"Finally."

Last month, when a national monument was dedicated to women who served in the U.S. military, that word was like a refrain in more than one speech. The Women's Memorial was long overdue, speakers argued.

At each repetition, Dorothy Rust of East Hillside cringed.

"That, I didn't like,'' said Rust, a World War II Navy nurse who traveled to Washington for the ceremonies on Oct. 17-19. "That 'Finally, we get it.' I thought that wasn't necessary at all.''

Standing near her at Arlington National Cemetery was Jean Wicker, who confessed a little discomfort, too. "We went (to war) because they needed us,'' said Wicker, a former Army dietitian from Duluth.

In recent years, discussions of women in the military have tended to run quickly to sexual harassment and discrimination. For Rust, Wicker and 18 other female veterans from Duluth and Carlton County who attended the memorial ceremonies, clashes between the sexes were nowhere near the point.

No denying, they were delighted by the attention from