Ashley White-Stumpf: Holding Freedom

By Linda Harris Sittig

Although Memorial Day is only a few days behind me, I am still thinking about all the service men and women who sacrificed their lives for freedom. And, I’m always grateful that my father survived WWII as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, but I know other families weren’t as fortunate.

According to Military.com, 646,596 American service personnel lost their lives in combat, encompassing all wars from the American Revolution to the ongoing War on Terror. The definition of combat is two or more groups directly fighting each other with weapons.

American women were first allowed to serve in the military in 1917 (WWI), but only in non-combat roles. It wasn’t until 2013 that women were allowed to be deployed in combat. Since the attacks of 9/11/2001, 166 female service members have been killed while on active duty. One of these women was Ashley White-Stumpf.

ASHLEY’S STORY

Ashley was born in Ohio in 1987. She graduated from Kent State University in Ohio with a degree in sports medicine. Recruited as one of the first few dozen women soldiers to deploy to Afghanistan, Ashley joined the highly selective Cultural Support Teams, where she worked alongside Army Rangers in a Special Operations task force. Still, however, not considered combat.

Often working in a village on an initiative to facilitate interactions with civilian women and children, Ashley went where men were not allowed. Once, she used her own body to shield several women and children when gunfire suddenly broke out. Then, three months into her tour, Ashley was killed during a night raid by an IED (improvised explosive device).

She was 24 years old.

Ashley was later awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, among other military honors. Today, she is honored alongside a small group of female soldiers at the National Museum of the United States Army in Virginia for their acts of valor.

ASHLEY’S LEGACY

But Ashley’s story doesn’t end here.

Her life, patriotism, and commitment to helping others paved the way for women in America to be permitted, in 2013, to serve in combat roles. Ashley stands as a testament to all of us that freedom is never really free. Across America, families are still grappling with the grief of losing a loved one in combat.

Young women today, standing on the brink of adulthood, are pursuing their own destinies. For those who choose the military, their fellow Americans receive the invaluable gift of freedom.

As I mentioned, my dad returned from World War II, but my military heritage dates back 250 years. My ancestor, Captain Arnold Francis, gave his barn to General George Washington to be converted into a field hospital during the Siege of Valley Forge. Arnold’s wife, Elizabeth, stayed home and managed the farm by herself while he served in the military during the American Revolution.

 So, you see, American women in different ways have always participated in our wars. Today, not just on Memorial Day, let us take a moment to thank those men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Thank you to Alexa Bigwarfe, a veteran, whose blog, Women in Publishing, highlighted the story of Ashley White-Stumpf.

Exciting changes are in the air! My website, www.lindasittig.com, is undergoing a complete redesign and is expected to launch within the next week. Next month’s blog will highlight it along with the exceptionally talented Katie Birks of www.katiebirks.co.uk, who is responsible for the design.

~Linda’s Books:

Cut From Strong Cloth, Last Curtain Call, Counting Crows, B-52 DOWN, Opening Closed Doors and soon….. Chasing the Tides