March is Women’s History Month, and the Morrow County Veteran Service Office and Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs are inviting the public to a two-day Eastern Oregon celebration of women in military service.
“She Also Served” is a celebration which aims to raise awareness and increase the dialogue surrounding women veterans. The event is free to the public and will include a gallery exhibition, dinner reception and private screening of the documentary “Lioness” at the SAGE Center in Boardman.
The “I Am Not Invisible” gallery exhibition features 20 portraits of Oregon women military veterans. The project is the brainchild of PSU Veterans Resource Center director Felita Singleton, and ODVA Women Veterans coordinator Elizabeth Estabrooks, who also curated the exhibition. The debut of the exhibition was Feb. 24 at the Portland Art Museum. The exhibition will begin a traveling campaign by appearing at the SAGE Center, where it will be on display Friday, March 23 at 12 p.m. through 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 24.
In addition to the gallery exhibition, Saturday will include a private screening of the documentary “Lioness” at 11 a.m. “Lioness” tells the story of a group of female Army support soldiers who were part of the first program in American history to send women into direct ground combat. Told through intimate accounts, journal excerpts, archival footage, as well as interviews with military commanders, the film follows five Lioness women who served together for a year in Iraq.
The SAGE Center is located at 101 Olson Road. For more information about the event, contact Linda with MCVSO at 541-922-6420 or via email at mcvets@co.morrow.or.us, or Elizabeth with ODVA at 503-373-2188. The event schedule is available online.
