|
Blackanthem Military News
|
Last Updated:
Dec 3, 2008 - 11:51:18 PM |
|
|
Blackanthem Military News
 |
| Soldiers from 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, along with Airmen, Marines and other participants, begin a 5-K run Aug. 26 to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the women's suffrage movement and the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the legal right to vote. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Lyndsey Dransfield, MND-B PAO) |
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - As the first rays of light reflected upon the water of Z Lake, Soldiers from 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, along with Airmen, Marines and various other individuals, gathered at the bottom of Signal Hill to begin their day with a morning run in celebration of Women's Equality Day Aug. 26.
Women's Equality Day is observed on the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave the women of our nation the right to vote.
The first event to kickoff the daylong commemoration was a 5-kilometer race around the lake. The road was cluttered with people eagerly waiting for a signal to start running.
"Who's ready to run?" shouted Sgt. 1st Class Andrea Eremus with enthusiasm.
"Hooah!" the crowd responded with the same energy. As soon as "Begin!" was yelled, the runners took off, quickly settling into their own paces.
As the runners completed the race, they lined up again to retrieve their award for participating: a Women's Equality Day T-shirt.
"I'm sending my shirt home for to my fiancé," one participant said.
Later in the day, volunteers set up voter registration points at the dining facilities around Camp Liberty to provide those who had not registered to vote the opportunity to fill out a registration form. Approximately 130 registration forms were filled out and mailed to the individuals' states to be processed.
Eighty-seven years have passed since the 19th Amendment was ratified as part of the U.S. Constitution, allowing American women the right to vote and take part in all aspects of the government of our nation.
"Today is a very important day," said Eremus, a native of Wrightsville, Ga., equal opportunity advisor with Company B, Division Special Troops Battalion, 4th Inf. Div., who has spent the past two months organizing and planning the events. "We are allowed the opportunity to take part in an important process as far as who makes decisions for our country."
Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Perry, a native of Birmingham, Ala., who serves as division equal opportunity advisor with 4th Inf. Div., said he participated in the day's events to remember that nothing is free.
"I think that sometimes we take for granted the right to vote. There were people who went through some hard times to get these privileges, and we all need to remember that," he said.
Maj. Pete Stanonik, a native of Killeen, Texas, and equal opportunity program manager with 4th Inf. Div., agreed.
"Right now, we're in a foreign country where a woman's right to vote is very new," he said. "There are many places in the world that still don't have these privileges. We must honor and observe those who made sacrifices for us to remember how important this is.
"We try to make things in life fair," he added. "Unfortunately, life's not fair - but that doesn't stop us from trying."
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
 |
| Staff Sgt. Robert Holman, a native of Lindsay, Okla., who serves as platoon sergeant of Headquarters Platoon, Company B, Division Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, yells out the time while Sgt. 1st Class Kristina Scott, a historian with the Military History Detachment, 101st Airborne Division, attached to 4th Inf. Div., cheers runners on as they pass the finish line during a five kilometer race Aug. 26 to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the women's suffrage movement and the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the legal right to vote. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Lyndsey Dransfield, MND-B PAO) |
|
 |
| Soldiers from 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, fill out voter registration forms Aug. 26. The registration area was set up by volunteers to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the women's suffrage movement and the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the legal right to vote. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Lyndsey Dransfield, MND-B PAO) |
|
 |
| Staff Sgt. David Cotti, a native of Mesa, Ariz., a bugler with the 4th Infantry Division Band, 4th Inf. Div., Multi-National Division - Baghdad, drops completed voter registration forms into a box while volunteering Aug. 26 in support of the commemoration of the 88th anniversary of the women's suffrage movement and the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the legal right to vote. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Lyndsey Dransfield, MND-B PAO) |
|
|
|
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
