[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 149 (Thursday, October 30, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2146]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO FRIEDA HARDIN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ELLEN O. TAUSCHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 30, 1997

  Mrs. TAUSCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a very special 
veteran in my district, Frieda Hardin. On October 18, Yeoman Hardin, a 
resident of Livermore's veterans center, was one of six featured 
speakers and one of two female World War I veterans in attendance at 
the dedication of the new Women in Military Service for America 
Memorial in Washington, DC.
  At 101 years of age, Frieda Hardin may be the nation's oldest living 
female veteran. She enlisted with the Navy in 1918 at the age of 22, 
just 2 days after she learned the Navy was accepting women. During the 
war, she was assigned to Portsmouth, VA, and the Norfolk Navy Yard 
where she was a Yeoman Third Class working as a clerk checking document 
receipts in the freight office. At that time there was not yet military 
housing for women so she lived in a boarding house in town. After the 
war ended, Yeoman Hardin completed her 2 years of service with the Navy 
in Bremerton, WA. She went on to raise four children and has since been 
involved with many veterans' events.
  Frieda Hardin is truly a pioneer. At the time she joined the Navy, 
women were not yet allowed to vote. She did not let that deter her. She 
wanted, as she puts it, ``to do something more, something bigger and 
better'' for herself and her country. She encourages women in the 
military to ``carry on!'' and believes they are doing a wonderful job. 
She is proud to have been able to serve her country and has great 
admiration for those who do so today. Her speaking role at the 
dedication of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial is an 
honor well deserved. She is a role model for women veterans everywhere. 
I would like to thank Yeoman Hardin for her dignity, courage, and 
service to our country.

                          ____________________