental Army, was killed by a Hessian musket ball. With no time to grieve, she continued loading and firing a canon by herself.
The journey continues along the trail where visitors experience the seven additional women memorialized by statues chosen by the Women’s Veteran Memorial Advisory Committee, approved by the Board of County Commissioners and crafted by Sculptor Jon Hair, who hopes visitors will feel a connection with each of the heroes through his sculptures. The Memorial Park includes a dedication plaza, ADA sidewalks, parking, landscape with irrigation and the eight statues, funded entirely from Okaloosa County Tourism Development.
A Living Shoreline, funded by a RESTORE grant, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and matching funds from Tourism Development, will be constructed to protect 2,200 linear feet of shoreline by reducing the impact of wave energy and providing an oyster habitat, a seagrass recruitment area and a salt marsh shelf. There is a boardwalk planned along with an education component.
“Every one of us has a story,” said Col. Black. “And while we walk on the trail outside and remember these specific eight brave and selfless women, many more stories will come to light, and those stories will become inspiration for the next generation as they find their way in the world.” 1,400 women serve on active duty currently at Eglin Air Force Base in every role. Learn more about the honorees at myokaloosa.com/bcc/women-veterans-memorial.
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