I suspect that Rose would be pleased to know that the little pavers she put in place so long ago have become a path for the rest of us to succeed.”

Rear Adm. Shoshana S. Chatfield, president of the Naval War College

I suspect that Rose would be pleased to know that the little pavers she put in place so long ago have become a path for the rest of us to succeed.”

Rear Adm. Shoshana S. Chatfield, president of the Naval War College

PORTSMOUTH — Rear Adm. Shoshana S. Chatfield is the first woman to ever become president of the Naval War College in Newport. Yet she may never have achieved that distinction, she said during a Veterans Day ceremony at Town Hall Thursday morning, had it not been for Rose Sherbune Clancy.

“Rose is one of the great pioneers, and I have to admit that my path was easier because of her actions. She made my career possible, so I’m grateful to her and all the woman who served before me,” said Chatfield, the keynote speaker at the annual ceremony hosted by American Legion Post 18.

This year’s event focused on women’s contributions to the military, with Clancy in the spotlight and several of her family members sitting in the audience. In 1917, the U.S. Navy started recruiting women as America became involved in World War I, and the 23-year-old Providence native was the first woman from Rhode Island to take the oath and enlist.

She became a Navy Yeoman and was among 11,000 women nationwide who served their country. In 1919, she became the first female commander of an American Legion Post (Post 44 in Providence). She was honorably discharged in 1946 and passed away in 1946.

“She led a life of service, blazing a trail for women who wanted to serve their country,” said Chatfield, adding that Clancy made it possible for other women to follow her path. “Women have played a critical role in every conflict in our nation’s history, serving in a number of different capacities. It wasn’t easy going at first. In Rose’s time, women were mainly relegated to those support roles —journalism, nursing, administrative duties.” 

One group circumvented all that, she said: Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). During World War II, those women flew almost every type of military aircraft and delivered planes, conducted test flights, towed targets for anti-aircraft gunnery practice and even trained male pilots. 

Still, noted Chatfield, “they were considered part of the Civil Service and were not able to secure veteran status until 1977.”

The Army and Navy started accepting female pilots in 1974 and the Air Force in 1976. “Even then, there were restrictions placed on what type of aircraft women could fly,” said Chatfield, who earned her “wings of gold” in 1989, prior to the combat exclusion law being lifted. “So as a young Naval aviator, I was not allowed to fly combat aircraft.” 

Times were changing, however. Chatfield went on to command a wing of helicopter squadrons — the same kind that women like herself were restricted from flying in 1989. “Today, women continue to blaze new trails and open previously closed doors,” she said, noting women now serve in combat roles “from infantry to aviation to submarines.”

Between 1973 (when the U.S. ended conscription) and 2010, the number of women serving in the enlisted ranks grew from 3 percent to 14 percent — a seven-fold increase, she said — and the number of women serving as commissioned officers has quadrupled. 

“I suspect that Rose would be pleased to know that the little pavers she put in place so long ago have become a path for the rest of us to succeed,” she said.

Grandson speaks

Also speaking Thursday was Michael Clancy, Rose’s grandson, who said his grandmother’s legacy had a strong impact on her own family as well. After serving, Rose went on to have nine children — five girls and four boys.

“When World War II broke out, one of her daughters joined the U.S. Army and served overseas as a nurse,” Michael said, adding that another daughter was in training as a nurse but never got to serve, while two sons served in the Navy. His father, Robert Clancy, served in combat with the Army, and many of his cousins are veterans as well.

“Service for our country is very important to us, and our grandmother instilled that in us, even though none of us ever met her. She died in 1946.”

He made special note of a cousin, Miriam Clancy, an Army major in the 1970s who served as chaplin’s assistant in the Women’s Army Corps and later became a nurse.

“When 9/11 happened, Miriam stepped up,” Michael said. “Miriam went back into the Army, where she’s still serving today, as a major in the Army Reserves in Massachusetts. She makes me so proud. That is what our grandmother did; she stepped up.”

‘Shattered our glass ceiling’

Lt. Gov Sabina Matos, who presented the Clancy family with a citation on behalf of Gov. Daniel McKee, also paid tribute to Rose.

“She shattered our glass ceiling early on when no one thought it could happen. We have to admire what she did, at a time when it was so hard,” Matos said.

The lieutenant governor said she never planned to get involved in politics until several members of her community continually pestered her about it. “For females to get involved in politics, we have to be asked an average of seven times,” she joked.

She lost her first race, but ran again while pregnant and won a seat on the Providence City Council. Rose Sherbune Clancy and other female trailblazers made that possible, she said.

“I’m here today because of women like her,” she said.

The ceremony later moved outside, where a wreath made by Project Blue Star coordinator Carolyn Evans-Carbery was placed in Legion Park, and “Taps” was played by Retired U.S. Navy Commander Richard Ashmore.

Boy Scouts from Troop 82 posted the colors and the National Anthem was sung by the Portsmouth High School Vocal Ensemble.

Dave Duggan, American Legion Post 18 chaplain, gave the invocation, and retired 1st Sgt. William “Bill” McCollum of VFW Post 5390 gave the benediction. R.I. Sen. James Seveney and Reps. Terri Cortvriend and Michelle McGaw, all from Portsmouth, attended the ceremony.

Francis “Cisco” Gutierrez, Post 18 commander, served as master of ceremonies.

“I feel it's important that we do this every year,” he said. “It validates our veterans and validates the sacrifices they’ve made and they continue to make every day.”