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November 29 @ 8:00 am - December 5 @ 5:00 pm
SUPPORT THE MILITARY WOMEN’S MEMORIAL THIS GIVING TUESDAY – DECEMBER 2, 2025
https://myaccount.womensmemorial.org/donate
As Giving Tuesday—a day when generosity around the world creates lasting impact—approaches, we want to share a story that beautifully reflects the heart of our mission and the profound difference your support makes.
In 2022, the Military Women’s Memorial welcomed SK3 Elizabeth “Gena” Macres Fischle, a 98-year-old Coast Guard SPAR and World War II veteran. It was her first time visiting the Memorial.
As Gena moved through the gallery, she paused often—taking in the exhibits, the stories of service spanning generations, the symbolism built into every detail. When she reached the SPARS exhibit, she stopped to take it all in. In a black-and-white photograph from the 1940s, she recognized the faces of the women she had served beside—her friends, her sisters-in-arms.
With a spark in her eyes, she began sharing their stories with pride and joy.
And then she fell silent.
There in the photo was one more familiar face—her own.
For the first time, at 98 years old, Gena realized that she was part of the history preserved and honored at the Military Women’s Memorial. Her courage, her service, her legacy had been recognized here for more than 25 years—waiting for her, for her family, and for every visitor to see and celebrate.
Tears filled her eyes.
Like so many women of her generation, Gena had never felt she needed recognition. “I was just doing my job,” she said—a refrain we hear again and again from the women who helped shape our Nation.
But in that moment, standing in her Memorial, she finally saw the truth we have always known:
Her service mattered.
Her story mattered.
She mattered.
The Memorial helped her see the enormity and impact of her contributions—something she had carried humbly and quietly for decades. In that one moment, Gena understood, perhaps for the first time, the power of her own story.
For nearly 30 years, this has been the work of the Military Women’s Memorial—and it is why your support is so vital.
Your Giving Tuesday gift helps:
- Honor women who serve who never ask for recognition but unquestionably deserve it
- Solidify their place in history—visible, valued, and forever remembered
- Ensure future generations learn their names, courage, and contributions
- Inspire the next generation of women and girls through their stories
- Give veterans like Gena the powerful experience of seeing their legacy honored—sometimes for the very first time
- Ensure no woman’s service is ever forgotten
The impact of your support reaches far beyond exhibits, programs, or the architecture of the Memorial. It changes lives. It deeply touches the women themselves and their families. It creates powerful, transformative experiences. It gives women like Gena a moment to see themselves in the story of our Nation. Your impact is about more than history; it’s personal—it’s about service, sacrifice, identity, recognition, healing, and belonging.
This Giving Tuesday, thank you for standing with the Military Women’s Memorial and choosing to uplift the women who have served our Nation—women like Gena.
Because of your support, these women finally see their stories honored.
Because of you, they know their service mattered then… and still matters today.
Thank you for supporting the Military Women’s Memorial this Giving Tuesday.