Women veterans group seeks participants for parade
Organization formed in January
Jerry Brunton attended last year’s Veterans Day Parade in Morehead City and noticed something.
"Where are all the women?" she said.
That one simple question led a band of three women to form the Women Veterans of Coastal North Carolina, and they want to make sure that women are part of the parade this year.
The Carteret County Veterans Day Parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 5 in Morehead City.
"We formed this group to be visible in the community," said Brunton, a Navy veteran. "We’ve kind of been on the sidelines."
The organization officially formed in January and has grown to 28 members. Brunton said women veterans don’t have to be members of the group to participate in the parade.
"If there are women veterans out there and even active-duty, we want them there to be with us," Brunton said of the parade.
She said anyone interested in participating in the parade can contact her at 247-6994 or Tana Maxwell, the organization’s historian, at 393-3964, or email womenveteransofcnc2@gmail.com. Confirmation of participation in the parade is required by Wednesday to plan for the space in the parade.
She said she hopes to have an all-woman color guard lead the group during the parade.
Brunton said the fledgling group is ready to spread its wings at the parade after 10 months of organization and growth.
"We’ve gotten our feet wet and now we’re ready to go," she said.
She said the organization provides an opportunity for women to tell their stories.
"We want to bring women together and share some stories," she said. "And, they’ve got some great stories."
She said some women veterans have been reluctant to share their stories because they feel their contributions have been minor.
"They all have stories and the world needs to know them," Brunton said. "And women need to hear it."
One such story is that of Betty Peterson, who was in the Navy during World War II. She served at a base in Miami and said her presence and the presence of other women allowed men who would have normally been stationed at the base to serve on ships at sea.
"Serving in the Navy was the farthest thing from my mind, but everyone was doing something to help the war, and I wanted to do my part, too," said Peterson, the vice president of the Women Veterans of Coastal North Carolina.
Peterson said another goal of the organization is to make sure that women veterans understand their benefits.
"Some of them don’t know they have any rights as veterans," Peterson said. "We want to help them where we can."
All women who served in the military are eligible to join the group. Currently, meetings take place at 10 a.m. on the second Monday of the month at the Ekklesia II upstairs meeting room, across from Morehead Middle School, at 405 Barbour Road, in Morehead City.
More information on the group is also available at the Women Veterans of Coastal North Carolina Facebook page.
