Ginny Narsete figures she has thousands of “sisters” in Illinois.
Narsete, 60, lives in Lisle and served in the U.S. Air Force for 30 years. She said that she considers all military women, both active duty and veterans, as her sisters in arms.
“Women bond in the military like sisters,” she said. “It’s all we had.”
Narsete formed an organization called Operation HerStory in 2019 as a way to bring female veterans together for an Oct. 6 Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. The flight marked the first Illinois all-female trip and included 93 women from all branches of the military, including a 104-year-old veteran.
On Oct. 23, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider met with a handful of the veterans from his 10th District in Highland Park to congratulate them on the flight and give them copies of a tribute he recently read into the Congressional Record.
“People didn’t fully appreciate or fully credit what the servicewomen did in times of war or in times of peace,” Schneider said. “That’s starting to change. That’s why Operation HerStory is so important.”
“Each one of these patriotic women answered the call to serve their country at a time when women in the military were often targeted, harassed and discriminated against,” the tribute reads. “For many female veterans, this Honor Flight was the first time that anyone formally thanked them for their service.”
The Honor Flight Network is a national organization that honors veterans with an all-expenses paid trip to Washington to visit the memorials dedicated to “honoring those who served and sacrificed for our country,” according to the Honor Flight Network’s website.
Participation in an Honor Flight trip gives veterans the chance to “share this momentous trip with other veterans, to remember friends and comrades lost, and share their stories and experiences with each other.”
Narsete said she started Operation HerStory and organized the Oct. 6 flight because she believes that female vets are often overlooked.
“Most of us didn’t know each other,” she said of the flight. “Getting together again was like going back to basic training and bonding.”
Cindy Collins, 67, is an Army veteran who was on the Oct. 6 flight and at the ceremony in Highland Park. She said she’s been to various monuments in Washington before but the recent trip was different.
“It was incredible,” she said. “Being with all the other women, older and a couple who were younger. Our experiences were similar. It was the common bond.”
Navy veteran Mary Roberson, 67, said the trip was “awesome.”
“So many women, veterans crying and hugging and rejoicing on the honor of just being there,” said Roberson, who lives in Lake County. “As a veteran it was a totally different perspective to be catered to and given all the attention and all that. It was beautiful.”
Narsete said plans to continue with Operation HerStory and hopes more veterans will join the group.
“The purpose of having Operation Her Story is so women are no longer invisible,” she said. “We’re asking women to sign up for the honor flight so they can be seen.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter.
