While much has been said about Black History Month in February, still more needs coverage in these blogs, but will have to wait awhile. So many stories regarding March have also fallen by the wayside. International Women's Day of the 8th, the entire month being Women's History Month in the US, and the 25th being Medal of Honor Day in the US, all got no attention in this space. Much to my shagrin!
Back in 1992 the Canadian government announced that from then on that October would be celebrated as Women's History Month in Canada.
The month chosen was due to the fact that back in 1929 the "Famous Five" women from Alberta finally won a years long battle with several Canadian Prime Ministers and the courts for the nomination of women, and appointment to the Canadian Senate.
The men of the day of course rejected the idea. Mostly basing their position on a very old English law that put the women in circles and had the men of the day forming protective lines around them from the natives.
Add to that, the very dated British case claiming that only PERSONS could not be nominated due to outdated case law arguing that women were NOT PERSONS.
The 1929 case was heard and a decision issued in late October that indeed women certainly were PERSONS. And thus, could be appointed to the Senate.
In 1992 Canadian government announced the creation of Women's History Month in Canada. 1992 being the 50th anniversary of the original British court ruling.
However, in typical government speak, the press release announcing the new month of celebration, failed to give the names of the three Victoria area women largely responsible for the movement. The three originals and later a few others, spent over 2 years organizing and presented letters of support to pressure government for the creation of such a month.
Surely the very women... if any ... that deserved to be recognized for their efforts to get the month created. The matter has been oft noted in this space.
The above image was one of the federal notices regarding the Canadian month for the year 2021.
Several days ago I thought I would do a mini survey of some of the women I have covered in these blogs. In particular I was looking for stories about Madeleine Jaffray, Bernice MacDonald and Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee.
I searched under the description... Womens' History Month in US, and then added the above 3 names, one at a time. Out of 30 citations on first page in each search, I got 27 hits for Higbee, only 2 hits for Jaffray and none for MacDonald. I could have used other parameters to search, but these three are indicative of the poor coverage these heroes received, in this search. This is of course not to say that overall the three are not well represented in other searches.
The month chosen was due to the fact that back in 1929 the "Famous Five" women from Alberta finally won a years long battle with several Canadian Prime Ministers and the courts for the nomination of women, and appointment to the Canadian Senate.
The men of the day of course rejected the idea. Mostly basing their position on a very old English law that put the women in circles and had the men of the day forming protective lines around them from the natives.
Add to that, the very dated British case claiming that only PERSONS could not be nominated due to outdated case law arguing that women were NOT PERSONS.
The 1929 case was heard and a decision issued in late October that indeed women certainly were PERSONS. And thus, could be appointed to the Senate.
In 1992 Canadian government announced the creation of Women's History Month in Canada. 1992 being the 50th anniversary of the original British court ruling.
However, in typical government speak, the press release announcing the new month of celebration, failed to give the names of the three Victoria area women largely responsible for the movement. The three originals and later a few others, spent over 2 years organizing and presented letters of support to pressure government for the creation of such a month.
Surely the very women... if any ... that deserved to be recognized for their efforts to get the month created. The matter has been oft noted in this space.
The above image was one of the federal notices regarding the Canadian month for the year 2021.
Several days ago I thought I would do a mini survey of some of the women I have covered in these blogs. In particular I was looking for stories about Madeleine Jaffray, Bernice MacDonald and Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee.
I searched under the description... Womens' History Month in US, and then added the above 3 names, one at a time. Out of 30 citations on first page in each search, I got 27 hits for Higbee, only 2 hits for Jaffray and none for MacDonald. I could have used other parameters to search, but these three are indicative of the poor coverage these heroes received, in this search. This is of course not to say that overall the three are not well represented in other searches.
At the first call for nurses in the US Navy, back in 1908, only 20 were chosen. They became known as the Sacred Twenty." (Those 20 have grown to over 4,000 today.) The arrow points to Lenah Sutcliffe, who later in her service married a US Army Lieutenant Colonel by the name of Higbee.
Lenah would ultimately become the 2nd ever Superintendent of all nurses in the US Navy. Obviously she was well qualified to be weeded out of the many applicants to be amongst the first 20. Many years later, after her demise she was laid to rest beside her husband at Arlington.
Lenah is shown above by the red arrow. Sarah M Cox, circled above, ended up as the Chief Nurse at the US Navy Hospital at Bremerton Washington. News to me days ago, is that Cox came from near Grand Lake NB. About 175 kms away, at Chatham NB, is where Higbee was born.
Two Canadians in the Sacred Twenty!
Lenah would ultimately become the 2nd ever Superintendent of all nurses in the US Navy. Obviously she was well qualified to be weeded out of the many applicants to be amongst the first 20. Many years later, after her demise she was laid to rest beside her husband at Arlington.
Lenah is shown above by the red arrow. Sarah M Cox, circled above, ended up as the Chief Nurse at the US Navy Hospital at Bremerton Washington. News to me days ago, is that Cox came from near Grand Lake NB. About 175 kms away, at Chatham NB, is where Higbee was born.
Two Canadians in the Sacred Twenty!
During the horrible 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic that caused millions of lives around the world, the US was no exception. For their service in that disaster four nurses would be awarded the Navy Cross. A bravery medal only one down from the Navy's Medal of Honor.
Three of the four died and got the medal posthumously.The fourth was Lehna Higbee. Apparently the medal has not been awarded to any other US naval woman to this day. And one of the three went to yet another Canadian... nurse Lilian Mary Louis Murphy from St Catherines Ontario. Here is an image of the Naval Cross...
Three of the four died and got the medal posthumously.The fourth was Lehna Higbee. Apparently the medal has not been awarded to any other US naval woman to this day. And one of the three went to yet another Canadian... nurse Lilian Mary Louis Murphy from St Catherines Ontario. Here is an image of the Naval Cross...
And here we see Lenah Higbee hard at work...
And is that Abraham Lincoln watching her at work???
In 1944 the US launched the battleship USS Higbee, shown above. After its most successful career she was replaced recently with the USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, made by the folks at Huntington Ingalls. The same ship yard that made the latest US Coastguard cutter, the USCG Munro, one of at least six vessels named in Munro's honor. You have often read about him here in the past. He was a Medal of Honor recipient, and in fact the only one in the coast guard's history, and he also was a Canadian, from the Vancouver area of B.C.
Recently a 2nd war ship was released and named in her honor and known as ...the USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee.
Here are the patches of the first and second warships. And below is an image of the army version of the Medal of Honor. Higbee's Naval Cross was, as above noted, was just one down in the hierarchy of bravery medals in the US.
This is Jacob Parrott's Medal of Honor, earned for his bravery during the April 1862 famous Great Locomotive Chase, noted several times here in earlier blogs. While claimed to be the first, by date of action, others physically came into possession of their medals long before Jacob finally got his.
The above noted survey on Google, produced no hits on a Woman who was probably the most decorated nurse in WW1 from any country. Her name was Bernice MacDonald and she was from PEI. There has been much said about her in these blog in the past.
She was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, 2nd only to the Medal of Honor in the army, possible got the Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart, the British Military Medal, the British Associate Red Cross Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.
The above noted survey on Google, produced no hits on a Woman who was probably the most decorated nurse in WW1 from any country. Her name was Bernice MacDonald and she was from PEI. There has been much said about her in these blog in the past.
She was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, 2nd only to the Medal of Honor in the army, possible got the Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart, the British Military Medal, the British Associate Red Cross Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.
The above images show the DSC, 2 hand sewn Badges of Merit, and today's Purple Heart.
Nurse MacDonald was the first ever to receives the Distinguished Service Cross, either male of female. A past blog told on the confusion officialdom had in granting this award. The legal verbiage called for the medal being awarded to men...not woman..and had to be altered to allow this first ever medal to be awarded... and to a Canadian at that.
Earlier blogs also told of how the Purple Heart was created and when first issued, and despite numerous citations on the net, the first ever awarding of the PH did NOT go to General MacArthur... but to Canadian nurse Beatrice MacDonald.
And here we see Secretary of War Baker pinning the DSC onto the uniform of Nurse MacDonald in Feb. 1919. The ceremony took place at the War Offices in DC.
Nurse MacDonald was the first ever to receives the Distinguished Service Cross, either male of female. A past blog told on the confusion officialdom had in granting this award. The legal verbiage called for the medal being awarded to men...not woman..and had to be altered to allow this first ever medal to be awarded... and to a Canadian at that.
Earlier blogs also told of how the Purple Heart was created and when first issued, and despite numerous citations on the net, the first ever awarding of the PH did NOT go to General MacArthur... but to Canadian nurse Beatrice MacDonald.
And here we see Secretary of War Baker pinning the DSC onto the uniform of Nurse MacDonald in Feb. 1919. The ceremony took place at the War Offices in DC.
Bernice MacDonald would be one of 26 woman earning the DSC in the Great War. At the same time over 6300 went to men. The war saw over 5 million men enlist. It also saw a few women enlist. Over 9 Million of them.
I shall be back with more on Sunday hopefully.
In the mean time make use of my search engine at upper right and enter some of these names and read about their incredible services to the US. A service that in turn is due an honourable place in our own history books to boot. (Though much needs to be done on that front as well.)
Bart.
I shall be back with more on Sunday hopefully.
In the mean time make use of my search engine at upper right and enter some of these names and read about their incredible services to the US. A service that in turn is due an honourable place in our own history books to boot. (Though much needs to be done on that front as well.)
Bart.
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