NORFOLK, Va. — On June 12, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the "Women's Armed Forces Integration Act."
It was progress, but there'd still be a long way to go.
At a Pentagon ceremony Monday, former Naval Air Station Oceana pilot and the first female carrier air wing commander Vice Admiral Sarah Joyner talked about what it was like in 1989, being a member of the first class to graduate 100 women in the history of the United States Naval Academy.
"Many at that time thought that women not only couldn't fight but shouldn't fight as well," she said.
This year, 267 women graduated from that institution.
Joyner is one of many trail-blazing women whose careers brought them through Hampton Roads.
This year, Captain Janet Days became the first Black woman to become commanding office of Naval Station Norfolk in the base's 106-year history.
Also, former Oceana pilot Lt. Amanda Lee is traveling the country this year as the first female F/A-18E/F demo pilot for the Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the ceremony said women make the military better.
"Women have made our military stronger. And we owe it to them to break every barrier in the way of their service," he said.
Secretary Austin also vowed to make the military a fairer and safer place for women.
"We owe it to American women to get rid of bias, and to wipe out the cancer of harassment and sexual assault in our ranks," he said.
In a news release, the White House said, "As Commander-in-Chief, President Biden has made it a top priority to eliminate obstacles to women’s military service through unprecedented actions to promote their safety, inclusion, health and wellbeing, and by delivering world-class benefits and services for women veterans."
According to the White House release, more than three million women have served since the Revolutionary War.