Celebrating Women in the Military at Southern W.Va. Veterans Conference

There are 2 million women veterans in the United States and more than 10,000 in West Virginia.

About 50 people gathered in Logan County last Friday to honor them. The event, hosted at Chief Logan State Park lodge, focused on helping improve access to health care and support for female veterans across the United States and in Appalachia.

About 20 female veterans were at the event, including Regina Lindsay-Diggs, a veteran who served 23 years in the Army and Army Reserves. “The women were always put on the backburner, and the men were always in the front. Women have done just as much as men have.”

Diggs traveled from Grayson, Kentucky to be at this event. She said she doesn’t think that women get as much support or recognition as male veterans, but she does see that changing.

The event was organized by two veterans, Wayne McDonald and Donna Decker. Both are also serving in AmeriCorps programs in Logan County to help their fellow veterans. Several organizations stepped in to help put on this one-day conference, Decker said. “As a female combat veteran, my concern is that we don’t meet women veterans every day. So what are their needs, what’s going on with them? We would like them to contact us, just so we can keep in contact. See what their needs are. See how we can meet those needs.”