I am an African American woman born and raised in Pennsylvania. I send this message in support of your candidacy for the U.S. Senate of South Carolina. I am also a writer who has researched, written, and lectured about women veterans who had served in the military.

During the 1980s I researched the eight military women—nurses—who had served and died in Vietnam during that war. One of those women was a South Carolinian, born and raised in Allendale County. Her name was Elizabeth Ann Jones, born 12 September 1943; killed in Vietnam on 18 February 1966.

2nd Lt. Jones’s family and friends called her Betty Ann. In the mid-1980s, I had traveled to Allendale and met, interviewed, and broke bread with Betty Ann’s family and friends. After she graduated with a nursing degree from Charleston Medical College of Nursing, raised her hand to serve in the United States Army.

Several weeks ago, I had traveled to Washington, DC and toured the museum of the Women in Military Service to America (WIMSA). The museum building, known as the Hemisphere, is located at the main entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.

The current president of our country has no right to build a giant arch in front of the WIMSA Museum. It will dishonor the men and women who rest among the rolling hills of Arlington National Cemetery.

The Museum symbolizes the indispensable diversity of skills which women in the military had contributed for over a hundred years in support of the Americans resting in the Cemetery.

To the citizens of South Carolina, select Annie Andrews to represent you. She will serve with honor and history in the Halls of the United States Senate.