Last year on Veteran’s Day, Indiana resident Gail Bushrod honored her cousin, Pansye Holland, a Black woman who served in World War Two as part of the Women’s Army Corps.
Thinking of how little recognition the 6,500 Black women who served in World War Two received, Bushrod decided to start working on an exhibition entitled “Unseen and Unsung: African American Women in the military during WW2.”
While initially the exhibition was limited to Black women veterans from Indiana, Bushrod has expanded the scope to showcase Black women veterans from all over the country.
For the project, Bushrod is collecting photographs and information which she hopes to display at a free, weekend-long exhibition, alongside a video that she put together. So far, she’s collected about 200 photos and is looking for more.
She is also using online databases to consolidate a list of all the Black women who served during World War II and wants to find a historical society to store the pictures and online information after the exhibition’s conclusion.
“I think it’s important for you to know who you are, where you came from, and what part that you and your ancestors participated in history,” Bushrod said.
Referencing the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” Bushrod said she found the story beautiful.
“But stories (like that one) happened over and over in the Black community, but nobody wrote about that. That’s why it’s important,” Bushrod said.
Bushrod hopes to be finished with the project in November and is looking for military photos and information about Black Women who served in the Women Army Corps and Army Nurse Corps during World War II.
Anyone with information can email Bushrod at bushrodgail@yahoo.com.
